The new content is extensive, beginning with challenging new Sacred Tree Dungeons.

Yes, the Sacred Tree you’ve been looking at in the starting town of Shukuba Beach is now open, and it holds difficult dungeons with special rules.

• Normal Trial: Replay the dungeons of the main game with the same rules while also being able to change your playable character. For dungeons that had a boss battle at the end, you can now challenge them again.
• Time Trial: Race to the finish and strive to complete the dungeon in as little time as possible.
• Turn Trial: Master efficiency by completing the dungeon in as few turns as possible.
  Countdown Trial: Aim to complete the dungeon with a time limit on every turn and the dungeon as a whole.
• Challenge Trial: Set your own personal restrictions to truly challenge yourself, such as completing the dungeon without using certain items or collapsing.

A mysterious sixth mode is also available, but would a Mystery Dungeon be without some mystery?

Other new features include:

• Play using “Kokatsu Shiren” – The Kokatsu Shiren form from the main game can now be selected as a playable character in the Sacred Tree trials. Previously, Kokatsu Shiren could only be used in the Cavern of Suiryu dungeon, but will now also be available in other dungeons.

• Dojo Challenge Mode – Enjoy mini-stages where you can learn the characteristics of each monster in the Monster Dojo
• Expanded Storehouse – The capacity of the Item Holder Storehouse, where you can deposit items and weapons found in the dungeon, will expand from 180 items to 960 items.
• Balance Adjustments and Other Improvements

That’s a lot of new features and improvements, but Spike Chunsoft isn’t done. A second update in development and due for release this summer will introduce even more new content and functional improvements.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island is available now digitally in the Nintendo eShop, A physical edition is also available, which includes a first-run bonus sticker featuring the protagonist, Shiren, and the game’s traditional Japanese art style.

For more information, visit the game’s official website.

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The same might’ve happened here if I weren’t reviewing this game. I didn’t get the roguelike approach. I wasn’t willing to accept death as a learning experience. But then it all clicked, and I’m now such a fan that I’ve been hitting up eBay for that Wii game I stupidly traded in.

Series fans already understand this, of course. This review is for the rest of you. Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery of Serpentcoil Island is tremendous fun; you just need to give it multiple sessions to understand why.

The game begins with Shiren and his talking ferret friend, Koppa, receiving a vision of a land in distress, a kidnapped girl, and a promise of riches. Attracted by all three, Shiren and Koppa quickly find themselves battling a fierce monster…who kills them. But death is never the end in a Shiren game. Our heroes awaken the next morning back in the starting village, all items gone, all experience lost. Time to face the day.

Shiren’s goal is to traverse the main story’s 31 levels to return to that monster, solve the mystery of the kidnapped girl, and receive his treasure. He does this by entering randomly generated “dungeons” that are populated with enemies and traps.

Thankfully, helpful items will also be randomly scattered about: weapons, shields, staves, scrolls, and more, including (hopefully) a plethora of onigiri. Shiren gets hungry, you see, and needs to quell that hunger in order to continue.

Of course, the player has to worry about health, too. If that drops to 0, Shiren dies, and is returned to the village with nothing: items lost, gold gone, levels reset. But he’s smarter. New monsters are added to the game’s encyclopedia with information on how to beat them. OK, fine. But what’s better is the weapons you had to reach, say, level 10 to obtain can now start showing up in level 1. So, the deeper you get, the easier it is to get back there. That’s what I didn’t understand.

And getting back there remains fun because of the new elements that pop up. You’ll get access to secret routes. You’ll meet fellow adventurers (NPCs) who can join and aid you.

You’ll get new staves to utilize in clever, life-saving ways. And since the levels are randomly generated, you’re never taking the same path from entry point to stairs. Although, admittedly, some layouts will become familiar.

Other elements help you on your way. The controls of Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island are streamlined and intuitive. Steps are turn-based (for every step you take, the approaching enemies take theirs), but you control the pacing; run when there’s no one around, take cautious steps when surrounded by enemies or wandering darkened mines that allow you to see only one grid square ahead of you. The UI allows you to set up your favorite items for quick access. When you find some needed onigiri or a shield enhancement, but your inventory is full, you can utilize that item without having to first add it to your inventory. There are many streamlined features like this to keep you moving.

There are also key decisions to make as you progress. If you find the stairs early on the map, do you move ahead or risk exploring to find more treasure? If you meet the fellow who can transport one of your items back to the village for safekeeping, do you send back your prized weapon for later attempts or risk using it on this attempt? Do you try battling through a monster room to reap its rewards or flee knowing your chances of survival are small? Should you put on that bracelet before you use an Identify Scroll to determine what it’ll do? Every adventure is a gamble, and you’re not likely to reach the end without taking numerous risks.

Thankfully, you can be rescued. If you die, you’re able to call out for an online rescue up to three times per run. Other players can accept your request. If they’re successful, you will start back up right where you went down. You can’t progress in the game until you’re rescued, you abandon the request, or you rescue yourself. So, what to do in the meantime? Rescue others for various rewards. There’s always something to do, even when you’re lying prone on a mountain, surrounded by monsters.

In fact, there’s plenty to do even after you’ve completed the initial story and the credits roll. I did so after about 35 hours with the game. That run consumed just under three of those hours and was completely unexpected; it started as an attempt to simply advance a particular sidequest progression. But thanks to an outstanding shield, a lot of revival grass, a trio of companions, and a heavy dose of luck, I was able to wrap everything up. Or so I thought. Completing the main run opens up a lot of challenging new areas. Even better, you get to keep everything you had with you, and you’re actually given places to store it. Now, all of that money and all of those items can be used as you seek out treasure in new places. Until you die in those, of course, so be careful what you take with you when exploring someplace new.

No matter where Shiren and Koppa find themselves, the visuals remain fun and lively. The music is even better—amongst the best I’ve heard in a Switch game. I also never got tired of the rousing level-up chant. Nearly every aspect of the game has something to delight players as they deal with their frustration.

And you will get frustrated, as the game will often bully you. You’ll die on level two because you simply missed a punch. You’ll die on level 28 because of a badly timed trap. An enemy will spoil your onigiri just before you were about to eat it. Rescues can alleviate that frustration, but they won’t take away that feeling of having the rug pulled out from under you.

Accepting this, though, is liberating. Playing a game where death is a requirement is almost cathartic, and I’m now addicted to the experience. I greatly enjoyed Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island and will continue to do so. More importantly, I’ve added it to my short list of IPs where I want to own each game. I see that this is the 6th in the series, so it looks like I’m set for an even more frustrating adventure. Better stock up on onigiri.

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Yes, the peach bun. Of course, in a Shiren game, even something that simple will serve a much bigger purpose; eating one transforms Shiren into a monster.

As you progress through the game, you can obtain a Peach Club or Peach Staff. Defeating monsters with these items may grant you a Peach Bun bearing the name of the defeated monster. Eating Peach Buns will turn you into the corresponding monster and enable you to use its special ability. Transform into aquatic or flying monsters to traverse otherwise impassable areas. You can find the Peach Club and Peach Staff within dungeons under certain conditions, adding an intriguing aspect to the story revolving around these mysterious tools.

It’s just one more trick Shiren has at his disposal to overcome the seemingly impossible task of reaching and overcoming the powerful monster at the highest mountain peak of Serpentcoil Island. What do Shiren and his faithful talking ferret, Koppa, hope to find there? An exquisite treasure (and a girl?) in the monster’s belly.

Of course, there are plenty of other monsters obstructing the way, including:

• Hoppin’ Batter Family – Has a chance of hitting thrown items, Stave magic bullets, and cannonballs back at the attacker. If this fails, the projectile lands nearby. The likelihood of successfully deflecting increases at higher levels, for instance, with Hoppin’ Hitter or Hoppin’ Slugger.
• Hen Family – Master Hen and Great Hen, among others, are monsters boasting well-trained bodies. They excel in hand-to-hand combat, and as they reach higher levels, they approach rapidly with double-speed actions, so be cautious. When their remaining HP becomes low, they transform into Hens. A Hen runs around like it lost its head. If hit by fire or an explosion, it turns into Yakitori; a delicious item with a similar effect as Onigiri.
• Numerous Forms of Ninja – The ninja on Serpentcoil Island specialize in five types of ninjutsu: Fire, Water, Tree, Metal, and Earth. They all have the ability to skillfully dodge attacks with nimble speed, and each ninja employs ninjutsu with unique characteristics.

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island will be released for Nintendo Switch on February 27th.

For more information, visit www.spike-chunsoft.co.jp.

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If you have not used an exercise / sports training “game” like this before, Fitness Circuit’s answer to the big question is yes, you can make a fitness game and have it end up being fun and effective. It uses “super circuit training,” which it describes as “… a workout method that alternates aerobic and strength-building exercises to efficiently burn calories, increase endurance, and improve muscle strength in a short period of time.” And how it does this is pretty unique.

You may have seen commercials for devices which step you through a workout routine while you can see either yourself, an “instructor,” or both. With Fitness Circuit, you get a real-world motion silhouette and a trainer avatar. The difference is the avatar isn’t doing what you’re doing. While you may be marching in place, doing squats, doing knee-ups, etc., the avatar is running an obstacle course, rowing a boat, or some other beat-the-clock competitive event.

This is the twist where the exercise becomes a game. The silhouette is showing you what you are supposed to be doing, and the better you execute the movements, the faster your avatar gets to the finish line. The game knows what you are doing from the accelerometers in the Joy-Cons. How closely your movements match the timing of the game will determine how fast your avatar moves.

So, here’s the first little aside; you can play this game either on the TV or on table top, but the game will require that the Joy-Cons are not attached to the Switch. It’s a good idea to use the security loops, just in case you get enthusiastically into the swing of things.

Let’s talk about avatar visuals. There are six options: three male and three female. You can do some customizing with your avatar for stuff like hair color, eye color, outfit, and so on. There is a small degree of anime unrealism with some of the body proportions; the legs are a bit longer than normal human proportions, but it isn’t so exaggerated to be distracting.

The movements are mostly realistic as well. There are minor glitches, like ponytails that don’t flop around in a natural manner or hands that seem to pass through legs when marching. Again, not so noticeable as to be distracting or ruin the game, so no real concern there. The voice work for the avatars does a good job of getting the whole “voice matches the face” feeling, so well done there.

Customization has a place for your personal info. It is basically limited to your height and weight, which calculates BMI (body mass index). While this measurement is mostly helpful, there are limited circumstances where it may be a bit off the mark.

I enjoyed the flexibility of the game (more on that in a bit) and being able to get in a workout at a moment’s notice in the comfort of my home.

The other side of my personal schedule means I am in the gym three days per week working on a little cardio, but mostly using machines and free weights for strength training. If you are using a weight training regimen, you might build enough muscle mass to tip the scales, as it were, into fooling the BMI measurement into thinking you still have a couple pounds to lose. Personally, I prefer the visual tests; if I look healthy and my clothes fit well, then I’m happy enough, even if some measurements say I should drop five more pounds. (To be honest, I should probably lose the extra five anyway.)

Now for the important parts –working out. You can play Fitness Circuit by yourself anytime, but the game also has a multi-player feature so you can work out and compete against up to three others. You can use canned workout routines or you can create your own set of exercises. There are several cardio and strength training moves from which you can choose.

You can even select custom difficulty levels by indicating how many sets of each move you want to perform. Each of the moves will have a one to three-star difficulty rating, so you can take it as easy as needed. It is worth noting that the game does come with a health advisory at the intro screen—please read it. It is always a good idea to be very aware of your limitations when getting into an exercise routine. The last thing you want is to overdo something and end up hurt. As an additional way to help keep you safe, the game will offer you the option to do some warm up and cool down routines to help your body cope with the workout and recovery. The basic routine the game suggests is just ten minutes of workout per day for three days per week. It doesn’t sound like much, but if you do the exercises faithfully and enthusiastically, you will get results.

I tested the limits of what the game would recognize as “participation” and found out you can sit in an easy chair and barely move your arms and still get the avatar to run the race. That’s the same with most motion-based exercise games, however, so you just have to be disciplined enough to take the workout seriously. And even with that minimal motion, I could tell my heart picked up a few beats per minute. Once you really get into the game, you will work up a sweat. There are no weights, but all the motions use the major muscle groups, and gravity is quite enough to provide a good workout.

Fitness Circuit is available now in the eShop. If you want to have a little fun while getting some exercise in, this game is a good option.

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