Was going to make a post about this, as it wasn't being discussed. Sad times, these games are amazing, but I get it too many are focused on ff7:rebirth, ( a game i won't get for a bit as ff7:remake is still in my backlog. I wasn't feeling it).
I got the game on launch and liked it, but was feeling like it was missing something at first.
The game unlike Shiren 5 tower of fate... which is on the vita and switch, doesn't have a tutorial. In that regard it feels like a throwback to the 1990s era Shiren. At least this game has a manual and notebook , a how to play section, but try getting new comers to read...lol The game is really aimed at existing fans, and I fall squarely in that camp.
It also didn't have challenge dungeons. Shiren 5 had a hut in the first village where you can go in accomplish objectives in practice dungeons, there were a ton of them. Each one finished rewards you with an item in the real world . You could build up a collection of stuff in the warehouse. It also had more advanced dungeons in a different hut. Shiren 6 has none of this. It has a create your own challenge room where you can place items, obstacles and enemies and try out strategies. It sounds good on paper, but it is a lot of setup for something that you will rarely use. The challenge dungeons would of been better and not having them felt like a regression, as Shiren 1 and the ds game both didn't have this stuff.
That being said. I like the art style, music and atmosphere. People will bitch about not having pixel graphics, but who says that is needed. Each Shiren game is its own thing. Trying something new is fine, you don't want the game to look like its predecessor, especially when Shiren 5 was so massive. It needed to set itself apart from that game. Its still in isometric/top down view , and still turn/grid based in dungeons (not in towns/safe areas), so you feel right at home there.
The game is tough. This is not a newbies Shiren. For that I recommend Shiren 5.
My 4th run I lucked out and got a Manji Kabura sword +3 and a Fuuma Shield +2 , after dying for 3 runs straigh in level 1 and 2. I made it all the way up to level 25 with that gear on my 4th run until i was fried to death by a massive Green Dragon. I have yet to get gear that good since, and if I get one I don't get the other to resonate the stats. Thus is the luck of the draw. What i thought was hard in the early levels is damn near crazy in the 20th+ floors. Behemoth monsters that are 9 tiles large and big portals they come throuhg. You beat one and they will spawn a differnet one in a few turns later. These monsters are super tough, but have a weak point , their back or center, but if you don't have a rock , good luck getting back there. In those cases its best to run!
To my surprise there is unlockable dungeons, and paths. The map is interactible and you can go on different paths. There is an online component for rescuing others or have them rescue you when you die. You earn points and bonuses for successful rescues (or just the attempts will net some points) . You can also get new objects, monsters and gear as well as dungeons after beating the main quest.
I have been having a blast with it, but man is it a hard game later on. Super addicting, as Shiren always is Pinacale of mystery dungeon and the best Console Roguelike (not roguelite) series! It has not been surpassed.
