If you've ever played Angband, Nethack or any of the other oldschool "roguelike" games, then you'll find the permadeath of Shiren the Wanderer to be a blast from the past. If, on the other hand, you've grown accustomed over the years to the ability to save, die, and reload, you'll find the permadeath of Shiren the Wanderer to more than a little bit brutal. There are no take-backs, only do-overs. And by do-overs, I mean, you start from the beginning and do it all over again.

For those used to reloading the last save after dying, having to start over again can take some getting used to. It requires a different approach to the game. A different mind set. A certain level of bloody-minded determination. It's worth it, though.

For those unfamiliar, the "roguelike" genre has a few long standing traditions. Dungeon layouts, monsters and treasure are randomly generated, thus the same game is never played twice. Death is permanent. Movement and attacks are essentially turn based. For every square you move or action you take, the monsters and NPCs present in the dungeon are also allowed to move or take action. Typically, you'll find one (or more) "town levels" where you're free from harm and can buy equipment, heal your characters or freely interact with NPCs.

Shiren the Wanderer follows the roguelike formula pretty closely. You start off at level one. As you explore the dungeons, you'll find weapons and shields (I've still not found any proper armor, though) and other useful items. As you defeat monsters, you'll level up. When you die, you're dead, and you have to start over at level one. As is the case will all roguelikes worth playing, Shiren the Wanderer does have a couple of interesting features to differentiate it from its brethren.

First are the storehouses which will be found in some of the villages. These storehouses allow you drop stuff off which will remain safe even after you die. So, if you have an abundance of food (Shiren needs to eat) or healing herbs, you can drop them off so that next time through, you can pick them up if you need them. Second, there's a certain level of persistence in the world you explore. NPCs that you encounter will remember you from last time. (Minor spoiler here) For example, there's one guy that claims to be your brother, after you've come through the town he lives in a couple of time (and by come through, I mean, die, and come through again), he'll eventually want to join your party. He'll follow you around the dungeon and fight some monsters and, inevitably, die. As will you. Next time around, you might encounter him on your travels and he will claim to have been training so that this time around, he won't die quite as fast.

Not all of the NPCs are friendly, though, and some of them can be quite dangerous to deal with.

While most roguelikes are designed to be (more or less) beatable from the get go, the thing about Shiren the Wanderer is that you have to plan for death. It lurks around every corner. It may well be in your party. Because the world is persistent and you can hoard the goodies, the world is even more brutal than you'll find in most games of this type. Don't be surprised when you die before even reaching level 2. So, when you finally make it to town with that awesome sword, you have to decide whether or not you think you're going to make it past the next area. You might want to upgrade the sword and drop it off so that next time around, you can upgrade it again. Since you can almost be assured that you'll die, part of the game is planning ahead and stocking up for that final epic adventure where you think you'll actually be able to beat the game's main story line.

For most gamers, the permadeath is going to take some getting used to. You need to adjust your expectations of what constitutes successful gameplay. You know you're going to die, so you have to plan ahead for the next life. And you've absolutely got to take a zen attitude into the game. Otherwise, the first time you make it to a reasonably high level and get ambushed by a room full of monsters, you're going to chuck the DS.