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Best roguelike on the DS - New official thread of you will buy Shiren DS

larvi

Member
Still not sure on this one, it looks generic as heck from the ads and the cover. They've got some Far East looking guy, with a middle eastern exotic dancer on the cover trekking through dungeons in South America. WTF? I did like PMD quite a bit though and Izuna not as much. But I tended to like the pokemon hooks that were incorporated in PMD as a way to keep it interesting. I've maybe played too many games of rouge/nethack and clones back in my Vax and early PC days to get excited about another one.
 

Ilchymis

Member
I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers/RPGs with no real town interface, but this does look fun. Is it just another "progress on the grid to the next dungeon" games, or is there actual exploration?
 

satori

Member
GOD DAMNNIT!

I need to stop coming to GAF. The heads up from BOGO deals, to gaming deals, and new games I have no idea about is destroying my wallet....

But alas...another game that I will buy and have no time to play.

Thank you OP...Thank you very much....@ss!
 

mrbagdt

Member
this game is giving me a 'it looks so bad it must be good' feel

and this thread furthers that feeling. i love it!
 

Diseased Yak

Gold Member
Just posting to join the group of people that dark steve has convinced to buy this game with his killer posts. Besides the ads in Nintendo Power, I've had no exposure to this game until today, and now I'm buying 3 games tomorrow instead of 2.
 

LordGek

Member
Ilchymis said:
I'm not a big fan of dungeon crawlers/RPGs with no real town interface, but this does look fun. Is it just another "progress on the grid to the next dungeon" games, or is there actual exploration?

The game's dungeon levels are all randomized BUT your path through the levels/stages is very linear (the first through fourth levels are of a forest theme, then you hit your first town). I think the biggest "exploration" aspect is that you really want to explore each level fully to find all of the items (unlike PMD, your very life depends on clever use of your items and, unless running from a major baddy or starving, you'd be a fool to leave a level before you've fully uncovered every room).
 

so1337

Member
OP, you're a phenomena...You just made me want to buy this game even though I'd rather go to then dentist and have my teeth removed than play an RPG let alone a dungeon crawler. Good job.
 

Ranger X

Member
Guys you're giving me a tuff time skipping this game. I'm supposed to skip this and Chains of Olympus because a surprise NIN album just came out and took my monies.
 

Davidion

Member
Ranger X said:
Guys you're giving me a tuff time skipping this game. I'm supposed to skip this and Chains of Olympus because a surprise NIN album just came out and took my monies.

If you're that broke, just listen to it on the website. :lol
 

Ranger X

Member
Davidion said:
If you're that broke, just listen to it on the website. :lol

:lol I could buy both it's just that i need to cut somewhere at some point. There's a certain amount of money i'm willing to spend every month and i'm spending alot in videogames already. If i'm not reasonably giving myself limits on spending i will continue until i use my food money.
And well, NIN is in priority any videogame that isn't something truly major like GTA4, MGS4 or GT5.
 
I've only pre-ordered three games in my life: Wind Waker for the bonus disk, Resident Evil 4, and a just a few days ago, Shiren the Wanderer.

This game is that awesome.
 

jasonng

Member
If FFCC:ROF wasn't coming next week, I would've gave this game a spin. Really, the US artcover bothers me greatly.
 

Draft

Member
If Condemned 2 weren't coming out next week, and then Ninja Gaiden: DS in a week after that, I would be picking up this game, based solely on the OPs feverish testament to its quality. As it is, it's found its way onto the mental list of games I will pick up when I've got a free day or two.

Good job, OP.
 
The N64 sequel is much better IMO.

You get to choose from different difficulty by going into different dungeons. The game doesn't force you into a long trip without saving (at least that's how it was in the SNES version). You get to build a castle. The game's plot -- despite being in Japanese -- was easy to understand. I don't even think there was much of a plot in the first game.
 

JKBii

Member
I'm tight on cash now. I think I'll just wait for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicals: Ring of Fates instead.
 

Teknoman

Member
Draft said:
If Condemned 2 weren't coming out next week, and then Ninja Gaiden: DS in a week after that, I would be picking up this game, based solely on the OPs feverish testament to its quality. As it is, it's found its way onto the mental list of games I will pick up when I've got a free day or two.

Good job, OP.

Same here. Too much stuff coming out this month. Already getting Brawl, definatly purchasing God of War, now i've gotta choose between this, Crisis Core, House of the Dead 2+3, and Rings of Fate.

Might have to just wait for the Wii game or wait later on to pick up the DS game.
 

FoxSpirit

Junior Member
Can somebody but up a very high quality scan of the Japanese cover so I can swap this for the terrible US one?
 

gimz

Member
release date and how long is this game?
i'm looking to buy a new DS game to play on the plane

was thinking of Advance Wars, but if its good then i might give it a go
 

Jenga

Banned
gimz said:
release date and how long is this game?
i'm looking to buy a new DS game to play on the plane

was thinking of Advance Wars, but if its good then i might give it a go
The 4th according to Gamestop. Considering picking it up myself.
 

Teknoman

Member
gimz said:
was thinking of Advance Wars, but if its good then i might give it a go

This too. I think I just need to put a blinder on myself when it comes to handheld kick ass games. I still need to full beat Castlevania DX Chronicles (all 3 games), Disgaea Afternoon of Darkness, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Megaman ZX Advent.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
I'm gonna buy this game because of your impassioned OP and your linkage of sp0rsk's approval. I stopped reading there for fear of spoilers. This better be good.
 

Mistouze

user-friendly man-cashews
Remember reading an article about the Snes version as a kid in a magazine. Will buy it to discover what this "roguelike" stuff is all about.

Etrian Odyssey might want to have a word with you but I'll try out this game first...

No EU release date I guess? I get shivers at the thought of owning a box with this artwork on it...

Segata Sanshiro said:
I endorse this thread.

OK, I'll just STFU and give my money to SEGA.
 
Haunted One said:
Great thread.


Although the US cover is one of the worst I've ever seen, especially considering the original.

610jTpo6PwL._SS500_.jpg
Holy crap, that's terrible.
 

Jenga

Banned
Hey so, any info how well stocked places like Gamestop will be with the game? I don't want it to be like your typical Atlus release where you'll be lucky if they get a copy at all.
 

LordGek

Member
Aeana said:
It was on Dreamcast.

That DC version was also made into a PC game and, I think, is what the Shiren 3 game is more closely based on (and not that silly castle building game on N64).
 

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
You just managed to convience me to buy it...and I didn't even know it existed till this thread:lol
 

LordGek

Member
Buy the game and have fun ceremoniously burning the box!

It is some stupid box art but, other than not being a nice addition to your game box library, who cares?
 

bounchfx

Member
pretty sure this isn't going to be anywhere near as good as you are hyping it, but i'll give it a try.

I mean, I like the picture. which has a squirrel and boobs. and I like squirrels.
 
Teknoman said:
I have one question: How is the music?

The music is by KOICHI SUGIYAMA, who you may know for his work on Dragon Quest. However, where you mostly hear orchestral-style, very cinematic music in that series, the Shiren series focuses on simple and catchy melodies with a very charming selection of eastern instrumentation and melodies. Unfortunately, no "proper" original soundtrack was ever released for the game, but I hope to have some recordings of the music up within the next few days.

gimz said:
how long is this game?

The length is one of the secret strengths that many people will wrongly see as a weakness.

The could technically be completed in an hour to an hour and a half on a first play through, but in reality, this is absurdly unlikely. When I said "arcade-like", I meant it - this game is meant to be played and replayed until you master it.

That's not to say you're going to do the same thing over and over - far from it. The randomized elements are there so that you keep running into new, different scenarios each time you reattempt the game. And while the game resets your inventory and level when you die (like a regular roguelike), you will always make progress. At first, the progress you make will simply be learning what to do when faced with different situations, but as you get further in the game, you'll be able to start storing and moving items between rest spots in the main dungeon, allowing you to build up reserves for your "serious" runs. You will also start gaining other advantages from story events...

Think of it like Diablo....when was the last time you played a Diablo II act from start to finish without dying once? But unlike the somewhat mindless (if addictive) combat of Blizzard's game, the battles in Shiren are almost like those of a strategy game - even if things seem helpless, you likely have many options available to you, and the whole point of the death-and-rebirth process is so that you learn when these options are available and when to use them.

Death is a natural and important part of the Shiren gameplay experience. Death is never the end of the game. Death is never a point of no return. The game never puts you into an unwinnable situation. You will always return to the start, wiser and more wary for the mistakes (and, rarely, bad luck) which led to your demise.

I estimate that the main dungeon will take you anywhere from four to ten hours to finish, and there are a handful of interesting secret dungeons that take advantage of the game's gameplay mechanics. One, for example, is completely centered around transforming into monsters and using their special skills. Another is based completely on finding traps and luring monsters into them (in this dungeon, it's the only way to level up!). And of course, there's the obligatory final dungeon that will test your very soul.

So, yeah - I'd say that this is at least a game worth ten hours of gameplay, and if you want to master it, many more.

man, I think I'm running out of bold...
 

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Koichi Sugiyama!? I never knew that. Has he always been involved with the series?

Wow, this thread's really taken off. Why was the other one locked? Just because it was a lame official thread?
 
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