Shiren the Wanderer, part 1

I started up Shiren for Wii over again, this time on Easy difficulty, so I don't lose all my items when I die.

Now, why did I do this, you ask? Especially knowing I actually like that mechanic in Shiren DS?

Well, you see, Shiren for Wii is broken up into different dungeons, instead of one big one. This means that if I lose all my equipment, then I become severely under-equipped for whatever dungeon I'm currently in... So I would have to go back and grind equipment in earlier dungeons.

This could take hours.

And if I die again? I'd have to start the whole process over. I do not consider that prospect fun. So I'm playing it on easy, so I can enjoy the game.

Granted, now I'm flying through the dungeons, already up to Tengu's Castle, about halfway to the point I was at when I stopped last time (which took me like 14 hours, whereas I'm only three hours in this playthrough). So I don't know what to think. Certainly this game shouldn't be easy - and it won't be, once they start throwing the really ridiculous enemies at me - but so far it is.

Oh well. Anyway, the game is pretty good mindless fun. It is by no means perfect, and it isn't as good as the DS version of Shiren, but I still like it and will likely beat it eventually, unless the last few dungeons get ridiculous. I think I'll play the game more when I unlock the postgame stuff, like in the DS version that I still pick up from time to time.

What is it about these games that make them so appealing to me, anyway? It is definitely not the story, which is rudimentary at best. It's not the graphics, although they are certainly passable in this version. The music is pretty good, though.

As for the gameplay... I've watched someone else play a roguelike, and it is dull. It amounts to basically watching someone walk around, sometimes hitting stuff. Unless you're playing it yourself, it is unbearable. But when you are exploring the dungeons yourself, and you are vested in the experience, you are kind of on the edge of your seat at all times. If you make one or two mistakes, you could find yourself in trouble... And all your hard work could be lost in an instant.

In theory, that sounds so appealing. Here is a game where if you die, you lose everything - this gives the proceedings a sense of urgency like no other video game I'm aware of. Sure, if you die on a boss in Final Fantasy, you might lose an hour or two of grinding, but Shiren (the DS version, anyway, or the Wii version on Normal difficulty or above) can make you essentially lose everything you had been doing in the game up until that point. Besides, of course, whatever progress you made in the story - which amounts to very little even when you beat the game, in the long run.

I still think Shiren DS nails the balance perfectly between danger, difficulty, and fairness. The Pokemon roguelikes are too easy, and Izuna is a little to easy in some ways, and completely unfair and obtuse in others. Chocobo's Dungeon on Wii was fun as hell and had awesome music, but was a little too easy too... I don't know how a developer could effectively balance a multiple dungeon roguelike without letting you save items when you die or something. Or letting you keep your levels or whatever. It sounds too tough to do effectively.

I just wish someone would make another Shiren DS type of game and expand the town parts a little bit...