I'm on the cusp of my final Shiren run.  I finally found an armband of calm which protects against confusion.  I have my Mastersword+19 and Armorward +12.  30 or so wooden arrows and both Kechi and Pekegi (Oryu died in the mines.)  Plus I have a storeroom jar if things look like they're going completely to shit.  I'm at the point of no return, the mountaintop village before the marsh.  After this it's a hard run to the Golden Plains of 15 hellish levels, broken only by the underground stream village which has NO store room.

The last time I stood looking down this staircase and thinking I was ready I paid the ultimate price...  Should I wait until my whole party is with me?  Do I need more riceballs?  Should I buff my Sword more first?  I'm going to save it and sleep on it.  This game is going to drive me insane...

That's more like epic x5, and I thought the sword I used for my run was epic...

Don't have monster meat yet, didn't even get the restaurant side-quest yet (But I did get a bungee jump thing).
And if there is a chance it could work well, I'll take it.

That I'll take to heart, I'll dedicate a Holding Jar or three to Scrolls of Blessings.

Monster meat of varying types will show up in shops occasionally.  Mamel meat is best because it's cheapest and it's the weakest creature in the game so if you hit anything else with it they become easily beatable Mamets.  I've been told this works on the final boss as well.

And Oryu pisses me off, she's a psycho killer who keeps running off on her own and dying, her blind move makes her the one I would prefer stay alive...

Did you fuse your Mastersword with anything?
And would a Drain Buster work on a Polygon Jive?
What about Doppleganger Staffs? Would they be useful for a quick distraction while you make a break for it or should one skip it entirely?

Monster House... That sends chills up my spine. I wouldn't know if it would be worth it to fight or just book it for the exit.

And I wouldn't mind using the Scroll of Removal on a certain enemy (Either that special someone in the Plains of the Sun or those Skull Mages you see near/at the Plains). And I'll be bringing a Scroll of Blessing if anything gets cursed; I'll make sure to keep those types of enemies away. Far away.

My epic Mastersword that I lost was fused with one of those swords that attacks three directions at once and was plated and was +53 or 54.  I had a storehouse jar with me so I wouldn't lose it, I hadn't counted on being confused by one of those eyed bastards and I was beyond pissed off when it happened.

Doppleganger staff might work on the polygon jive, even better would be throwing monster meat if you have it.  I've never tried a drain buster so I couldn't say how well that works.

As for monster houses, I always fight through them, the drops and loot are always prime.

And bring as many blessing scrolls as you can get your greedy mitts on.  Another of my favorite tactics is to slap cursed stuff into a jar of change.  Whatever new item you get won't be cursed and I've had this work out surprisingly well a few times.

 

I've only found one melding jar.

I usually carry two chiropractic jars.  My mastersword is plated.  I have an armorward I melded with a hide shield so it has the lesser weight and of course is plated.

Floor 28 is the start of the final trial and it's basically a monster house.

Watch out for the polygon jive on floors 26/27 they have an instant starvation attack that drops your fullness to zero.  I stock up on paralysis wands and dragon herbs, they're FAST so don't bother with knockback staffs.

Scroll of removal to my knowledge is good for removing cursed items but an unequip trap will do the same.

Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja (DS), Doom the Roguelike and Angband (I know TLO swears by it).
Can't vouch for the sequel to Izuna, as I haven't played it yet.

TLO swears AT Angband 

So back on the crack again... I mean Shiren.

Convinced someone else to drive and got a good couple games in.  Got a few new goodies stashed in my "final run" jars and got my master sword up to +19.  I bought the farm on floor 28 this time, didn't have any blastwave scrolls left AND I had to fly solo from level 16 on because all 3 of my back up got their asses handed to them by the level drain crap in the marsh.  I admit to using them as cannon fodder though so it's all good.

If anyone needs rescues let me know, I'll be grinding for goodies in prep for my final run in my spare moments and it looks like I'll have wifi most evenings.

Ramones - Road to ruin.  Yes, the whole album.

In a hotel on the other side of Ohio, fresh from the Rock and Roll hall of fame.

It is amazing yet frustrating... so much awesome stuff but hardly any of it can be photographed.  For me the highlight of the trip was the escalator trip down to the main floor because the morning sun shone like a beacon across the room and I screamed " OH MY FUCKING GOD, THAT'S JOHNNY RAMONES GUITAR!!!"  And it was...

Then I got into an argument discussion with a dimwit employee who confuses pop sucess with artistry regarding why Metallica was inducted while Motorhead is conspicuously absent.  Worse yet Trujillo was inducted while Mustaine was snubbed?  Gah...  But anyway, the rock hall of fame, check it out, more wonders than I can describe AND a nice record store (with shit for Motorhead variety).

And for those of you standing by for Shiren saves, I still haven't had time to turn the DS on.  Whenever I get a wifi signal this is pretty much the only place I check on...

Because it's a niche group game, it's brutal, more forgiving than some roguelikes but unforgiving enough for you to make a combo of curse words at your DS when you die, it's savage...
And because Log, TLO and Gez play it as well.

I swear to God you guys are going to get me started on that damn game again    I brought my entire DS library with me on my trip "just in case".  The first downtime I get I'm playing Shiren..

Found wifi hot spot at Cedar Point.  Top Thrill Dragster is awesome!!!!  Google it.

I will be gone until right around July 4th, through careful plotting and hoarding of vacation days I've managed to accrue 27 consecutive days away from work and I will travelling most of the country during that time, most likely away from computer access.  As I hit occasional wifi hotspots I may pop in but don't plan on seeing much of me until late this month/early next month.  Later all, behave while I'm gone 

 

I hereby anoint this topic AWESOMESAUCE!

So... on the subject of Roguelikes I've played.

Rogue (of course) the father of them all and very good.  Amadeus, I have never had treasure drops that good that early and to have them yanked so soon thereafter is sad but seems fitting somehow.  Welcome to the Roguelikes.  

NetHack is my favorite, I've spent countless hours playing it, I ascended to the astral plane ONCE, whereupon my deity personally smited me for being a heretical ass before I could claim godhood for myself.  Apparently karma IS a bitch.  Some people supposedly have games they've spent in excess of a decade playing without completing and then you have guys who have completed it in excess of 20 times within a month.  I'm happy with my puttering around and getting my ass handed to me.  Most embarrasing death?  I polymorphed into a red dragon which was fucking epic.  I tore ass through level after level of the dungeon, ripping my foes apart with claws and melting them with my fire breath.  I was unstoppable.  But... I made two mistakes.  Mistake 1.  I didn't remove my armor before polymorping, which destroyed it in the process.  2.  I drank the wrong potion, which instead of healing me reversed my polymorph.  You can imagine how long I survived in an advanced level of the dungeon with no armor...  Second most memorable death was being killed by my own ghost who had starved to death on a previous play through (yes, you can encounter ghosts of your previous failures.)

Related to NetHack I dabbled briefly with it predecessor Hack but NetHack had so many more features I didn’t stick with Hack for long.

Angband is very good.  Based heavily on Lord of the Rings lore, it had a predecessor, Moria that I never played.  Angband was hellishly hard even by Roguelike standards and I never got very far into it, repeatedly being gangbanged by Nazgul and Balrog discouraged me after a while and I haven’t fired this one up in years.

Doom the Roguelike is awesome, I first heard about this one from one of my college buddies who remembered my misspent time in college either playing NetHack or surfing www.doomworld.com and I can’t repay him for the joy I’ve had playing this beauty.  If you like Roguelikes and Doom you just can’t go wrong.

Shiren the Wanderer.  I got this for Christmas when it first came out for the DS from my cousin who thought it was just a JRPG.  Just glancing at the box I had the same impression and I put off playing it for about two weeks.  But once I did I quickly realized I had been given solid gold.  Despite the graphics (I usually prefer my Roguelikes in ASCII) it’s a real honest to goodness modern roguelike.  The only concession it makes to the player in the way of ease is that you CAN stash items that will last between lives.  This may not seem like much but if you can keep taking a sword out, grinding a few levels into it and then stashing it for later it WILL make your “final run” playthrough a LOT easier.  However this also adds a further sadistic level of soul shattering horror when the “final run” fails short of the mark and you shriek to the gods “I JUST SPENT FOUR FUCKING MONTHS LEVELING THAT GOD DAMN SWORD!!!!  WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?!?!?!”  I’ve gotten closer in Shiren to completion than I have in any other Roguelike, like close enough to see the finish line only to have it snatched away at the last possible second with the maximum amount of anguish rubbed into my already salted wounds.  I still haven’t recovered enough to play it again but the itch is still there, I think any day now I’ll start climbing that damn mountain again.

I’ve heard the Pokemon mystery dungeons are ALMOST roguelikes but I haven’t played them.

I think that's enough ranting for now.

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer (DS, Wii)

And yes, I am jealous of that sword...

If you think you like Lupin now go buy the Castle Cagliostro.  Best animated adventure movie ever made.  You will not regret watching it.

Had a water nymph steal all my gear then I was attacked by a horde of bugbears.  Only in NetHack *sigh*