Luck based Mini-games, should S4 remove them ?

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Dg1995

Joined
Dec 19, 2019
My least favorite mini-games in Shenmue are gambling mini games.Especially the luck based ones. Because these type of mini games are luck dependent, require no skill and have no learning curve. And due to these they just force the players to use manual saving before every bet in order to enjoy them.(losing money in them is very annoying.)

In my opinion, mini games in video games should provide the players with a good and fun distraction from the main gameplay. Unfortunately I don't think these type of gambling mini games provide that in Shenmue.

So, I prefer to get more arcade,skill based gambling games and part time jobs instead of luck based gambling mini games such as Turtle Racing, Lucky Hit , Flower, Bird, Wind and Moon , Roll the Dice , Slot machines and other types of luck based mini games.
 
What one person likes, others dislike. And vica versa. Some people like luck based betting games. I think it's good to have a selection of everything.
 
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I'd prefer they limit gambling to one or two areas, not every street corner. And if they're gonna offer lots of gambling, a little more variety would be nice next time. I don't necessarily dislike any of the gambling games, but a game of skill like poker or a more common game like blackjack wouldn't hurt. It got old having to choose between the same luck-based games, whether I was in Bailu or at the Golden Goose.
 
They should actually make gambling a meaningful way to accrue wealth quickly. It was so inefficient. And while I suppose that's realistic, I'm playing a video game that requires far too much grinding as it is, so I'm going to eventually ignore the options that don't produce results and just forklift a lot.
 
Hell no. Absolutely not. Do you want cash to actually be a chore to get? I refuse to fish for my in-game wealth. Wood chopping is a more reliable and efficient method, anyway.

Lucky hit does require some skill, though. Being able to read the board and know where to drop from dramatically increases returns (less so in SIII than SII, but still). Everything else (aside from dice, which has very favorable odds) you can get a fortuneteller to break the game for you, if you really don't want to deal with some of the luck involved. Even the racing is a bit stacked in the player's favor, though.
 
Rydeen said:
Hell no. Absolutely not. Do you want cash to actually be a chore to get? I refuse to fish for my in-game wealth. Wood chopping is a more reliable and efficient method, anyway.

Lucky hit does require some skill, though. Being able to read the board and know where to drop from dramatically increases returns (less so in SIII than SII, but still). Everything else (aside from dice, which has very favorable odds) you can get a fortuneteller to break the game for you, if you really don't want to deal with some of the luck involved. Even the racing is a bit stacked in the player's favor, though.
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Collecting herbs is the best way to earn money.

Also, fortuneteller isn't a very good idea since he/she might predict it wrong.(Or it only works for a limited time and you might not get in the mini game on time.)
 
Dg1995 said:
Collecting herbs is the best way to earn money.

Also, fortuneteller isn't a very good idea since he/she might predict it wrong.(Or it only works for a limited time and you might not get in the mini game on time.)
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Lucky Hit is far better than collecting herbs, and it's also not limited by the number of herbs that spawn on the field. I can make thousands of Yuan in a couple of minutes with Lucky Hit.

The fortunes are time limited. I don't think I've ever seen it be wrong, though. You can't run across Niaowu to bet on something after getting a fortune. It has to be immediate. (eg. Fortune teller behind the hospital; Run to Mankindou; Bet on turtle racing once, or Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon two to four times.) The cost for a fortune is so low that one win out of three attempts (at max bets) still puts you well ahead of most other methods of earning money.
 
mjqjazzbar said:
I'd prefer they limit gambling to one or two areas, not every street corner. And if they're gonna offer lots of gambling, a little more variety would be nice next time. I don't necessarily dislike any of the gambling games, but a game of skill like poker or a more common game like blackjack wouldn't hurt. It got old having to choose between the same luck-based games, whether I was in Bailu or at the Golden Goose.
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If they use the same engine, then they can easily bring back these mini games in S4 alongside adding new ones.
 
I never cared for the Slot Machines as you couldn't get the currency back, at least in Shenmue 1 - Can;t say I bothered much with it in Shenmue II. But I loved all the little hidden away gambling rackets in Shenmue II, It helped make the place feel more authentic than just NPC's walking around.

I don't mind them as an activity, I'd welcome them in Shenmue IV.
 
As long as the game progression isn't tied to anything random I'm all for having gambling in the series. It's completely optional anyway for those who don't like it and has so far been the best way to farm money. I'm fine with way gambling was handled in S3 (having to win prizes you pawn off), I only hope they adjust the trade ratios so that the game is less grindy and it's easier to earn money going forward
 
If we did get Shenmue IV, there would definitely be alot of the same classic gambling again, then probably more options. I’m ok with that as long as it’s not forced down our throats for the sake of padding. I did enjoy darts the most, but I recall there were legal reasons with Sega that he couldn’t include it in S3.
 
No, the gambling games serve as a sort of escape valve for players that don't really want to grind for money during any portion of the game, without necessarily feeling that they 'cheated'.

You can always not play them.
 
Variety is the spice of life. Speaking mostly from S1 and S2 experience, it would be nice to have more than just one type of slot machine. Go into any casino big or small and there is a variety there. Different themes, different ways to play. I do not remember you "having" to gamble, but I know it helped to complete your toy collection as it were and that is fine. You want to complete the game at 100% have something like a reward at the end. But do not have it where you have to bet your life or die and you have to keep restarting a save or you have to get X amount of money and it is a large amount and they force you to only do it through gambling.

Also I would like to see more games that you would actually see in Japan and of course now in China/Hong Kong. So mahjong they already had the parlor in the first game. You stepped through the door, you walked up the steps and you had people or a person there and tables already set up with chairs. It would of been perfect for them to add that. When you go to China have the Chinese rule set for it.

Pachinko would of been PERFECT. Why did they not include a few tables to play in the first game? Why were we not presented with the possibility of modding them into the game world ourselves when they rereleased the first two games?

Shogi (Japanese chess) in the park with the old man would of been nice as well.

Xiangqi (Chinese chess) some where with other people would also of been nice in Hong Kong and China.

Basically any game that is a national game would be nice. It is fun to learn new cultures. Just do not "force" us to play it. Maybe to have us "give it a shot", but not to grind for hours on it just to pass a main quest. An incentive would be a prize won at the end, a martial art learned or another side quest that only winning would open up, but was not detrimental to the whole game of Shenmue itself.

And nothing wrong with having a Japanese rule set in China as well, if one of the players are from Japan. It could be a story element of them being glad they are not the only foreigners and can enjoy the game the way they are used to it. Just be aware that the ratio of those playing the Japanese one would be much lower than the then national (Chinese) one.

Oh and of course more arcade games. I do not expect to see any in the back country unfortunately, but in the cities I would definitely like to see some more. Just keep them coming!
 
Nope - keep the luck based games but remove the rediculous story beats where you have to grind to silly amounts of money (that are almost impossible to hit by working). Large sums should be for powerful moves and the like.

I do hope for Darts back again - that'd be the best. Also some better pinball machines!
 
No keep them in. Just dont tie it heavily to the story. If they do. Keep the balance in line with how Shenmue 2 handle it.

If you take them out, youll just get a bunch of whiney baby shenmue fans complaining about it 24/7. We could all do without that nonsense
 
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I bet that if they had put in the Darts mini game in the Big Merry Cruise DLC it would have sold much more.
 
I generally avoid gambling. That's why I appreciate that III provides a wider variety of money-making options. Unfortunately, the game over-promotes the use of fortune tellers, as if using them is essential to making money, which isn't true. I'm sure it's a good way to make money, but they should've let the player figure that out on their own instead of having literal cutscenes about it.

However, taking gambling away would be a big mistake; some people absolutely love it and to them it wouldn't be Shenmue without it.

Darts isn't gambling -- I'd say it's mostly skill-based -- but I'd like to see it return, albeit slightly modernised like the darts in FF7R.
 
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