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nyanpasu
Shenmue II
2021-11-19T09:52:50Z
Dreamcast • JP
2021-11-19T09:52:50Z
In collection Want to buy Used to own
Player modes
Single-player
Release details
4 974365 501792/
Examples
1980s-1996
23 mar 2015
8 apr - 12 may 2015
1998-05
The original English releases of the game have censorship of LGBT characters. In the original JP release, Yuan (a queer, AMAB female-presenting character) is portrayed by a male voice actor. In the Dreamcast PAL release of Shenmue II (which is Japanse dub only), they re-recorded the Japanese dub for Yuan with a female voice actress to hide their queer identity. In the English dub (Xbox version, English dub in HD Remaster), Yuan is dubbed with a female voice actress as well. These changes were reverted in the Japanese dub in the Shenmue HD collection, restoring Yuan's original voice lines and preserving their character.
tl;dr
Play the HD Remaster with the Japanese Dub for the most accurate and as-intended portrayal of the characters. Unless there's a version that undubs Yuan for the Dreamcast PAL version that I'm unaware of.
Shenmue is like a mystery life simulator sandbox adventure game with some combat sequences and minigames in-between. The point is to experiment within the environment and experience Ryo's life, find secrets, trigger events and collect shit.
If you actually had to make comparisons, it's much closer to something like Shadow of Destiny [シャドウ・オブ・メモリーズ], Deadly Premonition, Flower Sun & Rain [花と太陽と雨と], or Mizzurna Falls [ミザーナフォールズ] but even then it's a stretch to make those comparisons. Really nothing's like it.