Topic: Mystery Dungeon - Shiren the Wanderer

Can anybody recommend (or not recommend) Mystery Dungeon - Shiren the Wanderer? I see Pixelman is currently playing it. Is anyone else out there playing (or played) this? I'd appreciate some thoughts.

In before Adam.

And yes, buy it now. The Wii version's a lot of fun too, and it's currently marked down $10 on Amazon.

Is it as unforgiving as people say? I saw it used for $6 and figured I couldn't pass it up.

If it's anything like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon (I know they're both the same brand under the same developer and the same engine, so I assume the gameplay is very similar), then yes, they are VERY unforgiving. But levelgrind enough and it shouldn't give you too many problems (asides the occasional cheap shot death)

That depends. If you die you revert to level 1 and go back to the first floor, but then again there are only around 30 floors total in the game. Plus, even if you die you continue to make progress in the game. For instance, certain valuable jars can only be acquired by many deaths, and most of the AI-controlled partners can only be unlocked if you die a few times. (I should also note that if you "die" the game doesn't really think of it as a death. It says something like "You Fell" or "You Collapsed", and then you simply return to the starting village.)

You can also store extra weapons and items in warehouses along the way, which can make your next run a bit easier. It may feel weird and unnatural at first, but if you give it a chance the gameplay will grow on you and you'll appreciate how it's designed. Give it a go!

Thanks Pixel...I will definitely give this a go. How many hours of play time to you estimate that it has?

"Unforgiving" seems somewhat misleading. That's like saying Galaga is unforgiving. For the same reason, it's impossible to answer how many "hours of play time" the game has. I'm sure you can beat it in under an hour. But it'll likely take you countless tries before you accomplish this, if you ever do. The dungeons are randomized to ensure that you will enjoy each fresh attempt for as long as you want.

And like Pix said, the Wii sequel is good, too, though it's very different. It is closer to a JRPG in its attitude toward character death and game progression. There are unlockable dungeons that play like the DS game, but the main dungeons are completed in sequence and allow saving in between, with the goal being primarily to get to the end, which anyone can do with patience.

I have over 11 hours on it right now, and I still haven't beaten it.

Thanks Pixelman, Adam and Raylax. I got it Saturday and I'm quite enjoying it. It's a good combination of relaxation and frustration. A couple hours in and I've died several times (and frustratingly had corrupted save data). It seemed relatively smooth until I hit the Mountain Top Forest area and all of a sudden I was pounded with enemies...and then died.The randomized dungeons does make every run feel fresh though.

Damn this game is not for the easily frustrated. As of last night I was over 8 hours in, leveled up to 16 and was in the Old Mine area. I went around one corner and BAM! I was completely and got pummeled. Now I'm back at the beginning.