Every time a major magazine or website reviews Shenmue, I'll post the review scores here. If they give more than one overall score I'll post an average.
| Magazine/Website | Score |
| Official US Dreamcast Magazine | 10/10 |
| Official UK Dreamcast Magazine | 10/10 |
| Famitsu | 33/40 |
| DC-UK | 10/10 |
| Video Gamer | 7/10 |
| IGN.com | 9.7 |
| SegaWeb | 9.5 |
| Daily Radar.com | Direct Hit! |
| Videogames.com | 6.8 |
| Videogames.com | 8.1 (Import) |
| IGN.com | 9.2 (Import) |
| SegaWeb.com | 9.6 (Import) |
| Gamer's Republic | B+ |
| EGM | 8.5 SILVER |
| Gaming Age | A- |
| Magazine/Website | Score |
| Famitsu | 32/40 |
| Gaming Age | A |
| Dreamcast Magazine | 94% |
| Computer & Video Games | 9/10 |
