Katz's Scratchpost

I have been playing "Shiren the Wanderer" (an old roguelike game originally released on Super Famicom) on my smartphone for a long time and today is the first time I managed to reach the golden lost city leading to the legendary Golden Condor! I crossed the dungeons of The Three Trials before that few times but I usually ended up defeated due to strong monsters there and not thinking of using some items that would help me on the journey. This day I guess I was fortunate I managed to pass those dungeons. These are some of the things I did before and during the Three Trials dungeon until reaching the golden city:

It would be recommended to use weapons and shield that are higher than their current attack and defense power. At least 10 attack and 10 defense power are acceptable to defeat tough enemies. For example, if you have Katana which its starting attack power is 7, you need to increase it by using Heaven Scroll or forge it to the blacksmith in some villages until you get the attack power you desire. For shields like Bronze or Iron, use Earth Scroll on them until they get strong enough to protect yourself from the enemies. Don't forget to cover the weapons and shield using Chrome Scroll so that they won't get rusted and decrease power. Another way is to stock those in Warehouses and use scrolls to increase their power and receive protection for future use.

Stock at least few Light Scrolls. They will be useful at the Three Trials dungeon. The dungeons there have limited light.

In the first dungeon of Three Trials, there is a chance that the exit is located at the Monster House, a small area where there are lots of monsters and items there. Use Airslash or Slumber Scroll to take them down in an instant.

Stock some Blank Scrolls as well. There are at least few monsters that hinders the player to attack or protect from monsters. The Red Skeleton Wizard at the ravine is notorious to have an ability to shut Shiren's mouth leading him to stop using scrolls and eat edible items like riceballs and medicine. Type the word "Gen*cid*" (the * is censored for this post only) and throw it to the Red Skeleton Wizard. They will disappear and won't show up for the rest of the game.

Get some Back Pots. They help the player recover HP in full. They're helpful after being attack by enemies that give a lot of damage. They're available in the dungeon and shops at the village.

Having Far-Sight Brace is an advantage which will help you locate the items and monsters scattered in the dungeon. If you can't have one, Light Scroll is alternative.

Decoy, Paralyze and Buffoo Staff are useful to stop some tough enemies from attacking. Decoy is useful to make the enemy confused and you can attack it in that state but beware there is a chance it will attack. Buffoo Staff will turn targeted enemy into an edible meat. You can either eat it and use its ability or throw it towards to the enemy to make it weaker or stronger depending on your purpose.

When reaching the Golden City, you can check out its history through the tablets scattered there. IIRC, there is a rocky bridge after that place which will give you a chance to prepare yourself before facing the final boss.

I did encounter the final boss which looked like a giant spider. It's surrounded by some types of tough enemies like blue rhinos that have an ability to get rid of items. Unfortunately, I didn't take screenshots from that scene but you can check out the gameplay on Youtube to see it yourself. I knocked out some of the rhinos first using Airslash Scroll before the spider gets closer. Upon meeting the spider, I happen to have a Blank Scroll and wrote the word that would get rid of it an instant. I threw the scroll on that spider and it disappeared. I admit the fight felt anti-climatic but I didn't care. The game itself is tough already and it's a relief I finished it.

I saved the Golden Condor which turned out to be trapped in a cobweb for a long time. The condor offered Shiren a ride back home for free as a reward from saving it. The graphics of that creature look majestic and it's nice to see it paid off after all frustrations in playing the game many times.

As the condor became free in the skies, many villagers who witnessed that started to make a wish.

Shiren and his partner Koppa managed to reach the ground. The condor flew away and nobody knows where it went after that. The last scene ends with the silhouette of Shiren walking away and taking a journey once again.

Have you guys seen that clip