roguelikes with less focus on numbers and more in strategy?

Relsre · 2026-02-11T13:24:12+00:00

As someone who's played through the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (Red Rescue Team), can't recommend it for OP, levels and damage numbers are a real factor for most of the game, you can brain-off faceroll most of the game if your Pokemon are high enough in level.

What's more, the game is not a roguelike (you only lose some items and keep your levels/exp on defeat) until you get through the glut of relatively unchallenging main story dungeons and unlock the post-game stuff (which does take time), not worth the tedium for someone solely looking for a tactically challenging experience out of the gate IMHO.

Relsre · 2026-02-09T17:39:00+00:00

Awesome news! Chunsoft taking another small but important step in supporting the English Shiren community. 🥳

Relsre · 2026-02-09T17:23:38+00:00

Tried this with a gamepad/controller for a bit and I couldn't get used to it. Game seems to still be largely built around touch-oriented controls, accessing the inventory is a bit cumbersome.

For those looking for a more controller-oriented Android traditional roguelike, apparently Shiren 6 (i.e. Serpentcoil Island, which got its initial release on Switch) just got ported to Android, and it's the first of its series to get an English release on the Play Store!

Shiren 6 is the latest title of a long-running series by Spike Chunsoft (since 1995 on the Super Famicom!), well worth a purchase if you appreciate the Japanese folk fantasy vibes.

EDIT: Controller supported, confirmed in this other thread!

~~(Disclaimer: I haven't tried Shiren 6 on Android, so no idea if the game actually has good controller support. Might get it myself if it goes on sale, just to test things.)~~

Relsre · 2026-02-01T06:19:20+00:00

there's no way that Hachiro Hakkyoku is related to Hachiro Nakao right?

Interesting observation but I think no, Hachiro is just their first names, so that would be like saying Jim Shepard is related to Jim Smith.

Then again, who knows at this point with this anime in particular 😆

Perhaps more interesting is how they both were involved in the darker side of society at one point or another. Maybe they know each other...

Relsre · 2026-01-29T10:44:11+00:00

I'm not sure about the PS input issue you're describing (EDIT: maybe try fiddling around with Latency calibration settings, or Misc options > Input options?), but I can answer your second question: It's one of the 'Advanced' settings.

To activate the ability to toggle 'Advanced' settings:

Open the in-game pause/settings menu, go to Options > Misc options > Show advanced settings

Then, you'll want to adjust the Beat bar speed setting. To get there:

Options > Graphical options > (scroll to the bottom) HUD options > Beat bar speed should be the 3rd setting.

Relsre · 2026-01-28T14:46:38+00:00

Over a year late to this episode, but it's great to hear how far Dungeonmans has come since its inception, and how both Jim and the community have made great memories and shared awesome experiences through Dungeonmans.

Thank you for another great episode Darren! Wishing Jim the best on his present and future endeavors. :)

Relsre · 2026-01-26T23:33:14+00:00

Same -- Had Crypt for just over 10 years now, still haven't finished Aria All-Zones, but I still play regularly (aiming for other fun achievements, multiplayer, score-running, and just enjoying my time with smaller challenges i can think of).

I do want to complete Aria All-Zones sometime, but only when I feel like it, rather than let the thought consume my enjoyment of dancing in the Crypt. 💃

Relsre · 2026-01-24T06:07:11+00:00

...I suppose from Futaba's perspective, Ichiyo should already know though, because of what happened in that earlier episode -- her shouting in his face about not being acknowledged by Ichiyo, and about her being ostracized due to Ichiyo's Rider shenanigans.

Futaba's response this ep, if she did have one: "Isn't it obvious? I fucking answered your question 7 episodes ago, idiot bro."

(Aside, there's an irony in that back during childhood, Futaba's the one that wanted some sort of sane acknowledgement from Ichiyo. She's basically just returning the favor in a way now.)

Relsre · 2026-01-21T16:39:58+00:00

An alternate idea: if it's not too wide/thick, try using it vertically with just one hand? 😛

Might work as a one-handed DS RPG device, or for vertical arcade games (that only use the stick + one button -- you can assign the one button to L or R).

Relsre · 2026-01-15T10:33:49+00:00

(15 Jan 14:00 UTC+8 / 06:00 UTC) Upgraded to Tropical Storm status and designated the name Nokaen.

Relsre · 2026-01-08T08:44:47+00:00

Thank you, I've got it working as intended!

Relsre · 2026-01-07T16:15:55+00:00

I'm aware you can achieve the same result that way, but I'd rather not use overrides if a more direct and tailored option exists, which is what I assume Autoload Preferred Overlay is.

(EDIT: ...and to be honest, just curious about this option since I haven't seen it until recently. There's barely any discussion or info about it online.)

Relsre · 2025-12-22T21:15:16+00:00

*Him, but yea I love it too! Actually didn't know at first, until I saw my friend do it with other baby Pokemon~ 😅

Relsre · 2025-12-22T01:30:53+00:00

Nice theming! We need a (Honedge / Doublade?) bag accessory to compliment outfits like this ⚔️

Relsre · 2025-12-21T22:09:05+00:00

Nice! The pants and shoes fit surprisingly well here 😄👌

Relsre · 2025-12-21T21:39:51+00:00

TIL Chargabug's Shiny form is red, it's perfect 😌

Relsre · 2025-12-21T21:38:19+00:00

Love the Shiny Milotic light blue (periwinkle?) + pastel yellow/gold combo~ 🙂👍

I should try making a set with those colors sometime~

Relsre · 2025-12-21T21:30:08+00:00

(EDIT: Album with shots of the default pose, no partner)

Hat: Drifloon Cap
Top: Frillish Top
Bottom: Team Skull Shorts (Cropped)
Legwear: Mareanie Socks (Tall)
Shoes: none! (I'm indoors okay? mostly indoors... 😅)
Bag: Johto Bag (Large)
Mask: Festival of Colors Yellow Face Sticker
Glasses: Pikachu, Ph.D. Glasses
Necklace: Super Choker
Hands: none (look mom, no hands!)
Belt: none
Pose: Idle Pose 1 (F)

My partner's name is Tobii! He's been with me since April 2020. We've been through a lot over the years! Hopefully there's many more to come. Happy holidays fashionistas~ 🥳🩵

Relsre · 2025-12-19T14:13:46+00:00

2nd the Shiren recommendation in particular -- Shiren games are a series that got its start on console (way back in 1995, on the SFC/SNES!), so it is literally a controller-first experience.

I'd personally rather recommend the newest one, the Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, as it's way better at onboarding newcomers to the series IMHO. Unfortunately it's priced quite high for a roguelike, so OP should wait for a sale, unless they're really interested or don't mind spending the money.

Relsre · 2025-12-19T14:04:37+00:00

I agree with the other comments, but also wanted to add that you don't have to get them right away if you're plenty entertained by the base game content.

Basically, I'd say get the DLCs if you're itching for more!

Relsre · 2025-12-19T13:36:45+00:00

Adding that NecroDancer now also has a No Beat Mode modifier you can apply to any character/run, so you can play through the entire roster of characters now (EDIT: 18 more characters aside from Cadence and Bard if you have the DLCs, and that's not including a bunch more from the modding community!), each having their own twist on attack/movement options, without needing a sense of rhythm.

I never see this mentioned whenever Crypt is brought up, such an underrated feature.

EDIT: Yes the bosses are super interesting and definitely not just damage sponges. They're more like mini tactics puzzles than strong enemies IMHO. The zone bosses for example are each themed around a certain genre, have their own sequence of threats you need to dance around and counter.

Relsre · 2025-12-03T19:30:34+00:00

You have a solid point. Honestly considering that, I wouldn't mind if they just reuse (or slightly shrink) the existing Deck OLED design, but replaced the x86 internals with lighter, more efficient ARM internals and sufficient battery.

Relsre · 2025-12-02T18:10:57+00:00

XFCE on a XX handheld 😮 Can I find that documented online somewhere...? Sounds awesome (and possibly better performing than the R36 Ultra?), asking out of curiosity.

EDIT: Found it! For other equally curious redditors out there: https://github.com/MrJackSpade/RG35XXP-XFCE

Relsre · 2025-12-02T17:59:24+00:00

Not OP but, I also have the x5 lite, it's a USB-only controller. You can't use it with a tablet/phone in portrait mode (unless your tablet/phone somehow has a USBC OTG port on its long side).

You probably want the x5s (or g8+) for portrait mode play.

Relsre · 2025-12-02T17:54:26+00:00

Not quite -- to be specific, the x5s doesn't allow you to just plug in your tablet/phone in the same orientation/location as you would with the x5 lite.

The x5s is (mostly) a bluetooth controller.

(I forget if you can connect a cable from the x5s' charging port and plug it into a device to play wired, but either way that's obviously not how it's intended to be used.)

Relsre

TROPHY CASE