Shiren the Wanderer is a game franchise with a long and enduring legacy that often goes unrecognized. A contributing factor to this is that most of the titles stayed in Japan. Still, anyone familiar with its gameplay might notice that it’s had many crossovers and has inspired many other “Mystery Dungeon” games.
Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and even Pokemon have dabbled in a Shiren crossover several times, but why? These kinds of NetHack-esque, turn-based dungeon crawlers are usually extremely difficult and rely more on the player being lucky than being skilled. Yet, the thrill of the game is largely due to the utter surrender to chaos and chance.
This is a very specific kind of game that caters to a type of gamer who desires an experience that focuses on raw tension and reasoning. As the sixth mainline entry in the series, what can players expect? Find out in this Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review!
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: February 27, 2024
Price: $59.99 USD
Roguelike games are an acquired taste. Most of the time, general audiences will be completely turned off at the prospect of the unbearable stress of losing all progress and starting from square one. Other times, gamers just can’t abide by a game with rules that are based mostly on pure luck.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is a game that demands the user to abandon all hope and throw caution to the wind. This is as pure of a roguelike as it gets. Most indie games that rely on rogue elements lack the brazen conviction to go full rogue, but Shiren goes all in like some kind of roided-up Napoleon Bonaparte on an acid frenzy.
The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island‘s rules and systems are simple yet deep. Each map is randomly generated and movement is tile-based and turn-based. For every step or attack Shiren makes, every freak in the dungeon makes a move as well. On top of this rigid but fair system is a hunger gauge that looms over the player like a sword of Damocles that can kill faster than a roaming tiger demon.
The story is largely inconsequential. All you need to know is Shiren is a wandering ronin who lost his memory and that his cute animal mascot buddy will do most of the talking. They had a run-in with a big nasty demon and the duo wants to get payback for a hellish beat-down.
The heroes meet a few recurring characters along the way, but they mostly serve as window-dressing. Most cutscenes are comedic and the game never takes itself seriously, although the humor does fall flat and is rarely laugh-out-loud funny. Most scenes are very typical oafish shenanigans and boobery with over-the-top writing and larger-than-life character designs.
The real reason why you’re playing The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is for the white-knuckle stress while trying to get to the 31st floor. This can either be utterly impossible or the easiest game you’ve ever played and it all comes down to how lucky you are. It is not uncommon for Shiren to be completely melted by the first enemy you encounter on the first floor, many times in a row.
A major pillar of Serpentcoil Island is inventory management and the tension of the tug-of-war greed the players will wrestle with themselves. Sticking around to find more items or grind levels is a risk that could leave Shiren starving to death and wasting time, but pressing on the moment you find the stairs can easily lead you unprepared or hopelessly weak in the maw of a blood-thirsty behemoth.
Weighing these actions is everything. If providence smiles upon you, Shiren will find salvation with some decent gear or finite-use magic scrolls. Other times, you might find yourself backed into a corner and may have a brilliant eureka moment when you discover you can use your rotten food as a weapon. Sometimes, cheesing a skeleton warrior is the only option in a rough part of the hood in Serpentcoil.
This game will consistently test your stamina and sanity, pushing your buttons and making you curse the names of the developers. Dying will boot Shiren back to the starting village with everything gone and back to level one. The only way to save any piece of equipment is to find a specific NPC who will transport it back to the town. The problem is that their appearance is random and most of the time they show up when you don’t need them.
The Shiren experience can be thrilling and will make your blood boil. At the very least, you won’t be bored and you will feel something, even if it’s the sting of failure and the game not respecting your time. Serpentcoil Island does have some new features for the series that range from helpful to useless. The live-display is a picture-in-picture mode that shows a lot of information all at once which can be helpful at the cost of a clean screen.
The new rescue feature is very helpful in situations where you can request another player to save you if you die. This also works the other way around and is a chance to net aid points for buying boosts. This is great if you have internet, but if you don’t you can still save yourself which isn’t as useful as you’d think.
Saving yourself is ultimately a waste if you die because you don’t earn aid points at all when saving yourself. Saving other players earns points even if you fail so it is always a preferred option to help someone out or to let them save you (however long that may be).
The best moments of Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is when you are barely making it by the skin of your teeth and your luck turns around because you found exactly what you need. The core gameplay mechanics work as you would expect for a mystery dungeon game and even when you get to the bottom floor and beat the final boss, you’re still not done.
The main story is merely the coming attractions. The post-game dungeons are the feature presentation with 99 floors to clear. Despite the wealth of content, the asking price feels like a lot for a game that is mostly randomized assets with no direction, simple mechanics, or an emotional hook to latch onto.
If you are already a fan of mystery dungeons or hardcore roguelike nightmares, you’re going to have a lot of fun. If the prospect of luck-based scenarios and cruel difficulty seem unappealing, then Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island will give you a thousand-yard stare. This is not for the faint of heart and demands only gamers with steely resolve, patience, and a bit of luck.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided by Spike Chunsoft. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is now available for Nintendo Switch.
