Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (Nintendo DS)

Players in the mood for a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl will find it in MYSTERY DUNGEON: SHIREN THE WANDERER -- as well as a healthy dose of old-school challenge. Shiren, along with a talking Weasel and various companions he picks up along the way, goes on a quest to reach the Land of the Golden Condor and must travel through a series of linear, increasingly difficult dungeons, collecting loot and battling monsters along the way. Each set of dungeon levels is interspersed with towns where Shiren can heal, buy items, and upgrade weapons.

Here's the catch: if Shiren dies along the way, he loses his experience points and items and starts over again at the first town. A warehouse to store items, and an innovative "rescue" system where you can call upon a friend to resurrect Shiren via the Nintendo DS's WiFi capabilities, softens the blow somewhat, but the game nevertheless instills a healthy and decidedly old-school fear of defeat that is becoming more of a rarity in modern games.

Dungeons are randomly generated, meaning replay value is infinite, and certain events will only be triggered if you talk to the same people multiple times -- so it's expected that you'll be starting over frequently. Nevertheless, the downside is that such a severe penalty for defeat discourages experimentation and makes the player all the more inclined to try to rush through each level instead of thoroughly exploring it. Ultimately, however, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer is an intriguing experience both in spite of and because of its idiosyncratic gameplay conventions.

Available on: Nintendo DS
Available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Sega of America
Released on: March 4, 2008
Price: 29.99
ESRB Rating: E for Mild Fantasy Violence