How to play Shenmue II on Mac

Shenmue II, much like the first game, is an action-adventure title developed by SEGA for its Sega Dreamcast console. Unlike its prequel, however, Shenmue II did not stay exclusive for long – in 2002, just a year after release, the game was ported to Xbox.
The game world in Shenmue II is just as detailed as before, and the game received several quality-of-life features to make realistic details more bearable. For example, the player no longer has to wait for a shop to open, as it is now possible to fast-forward time to a certain event. Another notable change is that the player now has to play minigames in order to earn money – in the first game, getting a job was simply a part of the story.
The story, unsurprisingly, picks up right where it left off. Ryo Hazuki, who discovered the identity of his father’s killer in the first game, follows his trail to Hong Kong. There, he tries to locate Yuanda Zhu, a mysterious martial artist who learned about the assassination before it happened and tried to warn Ryo’s father. In his search, Ryo eventually obtains some unlikely allies, who help him discover the truth.
Shenmue II, alongside the first game, was ported to Windows, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 in 2018. Though it did not receive a Mac port, it is nonetheless possible to play Shenmue II on Mac. We will explain the process in the article below.

System Requirements

Play Shenmue II on Mac with Parallels

If you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is an application that allows for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. In simpler terms, what this means is that it allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with just a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. So you will be able to run Windows, install Steam, and enjoy the Shenmue II game on Mac just like on a regular PC.

Note: Recommended devices to run resource-demanding games: MacBook Pro (models with an Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac Pro (all models are suitable), Mac Pro (all models are suitable). Parallels on Mac computers with M1 (M1 Pro, M1 Max) chips may not support recent games. Games that require DirectX 12 and later are currently not supported by Parallels. AppsOnMac recommends using Parallels’ free trial feature to determine whether you can run the game or not if you’re uncertain.

Install Windows 10 on Parallels (Step 1)

Install Windows 10 on Parallels (Step 2)

Install Windows 10 on Parallels (Step 3)

Install Windows 10 on Parallels (Step 4)

If you’d like to emulate the original Dreamcast or Xbox version of Shenmue II, you might find our article about emulation useful.

Play Shenmue II on Mac with cloud gaming services

If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy the Shenmue II game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming services will be happy to provide you with sufficient computing power – though not for free, of course. All you need is a browser or a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 MBit/s. There are several great platforms that provide these services, among the best are Boosteroid, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia GeForce Now.

Play Shenmue II on Mac with BootCamp

Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run Shenmue II on Mac

This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play Shenmue II on Mac by installing Windows. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. This is an application that allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you want to switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, in the end. And while newer Macs have their own special Apple Silicon chips that cannot run Windows, older Macs are very much similar to computers that run Windows, they have Intel processors, compatible RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on an older Mac by allocating no less than 64 GB of disk space (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games) and following these steps:

For OS X El Capitan 10.11 and older

For MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create a bootable Windows USB.

1. Download this Windows ISO file.
2. Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities).
3. Define the Windows partition size and choose the Windows ISO file you’ve downloaded.
4. Format the Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps.
5. When Windows boots for the first time, follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)