Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate Reviews
Shiren the Wanderer - The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is amazing. It’s hard, it’s challenging, it’s a Roguelike. While there are many features present in order to help out Shiren and Koppa, none of it matters if fate has other plans. Careful consideration of actions is just as important as making proper preparations but above all else, it’s ok to run away sometimes in order to come back with better equipment and beat the crap out of whatever made you run away in the first place.
Shiren is not for everyone. Anyone craving an accessible or user-friendly RPG need not apply. Fans of challenging rogue-likes, however, should snatch the game up immediately.
Shiren the Wanderer may have a long subtitle, but it’s the smallest nitpick I could provide of this otherwise fantastic rogue-like. It’s the proper way to reintroduce the lesser classics to a new audience, and in a way that everybody’s familiar with. There’s no hardcore pandering here, just good plain fun.
If you have casual experience with the mystery dungeon genre and desire more from it, I wholeheartedly recommend Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate. Once you let it in and embrace it, this adventure will pull you in with its endless replayability, stark gameplay depth, and charm. If you grow easily frustrated, however, and find yourself feeling disheartened by losing resources and progress quite significantly, a different mystery dungeon title will more than likely be your cup of tea.
As is, there’s a good time to be had with Shiren the Wanderer. I enjoyed it for what it is, but I feel the cons here are too strong. If I weren’t reviewing this, I’d have jumped out after my second lock-up. At the same time, I think if the A.I. was fixed and clearer instructions are given in regards to the secret pots, this could be a recommendation.
It is a tight package bursting at the seams with loads of content, but it is also a game that asks the player to be in a certain frame of mind, one in which losses aren’t regarded as just a waste of time but opportunities to learn for the sake of future success.
I have a suspicion that it isn’t a game that will click with everybody. This includes people who would love it but might be turned away by the first few punishing hours. For that reason, it could be an easy game to miss. The franchise also struggles for visibility in the West, which doesn’t help matters at all. If you’ve enjoyed Mystery Dungeon games before, this is a game worth looking into.
Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate isn’t a bad game, but the fact that there exist other Mystery Dungeon, more enjoyable (in my opinion, anyway), games made by the same developer certainly works against it. If you enjoy brutally difficult dungeon-crawlers that offer a selection of extremely lengthy dungeons that pull no punches, then, by all means, this game is for you. However, for those wanting something more varied, I might suggest some of Spike Chunsoft’s other Mystery Dungeon titles.
Shiren The Wanderer is not exactly relaxing, on the contrary: the game is intense and cerebral, like a chess game in many moments. In addition, there is not much to explore beyond its main purpose: constant adventures in dungeons generated in a procedural way. However, this is not exactly a problem. The gameplay of the game is its strong point and, within the specific subgenre of the Mystery Dungeons, it delivers an almost perfect experience.
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Unfortunately the timing of its release couldn’t be worse. With the runaway success of Hades still fresh on the minds of Switch owners, the classic mystery dungeon crawling of Shiren comes off feeling much more older than it actually is.
Overall, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a great roguelike, albeit a rather tough roguelike. There is plenty of variety to be had, and the difficulty isn't artificial. With a wide breadth of items and effects to manage, some fun mini games, and stages that don't drag on too long, Shiren is definitely a really fun roguelike for those familiar with the genre. Those new to the scene may be in for a bit of a challenge though, as Shiren doesn't pull many punches. So buckle up and try to change the fate of a poor village girl in this title that rolled rather well on the old D10.
For fans of both the series and the genre, this game is not a disappointment even with its seemingly hefty $39.99 price tag. Randomly generated dungeons, loveable (though shallow) characters, various minigames, and seemingly endless replayability make this a title that should find its home in your Vita library at one time or another. If you’re a gamer that craves a challenge, or someone that might even be new to the risk-it-all gameplay style of roguelikes, this is equally a great game to find yourself at home or find your footing in. Although the game is not perfect, it works in short five to ten-minute gaming spurts but could also hold you down for a few hours on end as you struggle to beat just one more floor.
Shiren’s debut on the Nintendo Switch would be rather impressive if it wasn’t for one concerning issue.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a shining example of how great the Mystery Dungeon series can be.
While every defeat is crushing, each victory is absolutely invigorating. The promise of such satisfaction upon reaching the end of a dungeon drives you to press onward
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate sticks to the roots of the rogue-like genre completely. It is no-nonsense, and gets to the action right away, and, from managing the depleting health, the random floors, and ever present death wipe-out, fans will feel right at home. It does not do anything new to soften the blow for players that are not familiar with the genre, and for that reason will only have a niche appeal. However, those that do enjoy all this will find it to be an above average romp which will give them many hours of enjoyment trying to beat it.
Shiren the Wanderer is one of the finest rogue-like mystery dungeon game in recent years. It features a challenging difficulty but with an addicting gameplay that results in the players spending countless hours in the game trying to get the best loot.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate does an incredible job at showing where the roguelike genre started. Fans of this series and its 'all or nothing' gameplay will adore this port and all its new content. However, players new to this genre or this series will find very little good here. There has been no effort to reach out to a wider audience or bring this game forward to a level of modern quality. Although it is still the Shiren the Wanderer that fans know andlove, it is more than obvious that this is a game stuck in time.
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate was excellent on PlayStation Vita, and it remains excellent on Nintendo Switch. There are a lot of roguelikes available on this console at this point, but there's something about the classical elegance and adherence to genre tradition that makes Shiren the Wanderer appealing. It's a little like how some people still love the sound and experience of vinyl records, really. You're not going to be blown away by innovation with this game, but you may well find yourself in love with its sincerity and near-perfect refinement.