Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
Developer(s)Spike Chunsoft
Publisher(s)
  • WW: Spike Chunsoft
  • EU: Reef Entertainment
Director(s)Keisuke Sakurai
Producer(s)
  • Hideyuki Shinozaki
  • Ryo Nishmura[1]
  • Seiichiro Nagahata
Artist(s)Kaoru Hasegawa
Writer(s)Shin-ichiro Tomie
Series
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
Release
  • JP: January 25, 2024
  • TW: January 25, 2024
  • US: February 27, 2024
  • EU: February 27, 2024
Genre(s)Roguelike, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island[lower-alpha 1] is an upcoming roguelike role-playing video game developed and published by Spike Chunsoft. It is the sixth main entry in the Shiren the Wanderer series, which is a subset of the larger Mystery Dungeon series, and will be released on Nintendo Switch in early 2024; over 13 years after the last mainline title in Japan, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate,[3] and 8 years in the west.[4]

Gameplay

The gameplay for The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island remains the same as other Shiren the Wanderer games; it is a roguelike role-playing video game in which the player traverses randomized dungeons and fights monsters.[3][5] The game takes gameplay content from the earlier games of the series rather than the latest. As such, little to no content that were featured in Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel and Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate were recycled, like the Day and Night system in dungeons.[4][6] The i-Dash from Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion also returns in this game, albeit tweaked a little and with a new title.[7] Benemoth, which are giant versions of a common monster, will occasionally appear in dungeons thanks to the Benemoth Gates, and they come with advantages and inconvenient against the player, most notably being invincible to the player's attacks due to their barrier.[8][9] In addition to returning monsters from the series, such as the iconic Mamel, new monsters will be added to the game.[10][8]

The UI got an overhaul compared to previous entries, now showing the inventory's capacity, and two semi-transparent dialogue boxes reserved for the Adventure Log in the bottom right corner, and the Notebook in the bottom left. The Notebook logs new findings in a dungeon, such as discovering a new monster or item.[9] Returning from the 2020 release of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, the Live Display UI has now two types for players livestreaming the game; a compact type focusing on the gameplay, and a detailed type.[11]

The game features multiplayer content, outside of rescuing defeated players in dungeons.[7] Players are also able to train against species of monsters with the Monster Dojo, or go to alternative routes during the mainline story, which are harder but more rewarding than regular routes.[8][9]

Premise

The story is set between the events of Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village and Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's Navel.[12] As Shiren and Koppa, referred to as a ferret, left Tsukikage Village few months after, both of them started dreaming of an island. This dream led to an existing treasure island named Serpentcoil Island, one of the small islands in the Inland sea. The duo decided to venture there no long after to explore the island, but also debunking the rumored treasure living inside a monster, atop of the island, and rescue the lost girl who sent that dream to them.[5][13] Asuka, a recurrent side character in the series, participates in the adventure to reunite with her allies in the island,[5] while an innkeeper of Uzumaki-Ya, Suzuna, supports the team throughout their adventure.[4]

Development

A satellite picture of the Setouchi region, which Serpentcoil Island is based on.
Serpentcoil Island, the game's main location, is based of the Setouchi region.

Prior to the development of The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, the Shiren the Wanderer series was dormant for over a decade, as the newest game, excluding ports and remasters, was released in 2010 for the Nintendo DS. Initially, the game started as a proposal from the team behind the Mystery Dungeon series as they were passionate about creating a brand new game for the series. This proposal was made before the Nintendo Switch and Steam ports of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate in 2020.[10] From an interview in 2018, Spike Chunsoft's president Mitsutoshi Sakurai answered for potential ports of the series in the future, although it would be a challenge as employees of the company said it will not do well.[14] In 2020, one of the series scenarists, Shin-ichiro Tomie, had left a secret message in the aforementioned ports, indicating he would still able to work on the next Shiren the Wanderer game if there are enough voices from the fans to green-lit a new Shiren the Wanderer game within the company.[15][16]

Eventually, the Switch port of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate exceeded the company's expectation in terms of reputation and sales, which led to green-lit the development of the new Shiren the Wanderer game soon after. The team decided to set the game after Monster of Moonlight Village due to the return of Asuka. They wanted to bring her back into the series with a different behavior to her appearance in the 2008 Wii game, Shiren the Wanderer, and therefore had to set the story before the latter. Serpentcoil Island was inspired of the Setouchi region.[10][17]

At New Year 2023, Spike Chunsoft hinted a new "large scale" title was in development in their New Year's card and will announce it in the near future. This title was neither Master Detective Archives: Rain Code or the Japanese releases of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Ark: Survival Evolved.[18] The game was first announced in the Japanese version of the Nintendo Direct on September 14, 2023 as Toguro Island Exploration Record for its subtitle, and will be available in Japanese and Chinese in its release.[3][2] An English release was revealed earlier by accident from a Canadian video game retailer, with a release date set for February 27 and under the subtitle The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island.[13] On October 4, 2023, new details were shown by the team in a Famitsu article. It included content that were showcased during Tokyo Game Show 2023; new transformations for Shiren with penalties, over thirty dungeons present in the island, and mechanics inherited from other Mystery Dungeon games such as the player's paths marked in the minimap from the Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon series, and giant, 3x3 grid size, monsters in dungeons and shortcuts for items functioning like moves in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon.[17][11] It also included a thanking message from the team.[17] Most of the team who worked on the Super Famicom and Nintendo DS versions of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer have returned for this game, such as Kaoru Hasegawa as character designer.[17][19][20] Later in the same day, a Taiwanese release for January 25 was confirmed by the company in a new trailer, along with a western release.[19] In an interview with Keisuke Sakurai and Hideyuki Shinozaki, the game's director and project manager respectively, they explain they were conscious about the release gap between the two games. Therefore, they decided to add numerous tutorials and removed gameplay content from the last game that was deemed hard for newcomers to the series. From the over 60 species of monsters added to the game, 20% of them are brand new monsters to the series. The game was close to being complete by the end of November, then fully completed on December 4.[8][21]

Release

The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is developed by Spike Chunsoft. The company will publish the game in Japan and Taiwan on January 25, 2024,[3] and in the United States on February 27, 2024.[19] The European release will be published by Reef Entertainment in the same day as the United States.[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Known in Japan as Fushigi no Dungeon: Fūrai no Shiren 6: Toguro-jima Tanken Roku[2] (Japanese: 不思議のダンジョン 風来(ふうらい)のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録(じまたんけんろく), Hepburn: Fushigi no Danjon Fūrai no Shiren 6 Toguro tō Tankenroku, lit. Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 6 – Coil Island Exploration Record).

References

  1. ↑ Shaun Musgrave (December 8, 2023). "'Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island' Nintendo Switch Hands-On Preview". toucharcade. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Daniel Bueno (September 14, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer 6 Announced in Japanese Nintendo Direct". SiliconEra. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 『風来シレン6 とぐろ島探検録』1月25日に発売決定。14年ぶりに待望のナンバリングタイトルが登場。アスカらしきキャラも映像で確認【Nintendo Direct】. Famitsu (in Japanese). September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Sal Romano (October 3, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island coming west on February 27, 2024". Gematsu. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Kai (September 14, 2023). 『14年ぶりのシリーズ完全新作『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン６ とぐろ島探検録』がNintendo Switchで2024年1月25日に発売。. Nintendo (in Japanese). Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  6. ↑ 『風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』メールインタビュー第2弾 後編。本作に夜はない！ 共鳴効果は本作でも実装、腕輪は条件を満たすと2個装備可能. Famitsu (in Japanese). November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  7. 1 2 『風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』メールインタビュー第2弾 前編。これまでの情報から編集部が気になった箇所を開発に訊いた。本作の食料はおにぎり！. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 25, 2023. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 『風来のシレン6』先行レビュー。既存システムの変更点から新要素まで、シレンジャーがたっぷりチェックしてきました！. Famitsu (in Japanese). November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 sceditor (November 20, 2023). "Spike Chunsoft, Inc. Unveils Sumo Power-ups, Roaming Behemoths, and New Characters for Roguelike RPG Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island". Spike Chunsoft. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 『風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』緊急メールインタビュー。Switch版『風来のシレン5plus』の好評を受けてプロジェクト開始. Famitsu (in Japanese). September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Kite Stenbuck (October 27, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island new quality of life features revealed". RPG Site. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  12. ↑ Hideaki Fujiwara (September 14, 2023). 『不思議のダンジョン 風来のシレン6 とぐろ島探検録』発表、1月25日発売へ。14年ぶりのナンバリング新作には“アスカ”も登場か. Automaton Media (in Japanese). Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  13. 1 2 Sal Romano (October 3, 2023). "Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island coming west on February 27, 2024". Gematsu. Archived from the original on September 22, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  14. ↑ SATO (March 28, 2018). "Spike Chunsoft CEO Talks About Bringing More Visual Novels And Japanese Games To The West". SiliconEra. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ Keiichi, Yokoyama (December 3, 2020). 『風来のシレン5plus』Nintendo Switch/Steam版には、新作を思い悩む開発者のメッセージが秘められている。とあるアイテムが示す、ファンへの願いの言葉. Automation (in Japanese). Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  16. ↑ Tomie: ...! Hey! Did you just push the switch on my back!? You're supposed to read the item description before you use it! Every wanderer knows that! It clearly says "DO NOT PUSH"! Geez, how did you make it this far? ...Well, might as well say my piece since you're here. My name is Tomie. I'm an old hand at Spike Chunsoft. So old that I'm nearly retirement age. Shiren the Wanderer, Banshee's Last Cry... I've seen some titles in my day. We devs got along good over the years. Old, young, age doesn't matter... They work us to the bone, all the same. Hasegawa... You may not know the name, but you know his art. His version of Shiren is iconic! And Nagahata, he's the only know who knows what to tweak under the hood to keep the game balanced. Then there's me, worrying about making a new Shiren the Wanderer. I gotta consider the budget and the needs of the company. Can we do it? More importantly, should we do it? I'm too wishy-washy to take the first step. If only... If only someone gave me a push. ...? Wait, didn't somebody just do exactly that? Ah, I'm going senile... Can you give me one more push? ...No? You can't? In that case... Can you make your voice heard? If all the Shiren fans across the world speak out, surely someone will hear... Who knows, your voices might make it all the way to the people in charge. Wouldn't be the first time our overlords got fired up over fan demand. Anyway, if a sequel gets green-lit, you can bet I'll give it my all. The series has a reputation to live up to. And the fans expect nothing less than the best! I won't let them down. Ah, this is all hypothetical, of course. But it's nice to think about, isn't it? Until we meet again, I'll be here, dreaming... Of a new Shiren the Wanderer title. – F A R E W E L L – (Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate)
  17. 1 2 3 4 『『風来のシレン6』シレンもモンスターも巨大化。足踏み回復は高レベルでも回復しやすく。開発者インタビューで内容に迫る【先出し週刊ファミ通】. Famitsu (in Japanese). October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  18. ↑ Amelia Fruzzetti (January 2, 2023). "Spike Chunsoft hints at unannounced large scale title(s) in 2023 New Year's message". Nintendo Wire. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 4 sceditor (October 3, 2023). "Roguelike RPG Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island for Nintendo Switch™ is Coming to North America and Europe". Spike Chunsoft. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  20. ↑ Richard Eisenbeis (December 8, 2023). "New Shiren the Wanderer Game Director and Project Manager Talk About Going Back to Basics". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ "風来のシレン公式 on X". Twitter. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
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