Meta:Shiren the Wanderer 3 - Official Blog Post 3:Story and Characters
The OFFICIAL BLOG #3 — Story and Characters for the English release of Shiren the Wanderer (game) on the Nintendo Wii was posed to the Atlus U.S.A. Forums on January 12, 2012 by AtlusAram.[1]
What better way to ring in the new decade than with a new Shiren blog, right? Well, I know many of you are busy getting dressed to run out and pre-order Shiren with the gift cards you got for the holidays, and if so, please continue. For those that need a little more information, take a minute to read this and we're sure you'll be ready to head out and reserve your copies as well.
I'm Clayton S. Chan, Editor on Shiren the Wanderer, the upcoming RPG for Wii™ slated to wander into stores on February 9, 2010. (Scott Strichart, the Project Lead, also pitched in with editing. I don't want to sound like I'm taking all the credit. Also, the "S" does not stand for "Shiren".) The fact that there's a need for both an editor and a Project Lead on this game should be your first sign that this isn't your run of the mill Shiren title. In most of the past Shiren games, the gameplay and the adventure took center stage, and the plot was more of a secondary thing. That's not the case in Shiren the Wanderer, as story plays a huge role.
What do we know about Shiren from past games? The guy loves to wander in dungeons, he always wears a bamboo kasa, he's a silent hero, and he's got a wise-crackin' animal companion. The guys at Chunsoft decided that wasn't quite enough of a backstory for a franchise character and in Shiren the Wanderer, they dig deeper into Shiren's past.
As Scott mentioned, you'll be controlling two characters from Shiren's past that reunite with him for this adventure. You'll learn a bit about Shiren's relationship with them, and you'll also learn quite a bit about Shiren's father and the ancestors of both Shiren and Koppa.
Why would Shiren's ancestors be involved? Well, that's the sort of thing that happens when your main plot goes back 2000 years. That's right. Two whole millennia of plotting. Can you handle that?
At the crux of the plot is a giant mythical place known as the Karakuri Mansion. ("Karakuri" is the Japanese word used to describe a contraption, mechanical device or other assorted gewgaw.) Supposedly, nobody's ever seen the Mansion, but out of the blue Shiren's old teacher, Sensei shows up and hands Shiren the key to the place. Shiren's obviously not just going to pass up an invitation like that, so he sets out to find it. As soon as he sets foot in the vicinity, he'll be beset by bandits, ninjas, demons, and come across a princess who's been asleep for 1,000 years...and that's only the beginning.
And that's just the main plot. Once you get through the all the ninjas, demons, bandits, and possible ex-girlfriends that the first part of the game has to offer, you'll get access to some pretty awesome side-stories that unlock once you beat the game. Granted, they are more lighthearted in nature, but they're still my favorite parts of the game.
So if you're looking for a game that weaves a pretty grand tale and actually has a pretty satisfying conclusion (unlike, say, some of the games I've played recently.) then you're going to want to finish getting dressed to go out and get that pre-order for Shiren the Wanderer placed!
Have a happy and prosperous 2010, everyone!
