Shiren: Serpentcoil Island review - " A disappointing RPG"

• Adorable graphics
• Start over with nothing when you die
• Rescue other players via online rescue requests

Shiren: Serpentcoil Island is an RPG in which you explore various dungeons on a quest to save a mysterious girl and claim a legendary treasure. Balance your hunger and health as you battle a variety of cunning creatures, collect loot, and dive deeper into the depths of perilous dungeons.

Shiren: Serpentcoil Island features a somewhat Engaging Story

The narrative is pretty easy to follow. Shiren and his fuzzy ferret friend Koppa experience a strange vision of a girl in dire need of help. Together, they must explore Serpentcoil Island as they attempt to save her.

But there’s more to the island than damsels in distress. A monster lurks on the highest mountain, rumoured to hold a great treasure in its stomach. While a multitude of adventurers strike out to kill the beast, others oppose this, believing that killing the monster would bring about the destruction of the island.

Honestly, while it’s not a bad premise, there’s nothing inherently special about the story - though that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable.

Shiren: Serpentcoil Island’s gameplay is simple but hard to master. You’ll traverse dungeons with multiple levels, each more challenging than the last. Each time you collapse in a dungeon, you have to start from scratch and will not retain anything in your inventory that hasn’t been stored in the warehouse.

Partake in turn-based battles in Shiren: Serpentcoil Island

The turn-based combat system is pretty basic. Each turn, you can attack, use an item from your inventory, or flee. Running away is often your best bet if your health is low, as running replenishes your HP. Running in place is also a great way to heal up somewhat safely after a battle. 

However, running also depletes your fullness meter. Should your fullness meter get too low, you’ll collapse, so you need to keep an eye on it and eat Onigiri to replenish it from time to time. You’ll want to consume these rice balls wisely, as they can be scarce. This scarcity can make balancing your health and fullness a real pain. 

You’ll collect Onigri and other items and equipment as you explore. Be sure to equip gear as you find it to improve your chances of survival. Projectiles, scrolls, and staves held in your inventory can be used to aid you in battle. For instance, you can throw arrows and rocks to deal ranged damage to foes. Scrolls and staves are magical items you can use to turn the tide of battle. 

Shiren: Serpentcoil Island suffers from clunky controls

The Fixer Scroll restores your HP while the Swift Foe Scroll increases all nearby monsters’ speed. Some staves, like the Thunderbolt Staff, deal magical damage, while others inflict the target with a negative status. You may be tempted to save your scrolls and staves for harder battles, but remember, when you die, you lose everything in your inventory, so don’t be too stingy with them.

The on-screen controls take up a good bit of screen space. You can adjust the size of the controls in the settings menu; however, I recommend leaving them at their default size. The controls feel a bit stiff as it is, and making them smaller only makes them harder to master. 

The virtual joystick functions more like a D-pad with extra buttons for moving diagonally added to the mix. Because of this, it can be hard to move smoothly through a dungeon. Shiren: Serpentcoil Island is controller-compatible, which can make things a little easier. Even when using a controller, the controls themselves felt a bit clunky.

Shiren to the Rescue

If you collapse in a dungeon, you can request a rescue online. To complete a rescue, a player must make it to the level of the dungeon where you fell and revive you. You can be revived up to three times per run. 

While this seems convenient, I found myself waiting for long periods of time for a rescue. Dying during a rescue attempt does not affect your current progress. It does, however, mean you’ll fail to revive the other player. Considering how challenging these dungeons can be, it’s not overly surprising that not many players seem interested in rescues.

Shiren: Serpentcoil Island is a challenging dungeon crawler. It features cute graphics and a somewhat engaging narrative. However, the clunky controls and the fact that dying at any level of a dungeon means returning to the start make this title as frustrating as it is fun.