10 Classic Video Games (That Have Aged Horribly)

3. Shenmue

The one thing that nobody has ever denied about Shenmue is how far ahead of its time the game was. An open world cinematic masterpiece chronicling a kung-fu mystery/revenge story was the kind of game that many had dreamed of in their wildest fantasies, but never thought would be possible.

However, the implication that usually comes with a game being ahead of its time is that it didn't quite fit into the era it was released in. That's certainly the case with Shenmue as the game's ambitions would sadly outstrip the gameplay's reach. Like movies that suffer from too long of a runtime, Shenmue's faults largely lie in an inability to create enough compelling gameplay to last the length of the story. Too much time is spent aimlessly wandering and engaging in gameplay sequences that feel like they're trying to serve as bridges between actual, significant moments.

In a way, you can forgive Shenmue for its infamous translation issues and other quirks. They're actually kind of charming in a strange way. What is much harder to forgive is how underdeveloped the meatier aspects of Shenmue are.

Those shortcomings make for a game that is often more fun to reminisce about than actually play.