The Shenmue games have a rabid following now, but at their peak they never quite attained the popularity that they deserved, hampering the franchise going forward. The titles were amongst the first to create a world that felt and looked real, producing one of the most immersive experiences around when it was released - you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn't wowed by the quality of the graphics and level of detail featured throughout. The title also helped to spawn the free-roaming game style that we know today in addition to popularising Quick Time Events, otherwise known as the Press A to not die events that many modern games ram into their cutscenes. Like others on this list Shenmue was an innovator and a trailblazer. However, it is not the year 2000 anymore and the things that made Shenmue so fresh back then are now implemented as standard in so many titles today. Even with that said, the game has plenty to offer anyone thanks to graphics that still look great, an excellent combat system and an engrossing story. However, the barriers for entry are twofold, one anyone who wants to sample its delights will need to get their hands on a Dreamcast and a copy of the game - which goes for a fairly high price in the current market - and furthermore the game just didnt attain the level of popularity it deserved making it very harder to ascertain a copy at all. Which other classic or influential titles are very much a 'place-in-time' type deal when it comes to their appeal? Let us know in the comments and join the Facebook page for more!
Lee Price is a writer for 411mania.com and Starburst Magazine, which is published in the UK. He is currently working as a freelance writer. He hopes to one day fund his addiction to video games by writing about video games, and he maintains a sporadically updated blog at leesrandombulls*it.wordpress.com
