. Publisher: SEGA – Rated: E for Everyone – Platform: DS .
Press Start:
Table Mountain looms in the distance as Shiren, Wanderer of a thousand wanderings, begins his quest for the Lair of the Golden Condor. Time and time again Shiren has undertaken this epic quest; time and time again Shiren has met a tragic fate. However, the desire to seek the mythic treasure of El Dorado and the silent encouragement from Shiren’s pet weasel, Koppa, push him onward.
Based on an ancient ASCII RPG entitled Rouge, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer is a turn-based action-RPG set in the lands of some generic Japanese landscape. Featuring randomly generated dungeons and a death penalty that restarts the game at level one, Shiren the Wanderer is truly a game for the hardcore.
Worldview:
According to Shijima the Wanderer, whom Shiren meets on The Old Cedar Road, polytheism dominates the world of the Wanderers: “Kron, the god of travel is one of the eight beast gods of Riva. We Wanderers are subject to the winds of the god Kron. If we stay in one place too long, a sudden wind will blow…The wind is a message from Kron, a reminder of our destiny to keep moving.”
In the End:
Villagers in the town of Canyon Hamlet have lost count of how many Wanderers have attempted to reach the top of Table Mountain. As of this review, Shiren has attempted to reach Table Mountain twenty-six times. Now I have heard that attempting the same thing multiple times expecting a different result is insane, but what if the next time I play I actually beat the game? Such questions will no doubt haunt me but enough is enough.
Level of Impact:
High: If your a gamer that enjoys torturing yourself to perfection, this this game could be your next addiction.
Low: To all others, the hardcore difficulty level will make you want to avoid this game.
JohnnyBGamer 