Rougelikes are a genre that seem to slip in and out of fashion every few years, with titles popping up and then being forgotten to the sands of time. There are some mainstays in the genre, though, and few words carry as much weight among fans of the genre as “Shiren” and “Wanderer”. Shiren must have restless feet because he’s been wandering for quite a while, with his legacy dating back to the Super Famicom era. The series finally made its way out of Japan back in 2008 and has built a cult following centered on its signature blend of turn-based dungeon crawling, high stakes progression, and a ruthless reset mechanic that would make even the most battle-hardened of genre enthusiasts shed a tear.
The latest entry, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island for Nintendo Switch, marks a long-awaited return for the franchise that has been in a dormant state for quite a while. It is largely a faithful continuation of the classic Shiren formula and should offer enough to satisfy someone that just wanted to see the series on a modern console again. Even with this in mind, though, it still feels slightly disappointing that Shiren took all this time off and did not evolve as much as it could have. 
The player once again steps into the shoes (er…sandals?) of Shiren, a wandering ronin accompanied by his talking weasel/ferret/adorable animal companion, Koppa. The story this time around centres on the mysterious Serpentcoil Island, home to legendary treasure, fearsome beasts, and some sort of big bad beastie that completely dominates poor Shiren within five minutes of starting the adventure. Shiren goes from learning about this creature from some struggling travelers to getting his teeth knocked out by it within the span of a couple of minutes, and from there the game kicks Shiren back out to the starting town where he suddenly has a convenient case of plot-related amnesia. He may not remember his adventures, but he’s about to embark on them over and over (and over) again until he can finally get that legendary treasure he’s been hearing so much about.
One of the biggest disappointments is the story, which feels like a paper thin excuse to keep booting Shiren back into the same dungeons over and over. The narrative is light and largely functional, but it feels like it is mostly perfunctory and just there to string dungeon segments together. It does not seem like it was crafted to be a core emotional driver of the game. Dialogue is pretty sparse, and what is there feels almost intentionally dull so players don’t sit around and linger too long. Character development is minimal, and any attempts at deeper storytelling are quickly shelved in favor of the series’ primary draw, which is the dungeon crawl itself. Shiren games tend not to be vehicles for deep, interesting stories, but it always feels like a missed opportunity when Shiren is stuck in this slog and there isn’t any fun lore or story to back it all up.
The gameplay should feel familiar to anyone who has experience with the series (or roguelikes in general). Serpentcoil Island’s main story dungeon consists of 31 procedurally generated floors, each filled with traps, enemies, and randomised loot. The types of enemies and loot do seem pretty locked in for any individual floor, but the layout and placement of these things is never the same between any two runs. As is tradition for the series, enemy movement is tied to Shiren’s movement, meaning there is a strategic element where the player can see enemies coming and can methodically think out how they want to react.
Death resets the player’s progress completely, or at least in all ways that actually matter. Equipment, items, and level are all lost, with only minimal metagame or glossary unlocks carrying over. There are limited rescue attempts available through an online system, but players will mostly have to endure the game’s repeated demands for do-overs on their own. This is sort of a core element of roguelikes, and it is a design choice that is either fun or frustrating depending entirely on individual tolerance for this sort of thing.
Combat is pretty stripped-down and largely in line with some of the earlier games in the series. Shiren and all the various baddies move around on these grid-based tiles, and Shiren has the ability to attack, use items, throw objects, and manipulate terrain to gain advantage. There are definitely some interesting and fairly tactical encounters to the proceedings, including some bosses and other fun enemy varieties.
New to this entry are “Behemoths,” powerful enemies that are immune to damage taken from the front or the sides. They show up a lot in the post-game content, but there are plenty of examples of enemies like this that require more strategy than just standing there and bonking them on the head with whatever sword Shiren happens to be holding. There are plenty of examples of fun, rewarding combat here if players are willing to dig deep enough for it.
However, for all the good that can be said about certain combat elements, the experience is undermined by both repetition and randomness. No amount of planning can compensate for a random trap that warps the player into a monster-filled corridor, or a missed attack at a crucial moment that leads to instant death. It is possible to play really well and still lose everything. The charm lies in this challenge, but it is an example of a game that is going to require a very specific and very dedicated sort of player to see it through to the end.
The main quest is fortunately fairly easy compared to the post-game content, but at the same time it is also fairly boring. That is a particular problem if death happens to occur due to one deviously placed trap, because it means starting all over from the first level at level 1. It is a painful slog to get back through from that point because it requires playing all the boring, mind-numbingly simplistic floors of the dungeon all over again.
There is also a good bit of randomness tied to item and weapon drops. Each new attempt in the dungeon starts Shiren with almost entirely empty pockets other than a single snack to help fill their bellies. In between floors Shiren can reach small towns that allow him to improve gear they’re carrying, but a lot of success is tied to how lucky the player is with their drops. There are some weapons and armour that can drop that completely trivialise entire floors, while other attempts are going to be a struggle to get through each and ever level of the dungeon.
There are these “Sacred Items,” which are rare weapons or shields augmented with unpredictable modifiers. These gear drops can dramatically shift the trajectory of a run, which is equal parts funs and daunting. Picking up that extra powerful piece of loot is great but it can make certain attempts feel frustrating where Shiren is at the mercy of the RNG gods.
Something else that feels like a bit of a setback is the visuals. Visually, Serpentcoil Island looks pretty different than the past titles in the series. Quite a bit of time has passed since Shiren’s last release, but somehow that game looked better than this one. Previous entries relied on fun sprite work and there was the genuine charm that came with the style. Here, the series transitions to 3D models and environments, and it sadly feels like a major step back. While the presentation is clean and technically competent, the new aesthetic lacks a distinct, notable style. The animation is often stiff, and the game’s lighting and minimal effects can feel artificial and lifeless. The unique visual identity of the sprite-based entries has been traded for a serviceable but bland chibi 3D style.
A nice change here is the online rescue system. Upon death, players can request help from others, allowing fellow adventurers to venture into their version of the dungeon and revive them. The bad news is that the player’s actual quest can’t be continued at this point as they will have to wait for some brave online soul to come and rescue them. During this time, though, players can jump into other players’ games and rescue them while waiting to be rescued themselves. It is a clever system that adds a sense of community to what is otherwise a mostly solitary experience. It also helps with the difficulty some, and novice adventurers will at least have a way to continue without restarting if they manage to find someone to help them. It can’t be endlessly abused and there is a definite element of waiting that stalls the gameplay, but it is at least a possible alternative for people that don’t quite like the punishing nature of this sort of game.
Where Serpentcoil Island really shines the most is in its post-game content. The initial “story” dungeon feels somewhat like a tutorial, and even with all progress lost with a single death, it doesn’t provide all that much of a challenge. After completing this dungeon, however, the game really expands and grows, and it is here that the mechanics of Shiren really shine brightest. A number of side dungeons and variant challenges unlock at this point, with the player free to decide what to tackle and when. New rules and twists pop up to really test Shiren’s skill, and while the challenge ramps up significantly so does the fun. These challenges really represent the true game, and while the main quest can be polished off in roughly ten hours, dedicated players will probably find ten times that wrapping up all of the various bonus content.
The struggle here is all this content is locked behind completing the main story, which takes a good chunk of time and many players may need to replay large sections multiple times due to deaths. The more enjoyable stuff here takes a ten-hour buy-in to see, and there is a real risk that a lot of people may get bored and just quit before they get to the more complex core that makes this instalment of Shiren significantly more enjoyable. Worse still, the main story dungeon barely evolves from one floor to the next, leading to a nagging sense of repetition that can dull even the most determined person’s resolve. Serpentcoil Island leans heavily on its post-game depth, but it requires players to endure a pretty ho-hum main quest to get to it.
A lot of the early slog here comes from the simplicity of the mechanics. Beyond gear management and tactical positioning, the game lacks a real sense of strategy, particularly early on. There are no meaningful character abilities to unlock, no interesting skill trees to develop, and no real long-term growth beyond acquiring better gear and finding better items. Compared to a lot of other modern roguelikes, which blend RPG mechanics with their procedural roots, Shiren feels a bit dated.
Now, there is payoff later on. The post-game dungeons are a much more fun example of what Serpentcoil Island has to offer, and while things still feel a bit minimalistic, there is more complexity there. The problem again is it takes so long to get there, and even these “better” dungeons don’t quite feel worth the long-term early investment it takes to get there.
