Shiren the Wanderer (2008 video game)

Last updated
Shiren the Wanderer
Fushigi no Dungeon Furai no Shiren 3 Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime Cover.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Chunsoft
Publisher(s) Portable
Director(s) Satoshi Yoshida
Producer(s) Toshinori Asai
Yasuhiko Sameshima
Designer(s) Seiichiro Nagahata
Hiroyoshi Umetani
Shonosuke Morisue
Akio Yoshimoto
Programmer(s) Masayasu Yamamoto
Artist(s) Kaoru Hasegawa
Writer(s) Masato Kato
Composer(s) Hayato Matsuo
Series Shiren the Wanderer
Mystery Dungeon
Platform(s) Wii, PlayStation Portable
ReleaseWii
  • JP: June 5, 2008
  • NA: February 9, 2010
PlayStation Portable
  • JP: January 28, 2010
Genre(s) Role-playing, roguelike
Mode(s) Single-player

Shiren the Wanderer [lower-alpha 1] [1] is a roguelike video game developed by Chunsoft for the Wii. It was released in Japan on June 5, 2008, and in North America on February 9, 2010. [2] A PlayStation Portable version [lower-alpha 2] was released later in 2010, with a readjusted difficulty, a new infrastructure mode, and shorter loading times via the ability to install the game.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Gameplay

Similar to Torneko's Great Adventure 3 , the level is inherited in the main story, but like past games, dungeons starting from level 1 and high-difficulty dungeons after completing the main story are also available. [3] There are more than 30 dungeons, new monsters and a new tool growth system. The player can choose between easy and normal difficulty levels to make it easier for newcomers of the genre to play. In the normal difficulty, should the player lose in a dungeon, they will lose all of their items. In contrary, they would not lose their items in the other difficulty.

Plot

The game's plot happens one year after Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the Desert . Shiren and his partner Koppa reunite with his uncle, Sensei, who then leads him to embark on a journey to solve the mystery of the legendary Karakuri Mansion.

Development

Initially scheduled to be released on February 28, 2008, Shiren the Wanderer's initial Japanese release was delayed to June for quality assurance and bug fixes. In an interview article released by Atlus' business partner Sega, the game's developers stated that they would avoid making use of the Wii Remote's unique motion controls out of a concern that they would not be in line with the original, classic gameplay of prior installments. They thus came up with two control schemes that would heavily rely on analog sticks: a default one that uses the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and an alternate one that employs the Classic Controller, the latter which they recommended. [4]

Releases

The game was released on June 5, 2008, in Japan by Sega, then nearly two years later in North America on February 9, 2010, by Atlus USA. Its PlayStation Portable port was released solely in Japan on January 28, 2010. The latter version was republished as a downloadable game in the Japanese PlayStation Store on May 15, 2012, then once more on July 11, 2013 with the label "Spike Chunsoft the Best".

Reception

The Wii version of Shiren the Wanderer 3 received mixed or average reviews based on twenty-one critic reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [5] The game received a score of 35 of 40 from Famitsu magazine. [1] It sold 59,000 units in its debut week in Japan. [18]

Notes

  1. Known in Japan as Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 3: Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime (Japanese: 不思議のダンジョン 風来(ふうらい)のシレン3 からくり屋敷の眠り姫, Hepburn: Fushigi no Danjon Fūrai no Shiren 3 Karakuri Yashiki no Nemuri Hime, lit. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3: The Sleeping Princess and the Karakuri Mansion).
  2. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3 Portable, known in Japan as Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 3 Portable (Japanese: 不思議のダンジョン 風来(ふうらい)のシレン3 ポータブル, Hepburn: Fushigi no Danjon Fūrai no Shiren 3 Pōtaburu, lit. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3 Portable).

Related Research Articles

<i>Torneko: The Last Hope</i> 1999 video game

Torneko: The Last Hope is a 1999 role-playing video game for the PlayStation. The game was co-developed by Chunsoft and Matrix Software and published by Enix. In Japan, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001.

Mystery Dungeon, known in Japan as Fushigi no Dungeon, is a series of roguelike role-playing video games. Most were developed by Chunsoft, now Spike Chunsoft since the merging in 2012, and select games were developed by other companies with Chunsoft's permission. The series began when co–creator of Dragon Quest, Koichi Nakamura, was inspired by Seiichiro Nagahata's experience with Rogue, who is also a fellow developer from the company, and a desire to create an original series. It began on the Super Famicom, progressing to almost all of Nintendo's and Sony's home and handheld consoles, WonderSwan, Dreamcast, Windows, and mobile devices.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shirens Castle and the Oni Invasion</i> 2000 video game

Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion is a 2000 role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It is the second main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, itself part of the larger Mystery Dungeon series, and was released in Japan on September 27. The game follows Shiren, a boy who aims to defend a village from attacking demons by building a castle; he finds building materials and other items by exploring dungeons.

<i>Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer</i> 1995 video game

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, originally released in Japan as Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fūrai no Shiren, is a roguelike video game developed and published by Chunsoft. It is the second entry in the Mystery Dungeon series, following 1993's Torneko no Daibōken. It was originally released for the Super Famicom in 1995 in Japan. Sega published a Nintendo DS remake in 2006 in Japan and in 2008 internationally. The remake was later ported to iOS and Android and published by Spike Chunsoft in 2019.

<i>Tornekos Great Adventure</i> 1993 video game

Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon is a 1993 role-playing video game by Chunsoft. The first entry in the Mystery Dungeon series, the game features Torneko, a merchant from Dragon Quest IV, and his adventures around the Mystery Dungeon in search of items.

<i>Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time</i> and <i>Explorers of Darkness</i> 2007 video game

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness are a matched pair of Pokémon games developed by Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The two games were released in Japan in September 2007, and in North America and Europe in 2008. A third version, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, was released for the same hardware in 2009.

<i>Pokémon Mystery Dungeon</i> Video game series spin-off from the Pokémon series

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon is a video game series spin-off from the main Pokémon series developed by Spike Chunsoft. The games feature the fictional creatures called Pokémon who have the ability to speak human language navigating through a randomly generated dungeon using turn-based moves, common to Mystery Dungeon games. As of March 2020, there have been eleven games across five platforms, as well as several manga adaptations and animated specials.

<i>Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky</i> 2009 video game

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky is an enhanced version of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness released for the Nintendo DS in 2009, developed by Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. As a sister game, and sometimes referred to as the definitive edition to the aforementioned games, additional features include the addition of the missing Generation IV Pokémon, further character development for a few side characters in content known as Special Episodes, and a few quality of life improvement for options, items, and other gameplay related features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spike Chunsoft</span> Japanese video game development company

Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate</i> 2010 roguelike video game

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a roguelike role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft. It is the fifth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which is a subset of the larger Mystery Dungeon series. It was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2010 in Japan.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devils Navel</i> 2010 video game

Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel is a role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Spike. It is the fourth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which itself is a part of the larger Mystery Dungeon series. The game was originally released for the Nintendo DS in 2010; an expanded port was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2012 entitled Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 4 Plus: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer</i> Original video game series from the Mystery Dungeon franchise

Shiren the Wanderer is a video game series of roguelike and role-playing games developed by Spike Chunsoft. Unlike licensed crossovers within the Mystery Dungeon franchise, this series features original characters, including the eponymous rōnin protagonist Shiren and his traveling companion and talking weasel Koppa, with a plot and the location set generally in feudal Japan, and though indicative of the core games, which is navigating through a randomly generated dungeon using turn-based moves. As of January 2024, there have been multiple games across Nintendo and Sony platforms, mobile devices, Windows, and Steam, as well as few other medias released throughout the years.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the Desert</i> 2001 video game

Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the Desert is a roguelike role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft. It is part of the Mystery Dungeon series, and is a sequel to Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village. It was originally released for the Game Boy Color by Chunsoft in 2001. A Nintendo DS remake was released by Sega later in 2008.

<i>Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventure Team</i> 2009 trio of Pokémon spin-off video games

The Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventure Team series are three role-playing games released for WiiWare, part of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series of games developed by Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company. The titles, which were released in Japan on 4 August 2009, are Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Advance! Fire Adventure Team, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Go! Storm Adventure Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Aim! Light Adventure Team. This installment is the first game in the Mystery Dungeon series to be on a home system, with the next home installment being Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX for the Nintendo Switch.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village</i> 1996 video game

Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village is a roguelike role-playing video game developed by Aquamarine, then by Spike Chunsoft for the Android port of the game, and originally released for the Game Boy by Chunsoft in 1996. It is part of the Mystery Dungeon series. A Microsoft Windows remake, featuring enhanced graphics similar to its previous game on Super Famicom, would be later released in 1999, then re-released later with internet compatibility in 2002. A port of the remake was released on Android in 2011.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden: Asuka the Swordswoman</i> 2002 video game

Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden: Asuka the Swordswoman is a roguelike role-playing video game developed by Neverland and Chunsoft. It is part of the Mystery Dungeon series, and is a side story based on the Shiren the Wanderer series. It was originally released for the Dreamcast by Sega on February 7, 2002. A Microsoft Windows port was later released on December 20, 2002 and re-released later with internet compatibility on February 27, 2004, both published by Chunsoft.

Shin-ichiro Tomie is a Japanese game director, writer and part of Spike Chunsoft's affiliation. Since 1995, he contributes to the company with the Mystery Dungeon franchise as the main writer for the Shiren the Wanderer, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. Prior to his affiliation to the company in 1992, he has also contributed in Tecmo's Tecmo Bowl series of sport games.

Kaoru Hasegawa is a Japanese game artist and part of Spike Chunsoft's affiliation. Since 1994, he contributes to the company, with the Mystery Dungeon franchise as the main character designer for the Shiren the Wanderer series since its first title in 1995, and as an artist for other video game titles.

<i>Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island</i> 2024 roguelike video game

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is a roguelike role-playing video game developed and published by Spike Chunsoft. It is the sixth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which is a subset of the larger Mystery Dungeon series, and was released on Nintendo Switch in 2024, over 13 years after the last mainline title in Japan, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, and 8 years in the west.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Caoili, Eric (May 28, 2008). "Three things to get you excited about Shiren 3". Joystiq.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  2. Official North American website Archived 2009-06-05 at the Wayback Machine
  3. 今度の『シレン』はレベル継続!『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン3 ~からくり屋敷の眠り姫~』【映像インタビューつき】. Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  4. 『ドラマチックダンジョン サクラ大戦 ~君あるがため~』『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン3 ~からくり屋敷の眠り姫~』発売日変更のお知らせ (in Japanese). SEGA. Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Shiren the Wanderer". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  6. "Shiren the Wanderer Review". 1UP . Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  7. North, Dale (February 11, 2010). "Review: Shiren the Wanderer (Wii)". Destructoid . Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  8. Ashby, Alicia (February 9, 2010). "Shiren the Wanderer Review". GamePro . Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  9. Petit, Carolyn (February 16, 2010). "Shiren the Wanderer Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on February 20, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  10. "Shiren the Wanderer". GameTrailers . February 26, 2010. Archived from the original on August 4, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  11. Grabowski, Dakota (February 8, 2010). "Shiren the Wanderer Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  12. "Shiren the Wanderer Review". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  13. DeVries, Jack (February 9, 2010). "Shiren the Wanderer Review". IGN . Archived from the original on March 1, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  14. "Shiren the Wanderer Review". Nintendo Power . March 2010. p. 91. Retrieved July 11, 2020. Ultimately, your take on this game will depend on whether you see constant setbacks due to horrible flaming death as an irresistible challenge or as a frustrating waste of time.
  15. Goergen, Andy (March 4, 2010). "Shiren the Wanderer". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  16. Wilson, Glenn. "Shiren the Wanderer - Staff Review". RPGamer. Archived from the original on May 11, 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  17. Gann, Patrick (March 25, 2010). "Shiren The Wanderer". RPGFan. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  18. Jenkins, David (June 12, 2008). "PS3 Dragon Ball Z Bursts Into Japanese Charts". Gamasutra.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2009-08-08.