Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - DS

I love mystery dungeon games, with Shiren the Wanderer being a particular favourite. However, this latest addition to the Pokemon series doesn't come close and is remarkably similar to last year's Explorers of Time/Darkness. 

Taking control of a Pokemon of your choice, the player wades into a series of randomly generated dungeons, seeking out special objects and defeating evil pocket monsters. It's presented well, but aside from a couple of new features, Explorers of Sky is virtually identical to the last two DS games.

A real shame and a wasted opportunity to broaden this type of game's appeal. If you are interested in mystery dungeon titles, track down a copy of Shiren - it's a far more rewarding game, packs a challenge and has a huge amount of replayability. Alternatively, pick up a copy of Chocobo's Dungeon on Wii. Both these games leave Explorers of Sky in their dust. One for Pokemon diehards only - and it might just be heavy going for them, too.

Epic Dungeon - 360

This indie developed dungeon crawler by Eyehook was released last month but it deserves a mention here as it’s magnificent.

Taking inspiration from classics such as Rogue, Angband and Shiren The Wanderer, Epic Dungeon is a game of survival where one false move will cost you dearly.

Like the above mentioned games, death in Epic Dungeon is permanent. When you die there’s no going back to a previous save - you have to start the adventure from scratch. But before you dismiss this gameplay quirk, it’s worth noting that Roguelikes offer a depth of experience sadly absent from many big-budget titles.

Moves and routes through levels must be carefully planned and luck also plays its part. Unlike traditional Roguelikes, Epic Dungeon doesn’t favour turn-based moves. Instead, the action is constant, with the player always under threat from rats, witches, orcs and goblins.

New weapons, armour and items are scattered throughout the game’s randomly generated levels, so no two games are ever the same.

Epic Dungeon also gives a nod to old Choose Your own Adventure books by giving the player decisions to make as they progress - will you join in a drunken sing-song with a bunch of wart-covered orcs, or will you wade in with your sharpened blade instead?

With a choice of three classes, various skill ups to choose from and bags of replay value, Epic Dungeon is not to be missed. It also only costs 80 Microsoft points - less than a bar of chocolate, so there’s no excuse not to give it a try.

Shiren The Wanderer 3 Portable - PSP

With America due to get Shiren The Wanderer 3 on Wii in the next week or so, I've been insanely jealous. After all, no European publisher has picked Shiren's latest adventure up, which is a bloody disgrace if you ask me.

So, I've plumped for the next best thing - Shiren The Wanderer 3 Portable on PSP. I ordered it last week from Japan and it arrived this morning. I've put around five hours in today and it's wonderful stuff.

Shiren's first outing on PSP is a port of the Wii version, although I understand there's a handful of extra dungeons - too early to say for sure, as I'm still fighting my way through the game's early levels.

The biggest difference with Shiren 3 over the last two outings is Chun Soft have made the game more accessible to newcomers. The player has the option of two difficulty settings. Easy allows you to keep all your items and level when you die, while normal strips you of your items when you kick the bucket, but your level remains.

It's a radical departure for a series which is famous for being a ruthless challenge. Of course, I've plumped for the normal setting, as one of Shiren's charms has always been the fear factor.

Like Shiren 2 on DS, Shiren 3 features a hub town. Although I've had a nose about, I haven't come across much to do in the town yet. There's a warehouse, a bank and a merchant but little else. Of course, I'm sure more will open up as progress is made.

My first game ended when I starved to death - there doesn't seem to be a place in town where I can buy riceballs, so that was fun! Nice to see some things never change :)

I've also discovered there is a 1000 floor dungeon - although again I will need to clarify.

The language barrier is throwing up a few problems as far as the story goes, although thanks to the Shiren 3 Wiki, I can at least identify items.

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that a company such as Rising Star pick the Wii version up and release it in Europe. Considering the amount of sub-standard software sitting on store shelves, it would be a crime if a quality title such as this didn't make it to Europe.

I'll post back when I discover new things.

Shiren the Wanderer 4 - DS

Sporting a new day/night system and a tropical island setting, forthcoming Shiren the Wanderer 4 is at least trying to add something new to the dungeon crawling formula.

As a huge fan of Shiren's previous outings, I can't wait to play Shiren 4. However, like Shiren 3 on Wii, there is no word of a European release.

Fingers crossed someone like Rising Star Games takes a punt on these two titles and brings them over here. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of Shiren and Koppa's latest adventure.

Shiren the Wanderer 3 - Wii

Regular readers will be well aware of my love of Shiren the Wanderer. The hardy Samurai's adventures on DS have provided some of the most thrilling gaming experiences I've ever had.

Now, hot from the E3 showfloor, word has reached me that Shiren the Wanderer 3 on Wii is heading to the US early next year.

Atlus picked up the rights to translate and publish the game in North America, and I can only hope and pray that a European-based publisher such as Rising Star take a chance on this excellent title.

Featuring more random dungeons, brand new ways to die (!) and a new roster of imaginative enemies, Shiren 3 looks wonderful. Anyone who has taken the magnificent Chocobo's Dungeon on Wii for a spin will be hoping Shiren 3 makes it to these shores.

Here's my take on Shiren's original adventure on DS, and some thoughts about Shiren 2, also on DS.

Check out this vid to whet your appetite.

Shiren the Wanderer 2 - DS: More discoveries

Since yesterday I've put another three hours or so into our hardy samurai's adventure, so I though I'd post some more of my findings.

One of the big differences this time is that there only seems to be one village. Every time you clear a dungeon you come back to the starting village with all your items and money.

In town, many of the features will be familiar to Shiren players. You can upgrade weapons at the blacksmiths, visit the store to buy new items and equipment and you can also store all your valuables, safe from the dangers of the dungeons.

Shiren and Koppa at the village inn

However, there are a couple of new features in town. The first is a bank, which is an incredibly useful addition. Now you can save up for the more expensive items. The storekeeper is currently selling a sword for 15,000 gitans and it has an attack of 20 - very nice.

The second new feature is the arena. Here, you can beef yourself up before heading into the dungeon. The time you can spend here is limited, but when you first go in you can get to lvl 4/5 before the clock runs down. After your initial visit, it costs money to enter. The amount increases every time by 200 gitans, but it's definitely worth the cash

There are plenty of new items to be found when in the dungeon. Along with the warp scroll I mentioned before, there is also the wonderful Resurrection Scroll. If you are carrying this in your inventory, you'll be brought back to life on the same spot you died. I've only found one so far, so I assume they are quite rare.

Shiren reads a powerful scroll

Another interesting new feature is that if you equip a similar type of sword and shield, you receive a boost to your stats. I equipped a wooden club and a wooden shield on my travels. Along with getting the usual defensive boost from the shield, it also increased my attack from 2 to 5.

Some enemies will now turn into a trap when killed, which can be a pain, especially if you've killed them in a narrow corridor.

I've also noticed a lot of armbands lying around. However, be warned, armbands can now break, so enjoy them while they last. In the original Shiren on DS, I found a Happy Armband which granted you the ability to level up as you walked. Now, though, even if you have a fantastic armband, it will break, so you can no longer rely on them to see you through the whole game.

Pekeji - the fat one - returns

The most interesting one I've found so far is the No Hunger Armband. As you would expect, when wearing this little beauty, your hunger bar will not drop - very useful if you're out of rice balls.

Best item I've found so far is a Demon Shield. This has a defensive base stat of 14 and looks the business. It has a suitably ugly face, complete with red, lolling tongue!

Absolutely loving this, and although identifying items in Japanese is almost impossible, I've found a rough guide which translates a lot of the items. At least now I can tell the difference between a Herb of Confusion and a Medicinal Herb!

Also, take a look at the cover art. Absolutely brilliant, and a thousand times better than the western release of Shiren 1 on DS. All we need now is for Sega to translate Shiren 2 into English and release it over here soon.

There's also no word of a European release of Shiren 3 on Wii. It's been out in Japan for some time, but I doubt it will ever come out here. Rising Star games have been doing a sterling job releasing Japanese games in the West...I wonder if they would consider picking up Shiren on Wii... I can only hope.

Shiren the Wanderer 2 - DS

This morning, Shiren the Wanderer 2 on DS (Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren DS 2 - Sabaku no Majou) dropped through my letterbox from Japan and I've put around an hour into it, so time for a few first impressions.

The first thing you'll notice is that this is much more story driven than the last game. The graphics have been polished up, and Shiren, the backgrounds and the monsters all have more detail.



The game starts with Shiren and his trusty sidekick Koppa wandering across the desert, when, crippled by fatigue, Shiren collapses. He is then found by guards and taken to a fortress in the sands, where he and Koppa are chained in a cell.

A princess then appears through a secret entrance, unlocks their shackles and flees.

Shiren is in the cells on the 6th floor and has to get to the first floor to escape. Without any items in his inventory, this series of dungeons involves a chasing pack of guards. Diagonal movement and careful avoidance of traps is key to getting out.

This serves as a brief tutorial about movement and, if you're careful, you'll escape from the fortress easily.



Then it's on to a nearby village, where Shiren meets up with his fat old chum from the first game - Pekeji. Yes, he's back and it doesn't take long for this troublesome character to convince Shiren that within the desert fortress, there is treasure to be found.

So off they set in the dead of night, and within a few paces of setting foot in the place, Pekeji falls down a pit. So Shiren and Koppa head off to find him.

Within the first dungeon, a few things become apparent. First is that underneath Shiren's health bar, there is a hunger bar. This is very useful, as before, you had to go into the menu screen to see how hungry Shiren was.

Also, along with creatures such as old favourites Mamels, there are new creatures, including a hog, who, after levelling up, killed me in one hit! It's good to see some things don't change.



Going back in the dungeon for a second time I found a scroll I didn't recognise. I read the scroll and was warped out of the dungeon and landed back in the village with all my items.

I haven't had a proper look around the village yet, but if there are storehouses, these scrolls could become incredibly useful for escaping from dungeons and storing valuable items.

So far, so good, but I'll post back on how my adventure is going.