Look at the end credits to Shenmue and (provided you can read Japanese) up alongside Yu Suzuki you'll see Shenmue's official director, Keiji Okayasu - Okayasu-san to you. Suzuki-san is known as the developer but is more of an overseer and Okayasu-san is the real director. Here's a short interview with him. He has previously worked on the Saturn version of Virtua Fighter 2 and the Dreamcast game Rent-a-Hero Number 1.
Q: When developing Shenmue, what were some of the enjoyable points and the difficult points?
KO: Because we were trying out so many new things in Shenmue, we had to bring in and work with people from outside the game industry. For instance, when doing the motion capture, we brought in people associated with the production of movies and listened to their opinions. Of course, we found it difficult to reflect all this in the actual game, despite our having worked on many games in the past. But, getting acquainted with all those people and hearing all those ideas was enjoyable.
Q: What would you say is the charm of Shenmue?
KO: You'll find an indescribable form of interest in the game. Rather than giving you a directly interesting experience, though, expect something a bit different. You could say that the game is a poison of sorts that affects your subconscious. When you've gone through it once, you're not done!
Q: Do you have a message for the people waiting for Shenmue?
KO: By all means, please purchase the game! It's a game with likable and dislikable points, and of course there is the price of the software, but you'll find it a worthy experience. Also, once you've played Shenmue, I'm interested in hearing all your opinions. The new ideas have given us many challenges, so we'd like to know how you guys feel on what we've done. This is not just my feeling, but the feeling of the entire staff as well. This is all I want to say.
