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Official Shiren the Wanderer (Wii) NA Thread

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Volcynika

Member
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Basic Info
Publisher: Atlus USA
Rating: T for Teen
Platform: Wii (and PSP, but unavailable in region outside of JP)
Website: Official Shiren the Wanderer Website
MSRP: $39.99

Story

Our story begins in the captial, where Shiren the Wanderer and his sidekick, Koppa, encounter an old friend. Known as "Sensei," he is both Shiren's uncle and his master, having taught him the way of the blade. Sensei offers Shiren a key that is said to unlock the legendary Karakuri Mansion, a labyrinth of dangerous traps, fell beasts, and treasure untold.

Shiren accepts the key, the wanderlust inside him striking his heart like lightning as he holds it in his hand. But this is only the calm before the storm...
Click to expand...

Features

*Epic adventure in feudal Japan—As the wandering samurai Shiren, you will explore a vision of historic Japan that is beautiful and vibrant. An epic story that begins 1000 years prior takes you through villages and dungeons and places you alongside figures straight out of Japanese mythology.

*Variable challenge—A brand new easy mode lets even newcomers to the genre find a foothold while experienced players will find a more rigorous challenge in Normal mode. Post-game activities will test the most advanced gamer with additional quests, super dungeons, a tournament, and the "ultimate challenge"-the Millennium Dungeon, a pain-staking 1,000 floor dungeon crawl.

*Challenging depth and strategy—Control your time in the dungeons down to the details. Choose direct control over your party members or take advantage of the excellent AI that lets you specify attitude and tendency. Power up equipment through the new Dragon Orb system, and imbue them with special abilities via more than 100 Seals. New Spells allow targeted casting of effects on enemies.
Click to expand...

Release Dates

Japan: June 5th, 2008
North America: February 9th, 2010
Europe: ?????

Box Art

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Images

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Videos

Atlus USA Videos
Trailer
Early Walkthrough Introduction
Face the Bosses Trailer
Click to expand...
IGN Videos (JP version)
GameSpot Videos

Reviews

GameZone: 7.5/10
1UP: B+
IGN: 7/10
GamePro: 4.0/5.0
GamerNode: 7.5/10
Destructoid: 7/10

F.A.Q.

What type of game is this?

It's a roguelike, filled with challenge and dying and all that! You make a move, all the enemies do as well. Plan your strategy and prepare for the unexpected!

But aren't those games really difficult?

Yes, they typically are, but this game is a bit more forgiving and accessible than the typical roguelike. There are two difficulties for the game, Easy and Normal.

Easy - for the more casual approach. If you are killed in battle, you start again with all your items, money, and the level you were at when you last saved.

Normal - the more challenging type. if you die, you lose all items, but come back at the level you were at when you entered the dungeon.

What about the PSP version?

Yes, it's announced/released/etc in Japan. This isn't the thread for the PSP version. So unless you have the game and want to discuss parts of it, don't come into the thread asking about it, since it hasn't been announced for localization.

Does this have online?

Unfortunately, no. Atlus announced a while back this localization will not include the Rescue, Item Transfer, and Versus online features. Although, they will be including the DLC content Japan saw on the disc. They told us this early to give prospective buyers the information they need.
 
Thinking about getting this again. I loved it in Japanese, and I'd like to support Atlus's effort. I hope it does well (but it probably won't).
 
Yeah, this looks awesome!

I'm in a PAL territory and PAL is my main format for gaming. All the same, I'm glad I bought that second-hand NTSC Wii when I had the chance. :D
 
Is the font this game uses built into the Wii or something? Every fucking Wii game (especially those made in Japan) uses it or some even-worse derivative of it.
 
Any idea why the rescue feature was included in the DS game but not this? Since it's hard to believe Sega would cater to Shiren fans better than Atlus should I assume online Wii stuff is harder to manage?
 
Seraphis Cain said:
I'm still not sure what to think about the fact that you keep your level when you die.

That's...that's not Shiren!
Click to expand...
I think it's for the main quest only.

Torneko 3 did this too as did the Wii Chocobo game (though that one is not Chunsoft, it follows the formula).

There should be PLENTY of "start from scratch" dungeons if other recent Mystery Dungeon games are any indication.
 
Princess Skittles said:
I think it's for the main quest only.

Torneko 3 did this too as did the Wii Chocobo game (though that one is not Chunsoft, it follows the formula).

There should be PLENTY of "start from scratch" dungeons if other recent Mystery Dungeon games are any indication.
Click to expand...
There are, and there's one in particular that is very much a traditional Shiren dungeon (no items, solo only, no level retention) that can be played through from just about the very beginning. It starts out just five floors deep, and you unlock additional floors by advancing the main quest.
 
Seraphis Cain said:
I'm still not sure what to think about the fact that you keep your level when you die.

That's...that's not Shiren!
Click to expand...
It's pretty much the only reason I am going to pick this up. The DS Shiren wiping everything was fine because of the way I play portable games, but for a game that I want to sit down and progress through on the couch I'd like a little more forgiveness.
 
2DMention said:
I like how their emails say "this isn't a roguelike" when it clearly is.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's a pretty weird way to market Shiren. Hopefully it sells well anyway, I want the other DS games in english.
 
1) What kind of length can I expect? I'm moderately experienced with the genre...


2) Story, how is it? Also, how prominent is it?


3) Is the music awesome?


4) Are there sidequests/dungeons/extras?
 
Princess Skittles said:
I think it's for the main quest only.

Torneko 3 did this too as did the Wii Chocobo game (though that one is not Chunsoft, it follows the formula).

There should be PLENTY of "start from scratch" dungeons if other recent Mystery Dungeon games are any indication.
Click to expand...

BINGO! There are scads of post story dungeons and many of them do the reset!
 
Just waiting on Amazon to ship and then to enjoy at some point.

So long at Atlus keeps bringing them over proper, insane marketing notions aside, they can call it whatever. :lol
 
Can someone give me a quick crash course in how Shiren plays? And a pro and con list?

It looks interesting, but I don't know a thing about it.

Man, that boxart kicks ass.
 
Mayor Haggar said:
Can someone give me a quick crash course in how Shiren plays? And a pro and con list?

It looks interesting, but I don't know a thing about it.

Man, that boxart kicks ass.
Click to expand...

Basically, think of a floor of a dungeon as a huge grid. Enemies are randomly placed along with items/traps/ and yourself. Every move you make, all the enemies make a move. You use an item, enemies make a move. It's a big room of turns going back and forth, until you find the exit. Of course, once you fight enemies it's trading blows until someone is beaten.

Well, also watch this video. Introduces basics of the game and some characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTKV-Xzn_E
 
Volcynika said:
Basically, think of a floor of a dungeon as a huge grid. Enemies are randomly placed along with items/traps/ and yourself. Every move you make, all the enemies make a move. You use an item, enemies make a move. It's a big room of turns going back and forth, until you find the exit. Of course, once you fight enemies it's trading blows until someone is beaten.

Well, also watch this video. Introduces basics of the game and some characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meTKV-Xzn_E
Click to expand...

Thanks, Volcynika, I've been lurking for a while hoping the moderators would help me update my email address but even after several attempts over many months I'd never heard a word back from them.

Yeah, it's a pretty streamlined/simplistic RPG that often feels a bit more like a boardgame than you standard RPG.

The dungeon layouts tend to have a lot of snaky one space wide hallways so in some ways it feels a bit like a turn based Pac-Man with all sorts of items and bigger variety of ghosts.
 
LordGek said:
Thanks, Volcynika, I've been lurking for a while hoping the moderators would help me update my email address but even after several attempts over many months I'd never heard a word back from them.

Yeah, it's a pretty streamlined/simplistic RPG that often feels a bit more like a boardgame than you standard RPG.

The dungeon layouts tend to have a lot of snaky one space wide hallways so in some ways it feels a bit like a turn based Pac-Man with all sorts of items and bigger variety of ghosts.
Click to expand...

Needs to have WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA sounds for the Pac-Man halls!
 
Volcynika said:
Needs to have WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA sounds for the Pac-Man halls!
Click to expand...

No, I do that myself complete with a DOOOWEEP when I eat a healing herb and then go right in for the kill!
 
Regardless, I'm part of the Amazon crowd, so my copy won't be in my hands until Thursday! So you people that go retail and have it like Wednesday or whatever post some impressions then!
 
I've had my copy pre-ordered for a while. I'm actually pretty stoked about the changes in difficulty. The hardcore roguelike fans will get their "pure" Shiren the Wanderer experience in the post-game, while new comers to the genre will experience a kinder, slightly gentler roguelike in the main campaign.
 
I was thinking of putting this off because of the PSP version, but who knows when or if it is coming here. The DS one was the first game in a long time that made me crave playing it. I can't wait to get the new one.
 
LordGek said:
An extremely retarded marketing ploy.
Click to expand...
Considering how poorly Shiren, and really all non-Pokemon roguelikes sell, I can't really blame them. At least this time they aren't trying to sell the roguelike on titulation alone :lol
 
Urgh! Both my boyfriend's birthday and Katsucon are next weekend, so I'm trying to save money... but I just can't say no to Shiren! What will I do? Just take my wallet now, Atlus.
 
Man, I really wish I could play the Shiren games for the Dreamcast and the N64 :|

ToastyFrog said:
There are, and there's one in particular that is very much a traditional Shiren dungeon (no items, solo only, no level retention) that can be played through from just about the very beginning. It starts out just five floors deep, and you unlock additional floors by advancing the main quest.
Click to expand...

Okay, it's back on my must-buy list :D
 
ToastyFrog said:
There are, and there's one in particular that is very much a traditional Shiren dungeon (no items, solo only, no level retention) that can be played through from just about the very beginning. It starts out just five floors deep, and you unlock additional floors by advancing the main quest.
Click to expand...

Actually you're more than free to bring in items found in the campaign.

Something else kind of interesting is that, unlike most Shiren dungeons where other than really rare artifacts, you could find anything possible in the dungeon on any floor, the Anytime Dungeon's item generation changes with each "set" of levels (i.e. the first 5 levels have pretty craptacular items, besides an occasional re-birth herbs, but then the next 5 levels the gear you might find gets a little better and so on).
 
I am extremely excited about this. Shiren DS was an amazing game. If only Amazon would give me release date shipping for this I want it now :(
 
slayn said:
I am extremely excited about this. Shiren DS was an amazing game. If only Amazon would give me release date shipping for this I want it now :(
Click to expand...

Both EB and Best Buy are claiming a "Ship Out" date of 02/09/10 with it arriving to you personally based on your shipping method.
 
LordGek said:
Actually you're more than free to bring in items found in the campaign.
Click to expand...
Oh, yeah, you're right... not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that, because every time I go into the Portal I end up with a couple of inventory slots taken up by companion gear. Anyway, the Portal is still pretty rad. It's a good traditional sort of roguelike experience vs. the more dungeon-and-boss based design of the core portions of the game.
 
I'm so looking forward to this and I'm sure having already gone through the Japanese version, I'll be able to get through the main story even quicker (It will be nice to actually UNDERSTAND the weird twist and turns the storyline takes this time), but still it feels like having to eat an okay dinner to get to the COOLEST DESSERT EVAR! :lol
 
This might be one of those initially GameStop or EB only releases as Best Buy is selling it online only. I don't think it is that EB has some exclusive on it, it's just that it will probably start off as a very limited run that might expand once some positive buzz builds up.
 
TheLastCandle said:
I'm interested. I'll see what the general feelings of the game are around the web before I jump in, but It's on my radar.
Click to expand...

Good call as I'm an admitted Shiren/Mystery Dungeon fanboy and can't accurately compare it to other RPGs since, if not roguelikes, I don't even bother...and even many of them aren't good enough for my snooty tastes (never bothered with Chocobo Wii).

Something cute and goofy worth discussing is the three characters:

Shiren: Our main guy, able to use almost all shields and weapons in the game. I think he, like his uncle can even dual wield. There are a few two-handed weapons that only Shiren can weild, tending to specialize in big-ass swords.

Sensei: Shiren's Uncle who's big claim to fame is the ability to wield two weapons and is the only one that can wield a few cool status affecting weapons (can confuse, sleep, blind, paralyze, etc.). Although Shiren can also dual wield, Sensei does it better (more accurate and more damage) but all of this cool bad-assedness comes at a pretty big cost since he WILL NOT EVER use a shield.

Asuka: She is the mysterious female mercenary (actually, I never did understand her connection, so now that I can understand the cutscenes I'll find out with the rest of you) who can, much like Shiren, use most weapons and shields. The few weapons she alone can use tend to be two handed pole-arms with powers like being able to hit an opponent two spaces away or a piercing attack that can hit the opponent right in front of you and the one right behind that.
 
I really enjoyed Chocobo Wii. I know they are not exactly the same, but one of the reasons why I am getting Shiren.

Unfortunately my Amazon order doesn't come in until the 12th. :(
 
I wholeheartedly recommend the title =).

Matter of fact, I've been playing this instead of Dante's Inferno and BioShock 2 the past week haha.
 
It's always nice to see reviewers enjoying Mystery Dungeon games. Seems like such a rare occurrence. Shiren 3 is a wonderful game, though.
 
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