Rogue is a tough game to get into. By far, it is one of the hardest genres in which to do well. This is especially true on consoles because things either get way too difficult or things are dropped or even move sluggishly. No matter what people think about it on consoles, Atlus is hard at work for proving this type of game for the Wii can work. Aram Jabbari of Atlus was kind enough to show us a quick demonstration of Shiren the Wanderer.
As I understand it, the story behind Shiren is rather simple. He’s out for treasure, and while he’s wandering the countryside, he stumbles on the opportunity to gather some. It has to do with a young woman sleeping in a mysterious mansion for 1,000 years. The main mystery is what is going on in the region. Why has this woman been sleeping?
Gameplay wise, everything appears to be pure Rogue. The game is set up on tiles. You move, the enemies move. And you have to avoid traps. Plus, there is a ton of equipment to collect. The most interesting aspect is that other characters will join Shiren. Shiren is the generalist of the party; he can become whatever is required of him, and he can easily hold his weight with his sword. You can also change the equipment of your allies. And when the going gets tough, you can change their AI (so if you don’t want a character to use a certain item type, just tell him) to suit what’s currently going on OR you can take complete control of him. It’s the latter that appeals to me the most. Another interesting aspect is the simple fact that each dungeon has its own requirements. Some will drain your characters’ levels. Others will seal off items or limit the number of allies. It’ll be interesting to see how everything comes together in the full version.
Graphically, Shiren doesn’t seem to push the limits of the Wii. Yet again, this is a good thing as everything seems to move quickly and smoothly. It has a cute, laid-back cartoony vibe to it. Although, that four-armed centipede with swords looked a bit imposing. Anyway, it has a traditional Japanese vibe to it, complete with ethnic clothing. The translation seems strong enough to help Western gamers connect to it. There are several villages in the game, and I got to see the first one. It isn’t moving with life, but movement deviates from its tile-based exploration. It’s freeform like any other role-playing game. Plus, menus are cleanly laid out. It works just like any other game in the genre, so it’ll probably be a bit more imposing than what some gamers are used to. Thankfully, there is a little “help” line telling you what each item does and when it is chosen and who can use it.
I also heard a little bit of the sound aspect. The map music sounded traditionally Japanese with its soothing sounds. Swords seemed to slash rather well. Other than that, I didn’t hear much.
Overall, Shiren the Wander seems to be shaping up rather nicely. This might be one of the few Rogue games to truly work on a console. Combat is fast and rewarding. The randomized dungeons, provided everything comes together nicely, can keep gamers lost in their grasp for weeks. And if audio is perfected, it’ll all be delicious icing and most accessible. Shiren the Wanderer will be released late this winter. For more information, visit www.atlus.com/shiren.
