25 Best Sega Games Of All Time - RANKED
6. Shenmue 2
Although it sold very poorly and basically killed the series for over a decade, Shenmue 2, released in 2001 for the Dreamcast, is one of the best titles Sega ever produced, and its a shame so many people missed it.
The game's poor sales come as a result of both a limited release, and the dying off of the Dreamcast's popularity. For example, the Dreamcast version of Shenmue 2 only released in Japan and Europe, while Microsoft released an enhanced version for the Xbox in 2002, exclusive to North America.
It's a huge shame, as while Shenmue one laid the foundations for the franchise, Shenmue 2 perfected the formula and is a much better game than the original is. The second title has much better pacing and several quality of life improvements, including the ability to skip time, and less of a reliance on quick time events than the original did.
There's something just so special about Shenmue 2's depiction of Hong Kong as a whole. While other games of the era, including GTA 3 (released quite close to Shenmue 2) were all about big and bombastic open worlds, Shenmue 2's open world is a quieter, denser place, packed full of things to see and do. Remember dreaming about going into the buildings on GTA? In Shenmue 2, you can for the vast majority of them.
It also nails the feel of really living through a character's life; you literally spend every waking moment with Ryo Hazuki, and you'll got to both know and love him throughout Shenmue 2's story.