8 Self-Contained Video Game Demos That Are Actually Prequels

For a game with such a rocky development past, as well as a huge hiatus between installments, the question of "What's Shenmue?" is a very apt one.

However in typical Shenmue fashion, rather than explain the key elements of the experience with a short vertical slice of the actual game, this demo goes above and beyond offering players a unique standalone quest.

It's also utterly insane.

I say this because the demo actually tasks you with tracking down Hidekazu Yukawa, the real-life Senior Managing Director of SEGA at the time Shenmue was released. On your quest, you are given insight into the game combat system and deep exploration mechanics, and things culminate with you rescuing "Mr. Sega" from a thug who wanted to steal an advanced copy of Shenmue itself!

Pretty meta right?

Well to top things off, Yukawa is shown to wake up from a dream, surrounded by Dreamcast boxes and vows to make Shenmue a smash hit, implying the events we'd just played were actually just from his imagination.

Therefore technically this demo isn't a prequel to the game's story, but the entire game itself.