Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS) Review
Make no mistake about it, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (MDSW) is an unforgiving, difficult, and above all, challenging game. Individuals prone to anger or impatience need not apply.Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer is a port of an old SNES game, and one of several games in a series. In MDSW, you take on the role of Shiren, a warrior who begins a journey to the Land of the Golden Condor. Alongside Shiren is his companion, a talking weasel called Koppo.
MDSW takes the form of a rougelike RPG, notable for its turn-based approach, randomly generated dungeons, and unforgiving attitude to dying. With every move you make, be it movement, talking to a character, or using a weapon, monsters and other NPCs in the dungeon will also make a move. This brings an element of strategy to the game, as you will need to keep an eye on the map and consider your movements carefully in order to get the upper hand on enemies. Defeating enemies will give you experience points which will slowly increase your over level, however if you die, you will suffer dire consequences, so its in your best interest to play wisely.
Though there are scarce save points throughout the game, if you die you are sent back to the original town, stripped of all your items, and returned to level one (in terms of experience points). This approach makes for a very frustrating experience, but one that can be rewarding if you persist. Each dungeon is randomly generated so the map is always slightly different, as is the location of monsters, items, traps, and other obstacles. This makes dying a little more bearable, as you dont have to play the exact same dungeon over and over again. However, if you continue to die, you may start to find the early levels become quite monotonous, as I did after having to restart on numerous occasions. The dungeons in the game range in theme, depending on your progress through the game. You start the game in a forest before progressing up a mountain in search of the mystical Land of the Golden Condor. You have access to a number of weapons (including swords and arrows) and magical attacks (such as being able to clear an entire room of enemies) throughout the game.
Again, a careful and strategic use of magic and weapons will benefit the player enormously. Upgrading weapons is also possible and is one of the better ways to make your progress through the game easier. You also have access to a warehouse in which to store items, which is very useful for when you have to start your journey over again after dying. The first town in the game also includes a shop owned by Fey. In this shop, you can challenge yourself to 50 different puzzles. Feys puzzles work because they give you an opportunity to forget the unforgiving nature of the main game, and they also teach you how to use many of the weapons and items you will encounter in the game. Puzzles range in difficulty from easy to extremely hard, but since you play each at level 1, its more about learning to carefully consider your movements than engaging in battle with enemies.
One feature that has been added to the DS port is the ability to be rescued by another player using the Nintendo WiFi Connection. If you die in a dungeon, you can call on a friend or random person over the WiFi Connection to come and rescue you. However, the person who is doing the rescuing must go back to the first town (returning to level 1) and progress through the dungeons until they find you. Coupled with the fact that you only get three rescues, the whole rescue concept is somewhat limited. Graphically Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer looks nice enough. Its a quality port of the SNES title, though some variety in animation would be nice.
It has enough character and personality to engage the player, particularly thanks to some quirky characters. Sound is adequate with music that fails to inspire but does the job. It is in no way a game that pushes the DS to any of its limits, but doesnt look or sound horrible either. Shiren the Wanderer isnt a game for everybody, but fans of rougelike RPGs will surely enjoy what Shiren the Wanderer has to offer. With patience, persistence, and a good control over ones anger, MDSW can be a rewarding, if very challenging and brutal game. There is no forgiveness for death, and it will make you want to throw the DS at times.
For these reasons, MDSW wont appeal to gamers who may enjoy a challenge, but not at the expense of such unforgiveness. I enjoyed the strategic element of the dungeons and initially really liked the first few dungeons. However, once I learned the dire consequences of death, I started to grow tired of starting back at square one over and over again. If you like rougelike games, then MDSW is recommended. For those who love their RPGs, MDSW will make a gamer out of you yet, but for everybody else, consider your temperament and ability to persist before trying this one – its not easy.
