Flower Girl (Patreon)

I've mentioned this once or twice but in case you weren't aware, I'm a huge video game nut. I play and collect retro console games for fun and I'm always on the lookout for some gem I missed growing up, but one that I sure didn't miss was Shenmue on the good old Sega Dreamcast, which is where Nozome here comes from.

Shenmue has an interesting history. Initially planned as a trilogy, the second one failed to garner enough sales to warrant a finale and the series was left twisting in the wind. I played the original on the Dreamcast, but its sequel was exclusive to the original Xbox. And I had sided with Sony's Playstation 2 during that particular console war. By the time I had the resources to get my grubby little hands on an Xbox, news of the series' gloomy future was well known. And I didn't have the heart to play through part two of a story destined to leave me hanging at the end.

But just weeks ago, Shenmue 3 was announced at last. Smashing its Kickstarter goals (and some existing records on the site) over just a couple of days. Armed with the assurance that the story will have its ending, it was finally time to play the sequel. And how is it? After all these years? It's a hoot, to say the least. It feels like some weird indie, artsy project that was somehow granted an enormous budget. Check out this scenario from the game:

Me: Damn! I need a big chunk of money to advance the plot!

Game: Well we have plenty of part-time jobs you can take on for extra money!

Me: Cool! Are they badass events like pit fighting and illegal street racing?

Game: NOOOOOOO they are actual part time jobs like moving crates and running booths and they are boring on PURPOSE because that's what life is LIIIIIIKE!

Me: ...oh.