u/jayfergalicious

I’m a new fan that just finished Shenmue II and had a brilliant time with it, despite my own impatience towards a specific section in a previous post. Both games were great in their own ways, with the first Shenmue allowing me to become familiar with the local area on a personal level, whereas Shenmue II was an expansive and exciting adventure through a variety of locations.

However, I’ve heard Shenmue III does not maintain the quality of the previous two games for a multitude of reasons. From forced grinding to changes in combat to the story itself being unnecessary and essentially a footnote in the Shenmue journey, it sounds like the legacy of the franchise was disrespected. With those flaws in mind, is it still worth playing the game?

Now I’ve been enjoying the game for most of the playthrough, taking the odd break here or there when I need to, but I’ve honestly reached my last straw. It’s a shame too because the exploration and characters have been great, which is what I loved about the first Shenmue as well.

However, I’m trying to earn 500 dollars for the fight with Rod, so did some research and apparently gambling on the Big or Small game while save scumming is the strategy. I’m meant to bet on Big, Small or Zhen Zhong for the highest odds of winning and after losing just over ten games in a row, I don’t think it’s possible.

I dislike gambling in general, both in games and in real life, outside of the very rare wee bet for fun. That means thus far, I’ve also avoided doing it in both Shenmue games and it’s very frustrating that I’m forced to do it as a quick way of earning money, only for the odds to be so heavily skewed out of my favour.

Is this normal and if so, how long does it actually take to earn the 500 dollars through gambling? Keep in mind, I tried betting 20-50 dollars each time.

Apologies because this question has been asked plenty already, but I want to know specifically which story/stories I should start with that are included in “The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales” novel.

This collection includes:
- The Rats in the Walls
- The Picture in the House
- The Nameless City
- The Festival
- The Call of Cthulhu
- The Dunwich Horror
- The Whisperer in Darkness
- The Dreams in the Witch-House
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth
- At the Mountains of Madness
- The Haunter of the Dark
- The Thing on the Doorstep

My knowledge of H.P. Lovecraft’s work has only came from video essays or other media that has been influenced by it, so it’s time to officially start reading these stories myself. Any and all recommendations are appreciated!