Games of the 8-, 16- & 32-bit era
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Shenmue

TitleShenmue
First release1999
DevelopersSEGA-AM2, Sega AM2
PublisherSega
PlatformsDreamcast, PC (Windows)
GenresChristmas video game, action-adventure game, role-playing video game
Players1–4 players
Co-opNo
ESRB ratingT Teen
Releases
Dreamcast: 1999-12-01 (NTSC-J), 2000-11-07 (NTSC-U), 2000-12-01 (PAL)
Wikidata IDQ654354

Shenmue is a 2000 Dreamcast video game developed by AM2 of CRI and Scarab and released by Sega of America in the USA on November 7, 2000. The first chapter of Yu Suzuki's epic saga is at hand. Shenmue is an adventure game that transports you to Japan, circa 1986. You are Ryo, a young man trying to solve the mystery of his father's death. Along the way, you'll be treated to the most richly-detailed game world ever conceived. Shenmue offers a true living world, where characters exist on their own timelines and almost all objects can be manipulated and used. Over the course of the adventure, you will learn new hand-to-hand fighting techniques, presented in breathtaking motion-captured animations. You'll also interact with literally hundreds of characters and solve a myriad of puzzles. It's epic storytelling at its best, and it's only on Dreamcast. A massive, highly-detailed 3D world featuring hundreds of interactive characters and objects to interact with. Real-time fighting and action scenes with motion capture by real budo experts. In-game arcade features Sega classics such as Hang-On and Space Harrier. "Magic Weather" technology brings the world to life with changes to landscapes, climate, and vegetation. Created by Yu Suzuki, the mastermind of arcade hits such as Virtua Fighter.

Description: TheGamesDB (community-contributed, no licence stated; internal use only) Facts from Wikidata (CC0), gaps filled from TheGamesDB. Only retro platforms tracked by this site are listed; the year is the earliest release date recorded on Wikidata.
Sources
Wikidata (Q654354) · last updated 2026-09-27 · CC0
TheGamesDB (430,124433,125202) · last updated 2026-07-18 · no licence stated · internal use only
Image credits
Box art (1): Source: TheGamesDB (user-uploaded, NTSC-U release) · © Sega · internal use only. TheGamesDB page
Box art, Screenshots, Artwork (5): Source: TheGamesDB (user-uploaded) · © Sega · internal use only. TheGamesDB page
Sprites
No sprite sheets yet. Find sprites on The Spriters Resource ↗ /
Videos
Dreamcast Longplay [038] Shenmue (JP) (Fan Translation)
World-of-Longplays · Dreamcast version · longplay · 11:31:15auto-matched
Watch on YouTube ↗ · auto:channel-harvest, checked 2026-10-25 18:41 UTC
Shenmue (Dreamcast) Playthrough - NintendoComplete
NintendoComplete · Dreamcast version · longplay · 19:16:06auto-matched
Watch on YouTube ↗ · auto:channel-harvest, checked 2026-10-25 18:42 UTC
"Auto-matched" videos were found automatically (title + platform match via the YouTube Data API) and may occasionally be wrong. Videos are hosted by YouTube (embedded via youtube-nocookie.com; nothing loads from YouTube until you press play) and belong to their channels.
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