Since I posted my thoughts on the first game, I figured it only natural to post my thoughts on the second game as well. BTW, if you haven't read my review on the first game yet, check it out here (http://www.giantbomb.com/shenmue/3025-602/forums/it-s-2015-and-i-finished-shenmue-for-the-first-tim-1768579/#10).

I actually finished Shenmue 2 using the European Dreamcast version I imported because while I didn't mind the voice acting for the main characters and found the voice acting for the random NPCs to be fun in a so bad it's good sorta way, I really wanted to experience the game how it was originally meant to be told and wow, they really did go above and beyond to make Shenmue 2 feel much more epic in scope then the first game.

A few things I will say about Shenmue 2 is for one, their rendition of 80s Hong Kong is every bit as striking as Yokosuka is, though missing the cool "lived-in" feel that the first game has, though what it lost their it made up for in scope and lost NOTHING in terms of detail, though I found Kowloon to be pretty boring, they still put a lot of effort into it, but it's supposed to look rundown there wasn't much they could've done I guess, though it makes up for it with how fucking awesome the set piece moments are there. Also, the new characters were overall a lot better then the first games cast, with Ren easily being my favorite, though I did miss the goofy comic-relief characters like Tom and Goro.

The fact that they made making money a big part of the game in this one was cool, and I'm happy they finally allowed you to sell off any capsule toys you didn't want, plus the new betting games were cool though I was bummed out that their were only 2 part-time jobs, and while I did like lucky-hit, the QTE box-lifting was a poor substitute for the forklift job from the first game. Found the story to be pretty amazing, and the last 5 hours in the game especially great, with the last 2 being some of the most emotionally investing and beautifully done scenes I've experienced since I first played Shadow of the Colossus. Will be curious how far down the rabbit hole they go with what they ended on for the end of this game in Shenmue 3. The addition of a wait function was a great addition, though I still weirdly admired waiting for bars to open or stores to open or whatever in the first game, though understand why they had to add it, and it was warmly welcomed.

Overall I would say Shenmue 2 is an overall better game then the first, so of course I loved it, though there were still some aspects in the first game I missed as mentioned before, plus I missed taking care of a kitten and getting winning cans in the vending machines God DAMMIT!!!