Shiren:Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (series)

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Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer is the second entry into the Mystery Dungeon franchise and the first one to use all original characters. Shiren the Wanderer titles are primarily centered around Shiren the Wanderer and his talking weasel companion, Koppa.

About[edit | edit source]

The company wanted to work on the new features and gameplay mechanics added in NetHack, a variant of Rogue, one of them was being able to steal items from a shopkeeper. However, it was not possible to translate the new content from Nethack with characters from the Dragon Quest series; one such with Torneko who is a merchant. Two years after the release of Torneko's Great Adventure, Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer was released as the company's second work for the Mystery Dungeon series, with a new world setting and unique characters.[1][2] Many titles from this series were developed simultaneously throughout the years, where one title was focused on creating original features in its gameplay than the other for which they were forced to focus on "traditional dungeon types" due to the limitations on the other hardware; Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer on Super Famicom and Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village on Game Boy, and Shiren the Wanderer 2 - Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion on Nintendo 64 and Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the Desert on Game Boy Color.[3] An unique gameplay element that first appeared in Monster of Moonlight Village and would appear later in the Mystery Dungeon franchise and its crossovers is rescuing other players via passwords. They went with the idea of player sharing passwords instead of them using the Game Boy's Game Link Cable in order to help others since there were not many owners of the cable. This idea was expanded in Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden - Asuka the Swordswoman with the addition of online support. Within the online support, players would receive new dungeons, called either "Weekly Dungeon"; a dungeon that can be played online on a weekly basis, or "Challenge Dungeon"; the dungeon's difficulty would be increased and useful items would appear less frequently.

The naming and numbering convention of Shiren the Wanderer games is complex due to the fact that the company has made many games (all derived upon and building upon the "Mystery Dungeon" roguelike framework) on various platforms and localized for various markets over the course of decades. For example, what players today call "Shiren 1" (the first game featuring the character Shiren) was in fact originally called "Mystery Dungeon 2", as it was the second game using the Mystery Dungeon framework. Some games were apparently numbered based on their original release platform plus their release sequence on that platform while others originally had unique titles with no numbers featured. Then, over the course of time, some but not all of these games were ported to other platforms or localized into English and sold in other markets, often under a new name as the original name or number wouldn't have made much sense in the new market. Games that were released in English were often released many years after their initial Japanese releases, even though one or newer games in the series had already been released in Japan in the intervening period. Games that were re-released on other platforms also sometimes included additional content that was not part of the first release, or that was optional downloadable content (DLC) for the first release. Fortunately for the English-speaking audience, the company seems to have bundled all DLC whenever they have localized a game into English.

To date, only three Shiren games have been officially localized into English. Note that none of the English titles uses the same numbering system as the original Japanese titles did. But lack of officially localized releases has not stopped some hardcore English-speaking fans of the series from playing other games in the series, either via imported games and struggling to play in a foreign language or via hacks, mods and player translations. Consequently, this site has more complete information for games that were officially released in English but also has content for other games in the series as well.

The name or numbering convention is so complex that English-speaking fans of the series usually use shorthand names or nicknames for the games in the series. Unfortunately, there is no single canonical short name for each game used by all players, as different audiences favored different short names based on which release or re-release they were playing. For convenience, this site uses short names based on the original release title to the greatest extent possible, otherwise, the short name is derived from the original release platform plus the sequence on that platform.

This series has also let the franchise have its first spin-off game in 2004, titled Shiren Monsters: Netsal. It is only one game based on the monsters from the Shiren the Wanderer series.[4]

Topics[edit | edit source]

Audio[edit | edit source]

See also: List of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Audio.

Games and Demos[edit | edit source]

See also: List of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Video Games.

There is a total of twenty four games in the Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer series. As of now, only the first, third, and fifth numbered titles were able to receive an official translation and port in English, with the lattermost, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, receiving an official Chinese translation in 2020. The other games have remained in Japan.

Major Characters[edit | edit source]

See also: List of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Major Characters.

Merchandise[edit | edit source]

See also: List of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Merchandise.

Monsters[edit | edit source]

See also: List of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Monsters.

Souure Books[edit | edit source]

See also: List of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Books.

In Other Languages[edit | edit source]

Language Name
English Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Flag of the United States.svg
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer
Japanese Flag of Japan.svg 不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン
Spanish Flag of Spain.svg Mazmorra Misteriosa: Shiren el VagabundoUnofficial Translation symbol.png
Korean Flag of South Korea.svg 이상한 던전 풍래의 시렌Unofficial Translation symbol.png
Chinese Simplified Flag of China.svg 千变的迷宫 风来的希炼
Traditional Flag of Taiwan.svg
Flag of Hong Kong.svg
千變的迷宮 風來的希煉

See Also[edit | edit source]

vde
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (series) articles
vde
Shiren the Wanderer (series) - Books
Manga Increasingly Less Motivated to Work Squad Shirenger GBUnofficial Translation symbol.pngLaughter Point - Shiren the Wanderer Yonkoma Manga CollectionUnofficial Translation symbol.pngShiren the Wanderer 2: Perfect Adventure Guide - Monthly CoroCoro ComicsUnofficial Translation symbol.pngShiren the Wanderer - Hungry Adventures Chronicles Volume 1Unofficial Translation symbol.pngMystery Dungeon - Shiren the Wanderer DS: Comics Anthology SpecialUnofficial Translation symbol.png
Others Shiren the Wanderer Character Debut Book - Mystery Dungeon 2Unofficial Translation symbol.pngShiren the Wanderer: Flowers Dancing in the Golden Town AmtecaUnofficial Translation symbol.png • Shiren the Wanderer 2 Official Fan Book Surprised PotUnofficial Translation symbol.png (123)
vde
Shiren the Wanderer (series) - Characters
Playable AsukaSenseiShiren the Wanderer (Shiren Ancestor)
Allies Banana PrinceBorg MamelEdnaGalwinGenJirokichiKechi the MasseurKoharuKojiroutaJinpachiMinamoMiriMA-MOOkonOryu the BlinderPekejiSarma Bros.TaoZoso the Robot
The 8 Rivanian Beast Gods BufuDorasGitauKaka RooKronMuradoUnofficial Translation symbol.pngSakaiUnofficial Translation symbol.pngReeva (Neé Riva)
Lords and Ladies Banana PrinceKing of the KignyPrincess AtekaPrincess KaguyaPrincess SuzuneRyoushu
Minor Characters BalibaliBattle SpiritsBlacksmithBlacksmiths ApprenticeGaibara the Legendary PotterGimenshaIzanamiJofukuJuroutaKaminaKichizoKoyoriNaoki the Wandering ChefOboroOroOtakaOyuPriestRanking ChiefUnofficial Translation symbol.pngSachiSheriffShopkeeperSoboroSuralaZagan
Animals ChickenGolden CondorGenGuard DogKoppaNfu the Demon PuppyNiwatoriPochiTanmomo
Oni King of the KignyOni BossUnofficial Translation symbol.png
Robots Borg MamelZoso the RobotUnofficial Translation symbol.png
Monsters Antipode MamelCuras
Other MA-MO
vde
Shiren the Wanderer (series) - Video Games
Titles Titles Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer Super FamicomBS Shiren the Wanderer: Save SuralaUnofficial Translation symbol.png (BS) • Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer GB - Monster of Moonlight Village Game BoyMystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 2 - Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion Nintendo 64Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the Desert Game Boy ColorMystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden - Asuka the Swordswoman (DC) • Shiren the Wanderer WiiMystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel Nintendo DSShiren the Wanderer 5: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate Nintendo DS
Ports & Remakes Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS Nintendo DSSmartphone iOS / Android) • Shiren the Wanderer - Monster of Moonlight Village (WinDXAndroid Android) • Shiren the Wanderer DS2: Magic Castle of the Desert Nintendo DSMystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden - Asuka the Swordswoman for Windows Microsoft WindowsMystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3 PortableUnofficial Translation symbol.png PlayStation PortableShiren the Wanderer 4 Plus: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel PlayStation Portable • Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate (Vita PlayStation VitaSwitch Nintendo SwitchSteam SteamSmartphone iOS / Android)
Spin-off Shiren Monsters Shiren Monsters: NetsalUnofficial Translation symbol.png Game Boy AdvanceShiren Monsters: The Village of MahjongUnofficial Translation symbol.png Android
Individual Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer: Princess Suzune and the Tower of SlumberUnofficial Translation symbol.png (Pachinko)
Mobile Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer: PlatinaUnofficial Translation symbol.png (iMode) • Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer: The Rainbow LabyrinthUnofficial Translation symbol.png Android

References[edit | edit source]

  • [5] Wikipedia's list of Mystery Dungeon games for more detailed info.
  • [6] The Japanese Wikipedia page for the series.
  • [7] discussing gameplay elements of various mobile titles.
  1. すべては『ドアドア』から始まった――チュンソフト30周年のすべてを中村光一氏と振り返るロングインタビュー【前編】 (ja). Famitsu (June 8, 2014). Retrieved on September 2, 2021.
  2. Parish, Jeremy (August 6, 2012). Koichi Nakamura Interview: On the Birth of the Console RPG. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved on April 4, 2013.
  3. Lee, WooJin (1999-10-04). Interview with Chunsoft Over Development of New N64 Action RPG!. RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2016-02-24. Retrieved on September 2, 2021.
  4. NETSAL (ja). Spike Chunsoft. Retrieved on September 2, 2021.
  5. wikipedia:List_of_Mystery_Dungeon_video_games|Mystery Dungeon video games
  6. wikipedia:ja:不思議のダンジョン#風来のシレン|不思議のダンジョン#風来のシレン
  7. https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/kakuremisato/diary/?ctgy=13 Blog