Shiren 6:Early Shiren Inspiration and References

Early Shiren Inspiration and References are heavily noticeable in / Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island. In addition to the team featuring most of the people who worked on  Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer and  Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, the developers decided to focus on the earlier games in the series, particularly  Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer and  Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 2 - Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion, mostly ignoring aspects introduced in later games.

Gameplay

Much of the gameplay is heavily based on Shiren 1, however, some mechanics are also based on Shiren 2,  Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer GB2 - Magic Castle of the Desert, and  Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer GB - Monster of Moonlight Village.

Shiren 1 SFC

• The structure of the main Serpentcoil Island dungeon resembles that of Table Mountain in Shiren 1 SFC.
• The ability to attack repeatedly for multiple consecutive turns by keeping the button held returns from Shiren 1 SFC. Unlike that game, it can be turned off in the settings.
• Added in  Version 2.0.0, the DLC dungeon Researcher's Experimental Site is a sort of remake of Fay's Final Puzzle.
  • Fay himself appears in the Steam achievement icon upon completing the dungeon.

Shiren 2

• Cross-Mixing and Rune limits on Weapons and Shields return as a mechanic from Shiren 2.
• Being able to equip two Bracelets returns as a mechanic from Shiren 2.
• Monster Pups may be inspired by the friendly child Armordillo^Lore character from Shiren 2.
• Version 2.0.0 brought back Gear Rack from Shiren 2.

Magic Castle GBC

• Resonance returns as a mechanic from Magic Castle GBC.

Monsters

The returning monsters are primarily from Shiren 1 and Shiren 2 and many monster families imitate their Shiren 1 or levels as well.

Examples include:

• The Chow Family only has 1 level, as it did in Shiren 2, when it was introduced. Levels 2 - 4 were not introduced until  Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 4 - The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel.
• The Dark Owl Family only has 1 level, as levels 2 - 4 were not in Shiren 1 SFC.
• The Ghost Samurai only has 1 level, as it did in Shiren 1 SFC. The levels 2 - 3 forms were introduced in Moonlight Village GB, which Shiren 6 doesn't take as much inspiration from.
• The Nigiri Morph Family is named after the level 2 monster, as it was the original level 1 monster before Shiren 2 introduced the Nigiri Baby.

Comparatively, relatively few monsters and monster mechanics originate from other games in the series.

• The Crow Tengu Family was introduced in Moonlight Village GB in 1996, but its additional levels were not included in Shiren 6.
• The Explochin Family didn't get additional levels until Magic Castle GBC in 2000.
• The Pullfrog Family wasn't introduced until  Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden - Asuka the Swordswoman in 2002.
• The Zapdon Family wasn't introduced until Shiren 4 in 2010.

Story

• The premise of the story references Shiren 1 and Moonlight Village. Tatsumi hears of the events of the two games, and decides to call Shiren and Koppa for help.
• The intro is reminiscent of the intro of Monster of Moonlight Village, with Shiren and Koppa traveling on a road with a horizontal camera view, meeting a group of people going in the opposite direction.
• The Serpentcoil Island Story Arc is similar to the story of Shiren 1.

Both revolve around exploring 30 areas, climbing a mountain with a peculiar shape that houses a small secluded village, and defeating the monster at the top, who was keeping someone trapped for many years.

• The Yamakagashi Pass Story Arc is similar to the story of Shiren 2.

Both involve Shiren befriending the daughter of the leader of a group of humanoid monsters threatening to destroy a village.

Visuals

The visuals of the game are inspired by Shiren 2. Promotional material for the game was also made to resemble Shiren 2 material.

• The character design for the Peddlers originally introduced in Shiren 2 is brought back, with different game mechanics.
  • They reappeared in Shiren 4, but had the standard shopkeeper appearance.
• Asuka is back, and her re-introduction scene matches the her original introduction from Shiren 2.
• The scene that plays when entering Mount Jatou is similar to the scene when entering Table Mountain in Shiren 1.
• Waterways may be a reference to the Shiren 2 scene where Shiren rides a raft down a river.