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Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island

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Shiren the Wanderer:
The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
Developer(s)Spike Chunsoft
Publisher(s)
  • WW: Spike Chunsoft
  • EU: Reef Entertainment
Director(s)Keisuke Sakurai
Shingo Anzai
Producer(s)Shohei Sakakibara
Ryo Nishimura[1]
Programmer(s)Shingo Anzai
Artist(s)Keisuke Sakurai
Kaoru Hasegawa
Writer(s)Shin-ichiro Tomie
Composer(s)Keisuke Ito
SeriesShiren the Wanderer
Mystery Dungeon
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseNintendo Switch
  • JP: January 25, 2024
  • US: February 27, 2024
  • EU: February 27, 2024
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: Winter 2025
Genre(s)Roguelike, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island[a] is a roguelike role-playing video game developed and published by Spike Chunsoft. It is the sixth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which is a subset of the larger Mystery Dungeon series. It was released on Nintendo Switch in 2024, over 13 years after the last mainline title in Japan, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate,[3] and 8 years in the west.[4] A version for Microsoft Windows is also in development.[5]

Gameplay

[edit]

The gameplay for The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island remains the same as other Shiren the Wanderer games; it is a roguelike role-playing video game in which the player traverses randomized dungeons and fights monsters.[3][6] The game takes gameplay content from the earlier games of the series rather than the latest. As such, little to no content that were featured in Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel and Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate were recycled, like the Day and Night system in dungeons.[4][7] The i-Dash from Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion also returns in this game, albeit tweaked a little and with a new title.[8] Benemoth, which are giant versions of a common monster, will occasionally appear in dungeons thanks to the Benemoth Gates, and they come with advantages and inconvenient against the player, most notably being invincible to the player's attacks due to their barrier.[9][10] In addition to returning monsters from the series, such as the iconic Mamel, new monsters were added to the game.[11][9]

The UI got an overhaul compared to previous entries, now showing the inventory's capacity, and two semi-transparent dialogue boxes reserved for the Adventure Log in the bottom right corner, and the Notebook in the bottom left. The Notebook logs new findings in a dungeon, such as discovering a new monster or item.[10] Returning from the 2020 release of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, the Live Display UI has now two types for players livestreaming the game; a compact type focusing on the gameplay, and a detailed type.[12]

The game features multiplayer content, outside of rescuing defeated players in dungeons.[8] Players are also able to train against species of monsters with the Monster Dojo, or go to alternative routes during the mainline story, which are harder but more rewarding than regular routes.[9][10]

Plot

[edit]

The story is set between the events of Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village and Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel.[13] As Shiren and Koppa, referred to as a ferret, leave Tsukikage Village few months after, both of them start dreaming of an island. This dream leads to an existing treasure island named Serpentcoil Island, one of the small islands in the Inland sea. The duo decide to venture there not long after to explore the island, but also debunking the rumored treasure living inside a monster atop of the island, and rescue the lost girl who sent that dream to them.[6][14] Before that, they walk in the mainland, suffering from drought because of Kokatsu, and help nearby citizens dealing with this crisis. Suzuna, an innkeeper of Uzumaki-Ya, supports the team throughout their adventure,[4] including letting them to rest at the inn or train in the dojo behind it.

As the duo travel through the island, they meet numerous pirates and ninja scattered around the island, with conflicts being created among them. Asuka, a recurrent side character in the series, participates in the adventure to reunite with her allies in the island,[6] although Koppa does not remember meeting her in the past despite the fact they did. Finally, they face off against Jakaku, the rumored monster, and its army of monsters at the top of Mount Jatou. Upon defeating it, they find out that the island is starting to float, pouring water and a portion of treasures hidden by pirates towards the mainland. Soon after, the distressed girl, later named Tatsumi, explains there is more to learn from this place's origins, before Shiren and Koppa got forcefully ejected from the top of the mountain by a fireball.

Development

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A satellite picture of the Setouchi region, which Serpentcoil Island is based on.
Serpentcoil Island, the game's main location, is based of the Setouchi region.

Prior to the development of The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, the Shiren the Wanderer series was dormant for over a decade, as the newest game, excluding ports and remasters, was released in 2010 for the Nintendo DS. Initially, the game started as a proposal from the team behind the Mystery Dungeon series as they were passionate about creating a brand new game for the series. This proposal was made before the Nintendo Switch and Steam ports of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate in 2020.[11] From an interview in 2018, Spike Chunsoft's president Mitsutoshi Sakurai answered for potential ports of the series in the future, although it would be a challenge as employees of the company said it will not do well.[15] In 2020, one of the series scenarists, Shin-ichiro Tomie, had left a secret message in the aforementioned ports, indicating he would still able to work on the next Shiren the Wanderer game if there are enough voices from the fans to green-lit a new Shiren the Wanderer game within the company.[16][17] Eventually, the Switch port of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate exceeded the company's expectation in terms of reputation and sales, which led to green-lit the development of the new Shiren the Wanderer game soon after.

The game was originally based on Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion, with most of its gameplay sourced from that game along with keeping a mindset of "going back to basic", but a few of them were later replaced by brand new game mechanics. Key members of the team contribtued to the game, such as Seiichiro Nagahata for game balancing and Hideyuki Shinozaki for deciding to put the final boss at the beginning of a new save. Shinozaki was later both surprised and afraid that this decision would not make the game lasts longer than anticipated after finding out players finished it only few minutes after its release. Tomie added the possibility to play as Shiren Kokatsu, a fusion between the protagonist and Kokatsu in his battle form.[18] Story wise, the team decided to set the game after Monster of Moonlight Village due to the return of Asuka, a side character that appeared throughout the series. They wanted to bring her back into the series with a different behavior to her appearance in the 2008 Wii game, Shiren the Wanderer, and therefore had to set the story before the latter. Serpentcoil Island was inspired by the Setouchi region.[11][19]

The game was revealed and shown during 2023 at the two game expos, Nintendo Direct presentation and Tokyo Game Show.[20][3][2][14] The game includes new transformations for Shiren with penalties, over thirty dungeons present in the island, and mechanics inherited from other Mystery Dungeon games such as the player's paths marked in the minimap from the Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon series, and giant, 3x3 grid size, monsters in dungeons and shortcuts for items functioning like moves in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.[19][12] Most of the team who worked on the Super Famicom and Nintendo DS versions of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer have returned for this game, such as Kaoru Hasegawa as character designer.[19][21][22] In an interview with Keisuke Sakurai and Hideyuki Shinozaki, the game's director and project manager respectively, they explained that they were conscious about the release gap between the two games. Therefore, they decided to add numerous tutorials and removed gameplay content from the last game that was deemed hard for newcomers to the series. From the over 60 species of monsters added to the game, 20% of them are brand new monsters to the series. The game was released in January 2024 in Japan, and in February in other markets.[9][23]

noisycroak contributed to the game's soundtrack and sound effects, including Keisuke Ito, who has composed music for the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series since Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness.[24] Ito was inspired by the Shiren the Wanderer series' past composers, being late Koichi Sugiyama, and Hayato Matsuo, while also saying that his contributions are "a link between the past and the future".[25]

Plus Pack DLC and Steam release

[edit]

Due to its success, the company has confirmed the development of additional content for the foreseeable future. Official Parallel Data were the first form of downloadable content distributed by the company; the new Parallel Data system was introduced in that game and does not require an update in order to download them.[26] Other updates include new challenges located at the Sacred Tree, new achievements, and new unlockable content.[18]

A paid downloadable content, Plus Pack bundle, was released in Autumn of 2024. In it, Koppa and Asuka appear as playable characters for the Sacred Tree and new additional dungeons, whether available for free or locked in the DLC, are unlocked throughout the story at the Isle of Mysteries, along with free content such as further quality of life updates.[27]

Interviews with Hideyuki Shinozaki and Keisuke Sakurai have indicated that a Steam release of the game was an idea.[28] On November 20, 2024, the Steam port was announced along with a release date set for Winter 2025. It includes a digital soundtrack composed by not only Keisuke Ito, the original composer, but also Yasufumi Fukuda, who has previously contributed in other video games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[29]

Release

[edit]

The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island was developed by Spike Chunsoft. The company published the game in Japan and Taiwan on January 25, 2024,[3] and in the United States on February 27.[21] The European release was published by Reef Entertainment in the same day as the United States.[21] Downloadable content for the game are currently being developed as of March 2024, with paid downloadable content released later in Autumn of the same year.[30][27]

Reception

[edit]

The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island received generally favorable reviews by critics according to review aggregator Metacritic.[31] 85% of critics recommended the game, according to OpenCritic.[32] Early reception for the game were positive, with Famitsu giving a score of 38 out of 40.[34] Reviewers praised for the revival of the series along with its new content; from updated gameplay like the Adventure Log and the return of online content to the balanced difficulty that new players would not give up early on, as it was known to be harder in the past.[36][38] They have also criticized the game for feeling clunky and repetitive sometimes, as there are not much action happening on screen compared to more modern roguelike games such as Hades, The Binding of Isaac, and Crypt of the NecroDancer, the latter which did crossover with the Shiren the Wanderer series previously.[40]

The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island set records in the Shiren the Wanderer series upon its release. The game has sold over 200,000 copies in Japan, making it the fastest record sales in the series history.[41][42] 85,424 copies were sold during its first week of release in Japan, making it the third highest retail launch of the Shiren the Wanderer series, behind the Super Famicom release of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer and Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion, and the second most amount of copies sold during that week, below the PlayStation 5 release of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.[43][44] Soon after, the game reached first place in the Japanese Nintendo eShop, above Suika Game.[45]

With its success in Japan, throughout February, numerous fans of the Mystery Dungeon series have asked Spike Chunsoft to work on a new Pokémon Mystery Dungeon or Torneko's Great Adventure game, to which the company replied by asking the concerned companies in order to green lit the projects.[46][47] By March, the game had higher than expected results, akin to how The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate for Nintendo Switch was before, of which later that month, they confirmed working on additional content for it.[30] The team also thought on working on a seventh numbered game after finishing development, although they will find it hard to change the game's aspect while not repeating the same type of content as the previous ones.[18]

Notes

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  1. ^ Known in Japan as Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 6: Toguro-jima Tanken Roku[2] (Japanese: 不思議のダンジョン 風来(ふうらい)のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録(じまたんけんろく), Hepburn: Fushigi no Danjon Fūrai no Shiren 6 Toguro tō Tankenroku, lit. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 6 – Coil Island Exploration Record).

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Shaun Musgrave (December 8, 2023). "'Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island' Nintendo Switch Hands-On Preview". toucharcade. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Daniel Bueno (September 14, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer 6 Announced in Japanese Nintendo Direct". SiliconEra. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d 『風来シレン6 とぐろ島探検録』1月25日に発売決定。14年ぶりに待望のナンバリングタイトルが登場。アスカらしきキャラも映像で確認【Nintendo Direct】. Famitsu (in Japanese). September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Sal Romano (October 3, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island coming west on February 27, 2024". Gematsu. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  5. ^ "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island coming to PC this winter". Gematsu. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  6. ^ a b c Kai (September 14, 2023). 『14年ぶりのシリーズ完全新作『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン６ とぐろ島探検録』がNintendo Switchで2024年1月25日に発売。. Nintendo (in Japanese). Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  7. ^ 『風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』メールインタビュー第2弾 後編。本作に夜はない！共鳴効果は本作でも実装、腕輪は条件を満たすと2個装備可能. Famitsu (in Japanese). November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  8. ^ a b 『風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』メールインタビュー第2弾 前編。これまでの情報から編集部が気になった箇所を開発に訊いた。本作の食料はおにぎり！. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d 『風来のシレン6』先行レビュー。既存システムの変更点から新要素まで、シレンジャーがたっぷりチェックしてきました！. Famitsu (in Japanese). November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c sceditor (November 20, 2023). "Spike Chunsoft, Inc. Unveils Sumo Power-ups, Roaming Behemoths, and New Characters for Roguelike RPG Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island". Spike Chunsoft. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c 『風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』緊急メールインタビュー。Switch版『風来のシレン5plus』の好評を受けてプロジェクト開始. Famitsu (in Japanese). September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Kite Stenbuck (October 27, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island new quality of life features revealed". RPG Site. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Hideaki Fujiwara (September 14, 2023). 『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』発表、1月25日発売へ。14年ぶりのナンバリング新作には“アスカ”も登場か. Automaton (in Japanese). Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Sal Romano (October 3, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island coming west on February 27, 2024". Gematsu. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  15. ^ SATO (March 28, 2018). "Spike Chunsoft CEO Talks About Bringing More Visual Novels And Japanese Games To The West". SiliconEra. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  16. ^ Keiichi, Yokoyama (December 3, 2020). 『風来のシレン5plus』Nintendo Switch/Steam版には、新作を思い悩む開発者のメッセージが秘められている。とあるアイテムが示す、ファンへの願いの言葉. Automation (in Japanese). Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  17. ^ Tomie: ...! Hey! Did you just push the switch on my back!? You're supposed to read the item description before you use it! Every wanderer knows that! It clearly says "DO NOT PUSH"! Geez, how did you make it this far? ...Well, might as well say my piece since you're here. My name is Tomie. I'm an old hand at Spike Chunsoft. So old that I'm nearly retirement age. Shiren the Wanderer, Banshee's Last Cry... I've seen some titles in my day. We devs got along good over the years. Old, young, age doesn't matter... They work us to the bone, all the same. Hasegawa... You may not know the name, but you know his art. His version of Shiren is iconic! And Nagahata, he's the only know who knows what to tweak under the hood to keep the game balanced. Then there's me, worrying about making a new Shiren the Wanderer. I gotta consider the budget and the needs of the company. Can we do it? More importantly, should we do it? I'm too wishy-washy to take the first step. If only... If only someone gave me a push. ...? Wait, didn't somebody just do exactly that? Ah, I'm going senile... Can you give me one more push? ...No? You can't? In that case... Can you make your voice heard? If all the Shiren fans across the world speak out, surely someone will hear... Who knows, your voices might make it all the way to the people in charge. Wouldn't be the first time our overlords got fired up over fan demand. Anyway, if a sequel gets green-lit, you can bet I'll give it my all. The series has a reputation to live up to. And the fans expect nothing less than the best! I won't let them down. Ah, this is all hypothetical, of course. But it's nice to think about, isn't it? Until we meet again, I'll be here, dreaming... Of a new Shiren the Wanderer title. – F A R E W E L L – (Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate)
  18. ^ a b c リプ斉トン (April 28, 2024). 『風来のシレン6』やり込みライターが開発者にインタビュー。「祝福された巻物は必ずラッキーが出る」など細かい話もたっぷり聞いた。アプデ第2弾も予定「長く楽しめる作品にしたい」. Famitsu (in Japanese). Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  19. ^ a b c 『『風来のシレン6』シレンもモンスターも巨大化。足踏み回復は高レベルでも回復しやすく。開発者インタビューで内容に迫る【先出し週刊ファミ通】. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  20. ^ Amelia Fruzzetti (January 2, 2023). "Spike Chunsoft hints at unannounced large scale title(s) in 2023 New Year's message". Nintendo Wire. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c sceditor (October 3, 2023). "Roguelike RPG Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island for Nintendo Switch™ is Coming to North America and Europe". Spike Chunsoft. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  22. ^ Richard Eisenbeis (December 8, 2023). "New Shiren the Wanderer Game Director and Project Manager Talk About Going Back to Basics". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  23. ^ "風来のシレン公式 on X". Twitter. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  24. ^ "不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録". noisycroak. January 25, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "いとうけいすけ / Keisuke Ito on Twitter". Twitter. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  26. ^ "風来のシレン公式 on Twitter". Twitter (in Japanese). March 28, 2024. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  27. ^ a b Fuller, Alex (September 6, 2024). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Plus Pack DLC Announced". RPGamer. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  28. ^ James Galizio (October 12, 2024). "Shiren the Wanderer Interview - Returning to basics, the future, and more". RPG Site. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  29. ^ "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Soundtrack". Steam. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  30. ^ a b "風来のシレン公式 on Twitter". Twitter (in Japanese). March 29, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island critic reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Reviews". OpenCritic. 2 March 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  33. ^ "Edge 397 explores UFO 50, Spelunky dev Mossmouth's ambitious mission to build 50 games for a fictional retro console". Edge Magazine. No. 397. April 18, 2024. p. 116. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Romano, Sal (January 24, 2024). "Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1834". Gematsu. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  35. ^ Neal Ronaghan (February 23, 2024). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island (Switch) Review". NintendoWorldReport. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  36. ^ a b Mitch Vogel (February 27, 2024). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Review". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  37. ^ Michael Apps (February 23, 2024). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island Review". RPGamer. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  38. ^ a b Ben Love (February 23, 2024). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island". RPGFan. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  39. ^ Shaun Musgrave (February 27, 2024). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Pokemon Presents, Reviews Featuring 'Shiren the Wanderer', Plus Today's Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  40. ^ Jordan Biordi (February 27, 2024). "Shiren The Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon Of Serpentcoil Island Review". CGMagazine. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  41. ^ 1000回遊べるダンジョンRPG『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン６　とぐろ島探検録』国内累計出荷数20万本を突破！. Spike Chunsoft (in Japanese). February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  42. ^ 『風来のシレン6』がシリーズ史上最速で国内累計出荷数20万本を突破！約14年ぶりのナンバリングタイトルにして最高の滑り出し. Famitsu (in Japanese). February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  43. ^ Romano, Sal (February 1, 2024). "Famitsu Sales: 1/22/24 – 1/28/24". Gematsu. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  44. ^ Game Data Library (February 1, 2024). "Game Data Library on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 1, 2024. Retail launch sales of Shiren the Wanderer 6 are the second highest of the series, the highest since Shiren the Wanderer 2 on Nintendo 64. As many Switch 3rd party games, it's having stock issues, including digital it's not too crazy to think its the series' biggest launch.
  45. ^ 『風来のシレン6』DL版マイニンテンドーストアにてランキング1位獲得！5ヶ月間1位だった『スイカゲーム』を抑えての首位. Inside Games (in Japanese). February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  46. ^ Azario Lopez (February 21, 2024). "Spike Chunsoft Says to Ask Square Enix About Reviving Dragon Quest Dungeon Crawler Spinoff: Torneko: The Last Hope". Noisy Pixel. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  47. ^ Spike Chunsoft Inc. (January 27, 2024). "2024 New Year Livestream". YouTube. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
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