Shiren 3 Wii:Beginner Pitfall

 Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 3 - The Sleeping Princess and the Karakuri Mansion is a game that is littered with Beginner Pitfalls that the player couldn't possibly expect, or comprehend without an online resource, as no guidebooks were released for the game. While this page contains some gameplay and plot spoilers, it's still advisable to read in advance to avoid the headaches these mechanics can, and will cause.

Main Story

Difficulty

The first instance is when the player creates their save; two difficulty options are presented.

Easy Difficulty: Upon being defeated, the player will be returned to the state they were in prior to entering the dungeon, with the items and equipment that didn't see them through the first time. Normal Difficulty: Upon being defeated, the player will lose all of their items and equipment, but retain their levels that won't help one bit on the next adventure.

Shiren 3 is an RPG with Roguelike mechanics, not a Roguelike. While many players fuss about how you keep your levels in Shiren 3, those people have obviously never played the game, or don't know what they're talking about, as keeping your levels doesn't make the game any easier. There's no incentive to pick normal difficulty over easy, as it will only result in the player having to revisit earlier dungeons to grind for better equipment for another attempt at the dungeon they were last defeated in. In some instances, players may continue to lose the equipment they're grinding and have to start over again.

Mixed

These pitfalls may present issues during the main story and into the post-credits gameplay.

Jizo Statue

While exploring Otsutsuki Village, players may encounter two characters in the SE corner, by the river—having a spooky conversation about a headless Jizo statue that supposedly wanders around at night, looking for its lost head. Upon (re)visiting the Ruined Temple, off to the left is a headless Jizo Statue.

Sensei must be in the party, where he'll put on a spooky voice when interacting with the Jizo Statue. If players return with Asuka, or with Shiren or Asuka, they'll be locked out of finishing the quest for the majority of the main story. When Shiren travels to the past, he can pay the Stone Mason's son 500 Gitan to craft a new head for the Jizo Statue and bury it in the village. If players don't act when given the opportunity, they may be unable to progress the quest until well into the post-credits gameplay.

Blacksmith

The Blacksmith Kumaji is sick; it's advisable to speak to him as soon as possible as well. He'll give Shiren the "Tattered Scroll" quest item. Upon his first visit to the past, when speaking to Kumaji's ancestor, he'll give Shiren a new version of the scroll, which will tell Kumaji how to cure his illness.

While players will have numerous instances to progress this quest, it's still advisable to do so earlier, rather than later.

The second beginner pitfall for Kumaji is post-credits, when players gain the ability to add a Rune Slot to their Weapon, Shield, or Armband. SAVE BEFORE SPEAKING TO HIM! Kumaji will ask for 10,000 Gitan, which is a hefty sum on its own, and a random item. This can be seemingly any item, including super-rare stuff, such as the Bitter Herb, which is only known to spawn in the Tsuzura Maze. The Tsuzura Maze is the Final Dungeon of Shiren 3. While it's tedious to have to reset your Wii every time Kumaji asks for some bunk item, such as a Razor Wind, it's much less work than acquiring such an insanely rare item.

Post-credits

Rare Equipment

During the Tournament Arc, the player is awarded several super-rare items. This includes a Kabra's Blade, and a Wind Shield, which both need to be transformed into a Kabra Reborn and a Stormward for the Travel Log respectively. These items should be placed into storage and only taken out under carefully measured, extreme circumstances, as they will not be easy to replace.

Bug Repellent

Post-credits, as part of the Bug Repellent Quest, the player is tasked with obtaining 3 different types of monster meat. If the player speaks to Granny Onsen with 1 or 2 pieces of meat in their inventory, she'll take them, thank the player, and the player will then have to re-obtain the now lost meat as part of the quest.