Meta:Mystery Dungeon References In Other Media

Mystery Dungeon references in other media, whether they are from video games developed or published by Spike Chunsoft, as well as other game developers and companies, anime, manga, or books.

Animations

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

In episodes 62 and 63 of the anime's 2020 TV series, "The Cave of Trials" and "The Sacred Inheritance", there are references to Mystery Dungeon's core gameplay. They are sourced from Dai Perfect Book, where Sanjo stated the inspiration came from  Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon.

Manga

Dr. Slump

The cover art for the November 11, 1993 issue of V Jump features Arale and Gatchan exploring a dungeon with Torneko. A cleaner version of the artwork was later reused as the cover for volume 13 of the Italian version of the Dr. Slump manga, released on November 1997. Akira Toriyama was the artist of both Dragon Quest and Dr. Slump.

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Video games developed by Spike Chunsoft

Banshee's Last Cry

See also: Sound Novel

In the Super Famicom release of Banshee's Last Cry, by going through a respective list of inputs, the player is able to see a secret message left by an employee about a "conspiracy theory" happening at Chunsoft.  Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon is one of two games mentioned in this "conspiracy" along with Otogirisō. The message also returned in the PlayStation remake of the game.

428: Shibuya Scramble

See also: Sound Novel

Few references to the Shiren the Wanderer series can be found there.

• A Mamel plush can be seen in many cutscenes in the game, for example throughout Tama's story arc.
• In the game's anime sequel, Canaan, numerous people can be seen wearing hats of monsters from the Shiren the Wanderer series. This include a Mamel, a Pit Mamel, a Chintala, and a Armordillo.

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  A Mamel plush, placed on the table.

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

See also: Danganronpa

An unlockable side game titled Despair Dungeon: Monokuma's Test is based on a mix between the Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer series and Dragon Quest. The Japanese name of this game is also a reference to Shiren and Mystery Dungeon as a whole, as the Japanese word for "trial" is "shiren".

Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp

See also: Danganronpa

Monsters from the Shiren the Wanderer series can be found, as shown during the game's reveal trailer on June 15, 2021 at E3 2021. Like in Despair Dungeon: Monokuma's Test, they are also modified to resemble the game's main antagonist, Monokuma.

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  Monokumamel and Fluffy Monobunny, based on Mamel and Fluffy Bunny.

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  Bonykuma, based on Skull Mage.

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  Fluffy Monobunny and Monokumantala, based on Fluffy Bunny and Chintala.

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  Monsters based on Mamel and Kigny.

AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative

See also: AI: The Somnium Files

The game has many video game references all throughout, including references to the Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer series.

• Shiren himself makes a cameo in the game as a Kusemon to be used in fights, inspired by the Pokémon series. When the egg is found, it hatches and the "[SC]Wanderer" card is added to the player's team.
  • Shiren's sprite appearance and animation were sourced from  Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate.
  • He wields a Kabra Reborn+99 in this game, which is the last upgrade of the Kaburagi Type weapons that appeared in the aforementioned title.
  • The other attack he can use is named "Gitan Throw", which is not only a currency from the Shiren the Wanderer series, it is also a core mechanic within the Mystery Dungeon franchise where players can throw money at foes.
• The character Tama, in her Somnium form, can be seen wearing Shiren's kasa occasionally.
• The Mamel Family is mentioned in various pieces of dialogue.
  • When checking a computer in Kumakura Office on February 12 (Mizuki, chapter 2), during the free move investigation segment.
  • Another piece of dialogue also references Mamels in Sejima Residence on February 15, during the 4:10 PM investigation segment. In this instance, the name "Subterranean Mamul" is used instead of "Pit Mamel", which is a reference to the Shiren 1 SFC English Unofficial Translation.

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  A Kusemon card featuring Shiren.

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  Shiren appearing in the battle.

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  Shiren using the Kabra Reborn+99.

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  Tama wearing Shiren's kasa. It is noticeable with the emblem marked in the kasa.

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  Mamel dialogue.

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  Mamel dialogue.

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  Mamel dialogue.

Video games developed by other companies

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

A category titled Chronicle represents a list of games published by Nintendo. Only the two first Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series games—/ Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Team and  Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness—were shown to the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS lists respectively in the Japanese version of the game.

Because Explorers of Time and Darkness were yet to be released at the time of Brawl's western release, only Red and Blue Rescue Team were shown in the western version of the game.

 Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 2 - Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion is not listed in Chronicle in any version of the game, even though the game was published by Nintendo.

Way of the Samurai 3

The weapons Kabra's Blade (translated as Manji-Kabura) and Kabra Reborn (translated as Kabura-Sutegi) from the Shiren series appear in Way of the Samurai 3. Manji-Kabura can be bought for 10 Golden Eggs. The seller explains that he sold the Kabura-Sutegi for 20 Golden Eggs to another samurai. The player can obtain the Kabura-Sutegi by defeating that samurai.

Terraria

Shiren appears as a costume in the Wii U, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita releases, exclusively in Japan.

The cameo consists of:

• Shiren Set (Japanese: ふうらいにんの衣装):
  • Shiren Hat (Japanese: さんどがさ)
  • Shiren Shirt (Japanese: ふうらいにんのふく)
  • Shiren Pants (Japanese: ふうらいにんのこしあて)

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  Shiren Hat

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  Shiren Shirt

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  Shiren Pants

RPG Maker MV

On December 15, 2015, an expansion pack for the game was announced for the PC version. It features both Shiren the Wanderer and Asuka as custom protagonists as well as elements from the series. The pack was released two days after its announcement.

Shiren

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  Shiren and Asuka's promo image.

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  Shiren's promo icon.

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  Shiren's sprite sheet.

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  Shiren's sprites used in-game.

Asuka

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  Shiren and Asuka's promo image.

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  Asuka's promo icon.

Crypt of the NecroDancer

In an issue of Weekly Famitsu column on November 26, 2015, a free update for the game was announced then released in Japan on January 18, 2016, then later worldwide on August 22, 2017 on Steam It features characters from the Danganronpa, Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble and Shiren the Wanderer series. Both Shiren the Wanderer and Asuka were made available as character skins. The update works even if you do not own any DLC.

Shiren

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  Shiren's sprite.

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  Shiren's in-game appearance.

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  Change skin menu.

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  Famitsu promo ad featuring Shiren and Monokuma.

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  Promo art featuring Shiren and Monokuma.

Asuka

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  Asuka's sprite.

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  Asuka in-game appearance.

Dragon Quest Rivals

The game features content throughout the entire Dragon Quest franchise; mainline and spin-offs, represented as cards, playable characters, or summons. Content from the Mystery Dungeon crossover can be found there.

• A few cards reference content from the Mystery Dungeon franchise.
  • The card "It's a Monster House!" is a reference to the recurrent Monster Houses in the franchise.
  • Items like Big Bread or Flame Grass appear as support cards.

Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story

Announced on November 20, 2019 via 4gamer, a DLC pack for the game titled "Wanderer Set" (Japanese: 風来人セット) was announced for first-print copies. The DLC includes blueprints for both weapons. It was released with the game on February 20, 2020 and available for free from February 20 to 27, 2020.. Later in another announcement, the DLC was made available and purchasable on June 4, 2020.

The DLC consists of:

• Wanderer Set (Japanese: 風来人セット)
  • Wanderer Outfit (Japanese: 風来人の衣装と刀を追加)
  • Wanderer Hat (Japanese: 風来人の三度笠（装飾品）)
  • Wanderer Cape (Japanese: 風来人の道中合羽（装飾品）)
  • Wanderer Itachi (Japanese: 風来人のイタチ（装飾品）)
• Kabra's Blade (Japanese: マンジカブラ)
• Kabra Reborn (Japanese: カブラステギ)

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  The Japanese DLC promo.

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  The English DLC promo.

Dragon Quest Rivals Ace

The game is an expansion of Dragon Quest Rivals, which inherits past events from there and expand furthermore its content. Tipper appears in the game's third card pack, "Starry Battle". He takes his appearance from the third Dragon Quest Mystery Dungeon game,  Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko's Great Adventure 3: Mystery Dungeon.

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  Tipper as he appears in the game's trailer "Starry Battle".

Dragon Quest Treasures

The game features content throughout the entire Dragon Quest franchise; mainline and spin-offs, represented as treasures. Content from the Mystery Dungeon crossover can be found there.

Other

Nintendo Magazine

In the Summer 2024 release of Nintendo Magazine, there is a section dedicated to currency in video game franchises. One currency features the Gitan currency from the Shiren the Wanderer series. Along with it, the weapon Spender's Club from / Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is present and a screenshot of Shiren stealing items from a Shopkeeper.