Shenmue

Year: 1999
By: Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Yuzo Koshiro, Takeshi Yanagawa, Osamu Murata, Ryuji Iuchi

Shenmue was supposed to be the biggest game of all time, of unprecedented ambition and scope, the ultimate AAA title for the new millenium. A commercial failure, it turned out to change the face of video game forever, defining what an open world can and should be, before GTA 3 — it did also coin some less fortunate trends, such as the QTE frenzy of the entire 2000s.

SEGA made use of a whole team of in-house composers to come up with a nearly cinematographic soundtrack, worthy of creator Yu Suzuki’s ambitions. Led by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (the guy who composed and sang on Daytona USA), the team put together a soundtrack sounding like no other — thanks to the use of traditional Japanese and Chinese instruments, such as the erhu (chinese fiddle), heard throughout the soundtrack. It was a work of crazy proportions, too: sure, you get memorable themes for the main characters and events, but each and every store in the game got its own theme as well!

Unfortunately, the official soundtrack release only features a few tracks, mostly focused on the most epic and orchestral themes — leaving behind more melancholic, ambient and funny tunes altogether, although a few piano tracks stayed. Shenmue II, its direct sequel set in China, also didn’t get the full release it deserved, with most of its incredible atmospheric tracks featuring only on unofficial game rips.

Best picks

Shenmue -Sedge Tree-
The Night Falls
Nozomi’s Confession
Earth and See
Dawn
Parting Tears
Departure on a New Journey

Full soundtrack

on streaming services