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 ranked in the 71st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Jul 27, 2016

This may be an entry in a highly specialized and generally unfriendly genre, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a better example of the type. Heartless, demanding, infuriating, yet seemingly boundless in the depth of its content and mechanics, the latest Shiren the Wanderer adventure wraps taxing game design in just-one-more replay appeal. Think of it as the Wolverine of console roguelikes: It's the best there is at what it does, and what it does isn't very nice.

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90%
Aug 14, 2016

One of the best games you can own on the Vita.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 6, 2016

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is a must buy for roguelike fans that own a Vita.

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4.5 / 5.0
Jul 31, 2016

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is one of those games that has a built-in audience.

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9 / 10
Aug 10, 2016

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.

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Dec 1, 2020

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.

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8.8 / 10.0
Aug 9, 2016

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Aug 23, 2016

Shiren The Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is one of the best roguelikes available on any platform and it happens to have some of the best pixel art I’ve seen in a long time.

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8.5 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2020

A thoughtful and rewarding classic Roguelike, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is incredibly satisfying if you put the time into it.

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85 / 100
Jul 28, 2016

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is an old school roguelike JRPG with a ton of replayability and a great visual style.  With its randomized levels, densely related mechanics, and deceptively simple combat, it’s a game that still manages to be fun even twenty hours in.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 30, 2020

I have a real feeling of regret knowing there is a lot of content here that I will never see. There are numerous aspects of Shiren the Wanderer that I couldn't find a way to jam into this review like how allies function, the over 100 optional sokoban puzzles, the Minesweeper-like dungeon, creating new items at the Tanuki lottery house, fusing items together for new effects, and much more. For anyone wanting to dive into a game with real depth, this is a great one.

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8.5 / 10.0
Dec 20, 2020

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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8.5 / 10.0
Jul 28, 2016

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.

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8.3 / 10.0
Aug 1, 2016

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.

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8 / 10.0
Aug 14, 2016

Though I wouldn't consider it the best entry in the series, I absolutely enjoyed my time with Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate. It's a beautiful, challenging quest with a pleasing soundtrack I wouldn't mind having in my iTunes. With all the love I have for it in mind, I don’t know if I can recommend the game to anyone who isn’t already familiar with the series. Even if you’ve played the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spin-offs, this is another beast entirely. It’s a game you can play for 20 hours and feel like you didn’t make any progress at all. That’s a type of punishment some gamers just can’t handle. For me, it’s a type of punishment I can’t get enough of.

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Wccftech
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jul 28, 2016

For those willing to put their life on the line and set foot in the mysterious dungeons, Shiren the Wanderer marks one of the finest entries to date.

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4 / 5.0
Jul 27, 2016

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate is an excellent starting point for players looking to get into rogue-likes. Its grueling difficulty combined with the satisfying gameplay hook loop of failing and getting up to fail again is addicting (oddly enough).

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8 / 10.0
Jul 27, 2016

Been yearning for something a little more challenging and unforgiving than usual? Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate might just satisfy your craving. Polishing up the Mystery Dungeon formula, Spike Chunsoft’s latest entry in the roguelike series has all the procedurally-generated dungeons, randomly-dropped loot and tough monsters you could ask for. You might not want to play it for long sessions, but that makes its place on Sony’s portable all the more appropriate, and the appealing simplicity of its game design makes it perfect to pop out whenever you’ve got some free time.

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8 / 10.0
Jul 30, 2016

Thanks to a dynamic and challenging play experience, there are plenty of reasons to get back up after you meet your untimely end in Shiren the Wanderer. Fans of this genre know exactly what they’re getting into and fans of RPGs in general may find the formula fresh, fast, easy to pick up and exciting to play. The lack of online support may render the co-op useless for many, but even without it the game’s rather enjoyable.

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4 / 5.0
Sep 8, 2016

“Shiren the Wanderer: Tower of Fortune and Dice of Fate,” is a classic either-or proposition. You either get it or you don’t, with rarely any middle ground in between. Folks who don’t like retro roguelike gameplay will find the dungeon crawling tedious, outdated and unforgiving. Gamers who appreciate old-school roguelikes, however, will love its sprite art and the diverse challenge the game provides. If you have a soft spot for classic dungeon crawling, you’ll be quite pleased after rolling the dice on Shiren.

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