LordGek

Any server snooping turn up evidence of any of the Shiren games coming our way?

Something worth noting in Shiren DS, yes your levels are reset every time you re-enter the dungeon, the gameplay and leveling are very streamlined and quick paced. You'll be gaining a new level every couple of minutes if not faster so it is not like many other RPGs where each level is something hard won after hours of effort.

One weird aspect worth noting is how alienating it can feel playing an "obscure" (not one of the big AAA titles practically guaranteed to be ported over into English soon enough) import game. I imported Shiren 3 recently on the Wii and while I was able to fumble through easily enough by my knowledge of the previous Shiren games and some poorly auto web translated Japanese FAQs, I have yet to many other English speaking importers of the game. So as it stands I have nobody to swap tactics or tales with about this game since I don't speak or read Japanese.

I'm ALL ABOUT the Roguelikes! Rogue and Nethack were among my all time favorite PC games. While there have been many console attempts at this genre, I think the Shiren and Torneko series of Mystery Dungeon games have the balance right. The original Izuna had me hooked but then left me kind of cold once I finally cleared it. I seriously think my BIGGEST gripe with the game was the lack of a high score board (plus the fact that the majority of the game was played with persistent character levels). When I saw they added one in Izuna 2 it was enough for me to give the series another chance (I just want to hurry up through the main story to get to the level resetting 99 floor dungeon at the end).

In games like Shiren or Torneko my favorite dungeons are the big 99 floor level resetting dungeons in which you can't bring in any equipment. While very luck dependent, they just feel like the ultimate game of solitaire where you have to make the best out of EVERYTHING you find. While the "Uber Gear Dungeons" (you don't have a chance unless you bring along all of your most buffed equipment) are entertaining, I found all of the needed preparation to make a viable run tedious. Added to that, there is nothing more "Inductive to DS Tossing" than preparing 8 hours for a run to then lose everything after one wrong move 15 minutes into your run.

You share inventory so if he burns your Kikan...it's also the one your partner was counting on as well. I guess it's kind of harsh that even with the two of you sharing the pack, you can STILL only carry 20 items (at least the missiles stack together).

While they make a lot of indirect references to breasts all through the game, it really is a pretty decent roguelike underneath. The marketing is much raunchier than the game itself.

Yes and no! Shiren the Wanderer is one of my absolute favorite games in the world but it is definitely one of those games people either love or hate.

Know right off the bat that the "lose everything and get your level reset to 1 when you die or leave a dungeon" will frustrate the fark out of you at first! After a while, however (maybe a good 20x deaths) it will all start making more sense and while you'll still die a lot you'll get a little further on each run on average as you get the game's mechanics down.

I have to second the reviewer, it's no Shiren the Wanderer but still a decent semi-challenging roguelike worth a check-out.

Well at least ONE of the post story dungeons is Izuna 2's take on Shiren's "Fay's Final Puzzle" (you enter the dungeon naked, level 1, and have to fight your way through 99 levels of a dungeon with no access to town...but then again you'll have a tag partner).

It is ALL ABOUT Shiren 3, Baby!