Unlike licensed crossovers within the Mystery Dungeon franchise, this series features original characters, including the eponymous rōnin protagonist Shiren and his traveling companion and talking weasel Koppa, with a plot and the location set generally in feudal Japan, and though indicative of the core games, which is navigating through a randomly generated dungeon using turn-based moves.

As of January 2024, there have been multiple games across Nintendo and Sony platforms, mobile devices, Windows, and Steam, as well as few other medias released throughout the years.

[3][4] Features distinct to the Shiren the Wanderer series include the "Melding Jar" which allows players to synthesize items and weapons into more powerful ones.

[5] A unique gameplay element that first appeared in Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the Desert and later in the Mystery Dungeon series and its crossovers is rescuing other players via passwords.

[17][18] This worked as the Switch port of The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate was well received in reception and sales, thus green-lighting the development of the sixth numbered game, Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island.

[20][21] Sugiyama made use of East Asian elements for the series, compared to his more European-styled Dragon Quest compositions, using instruments such as a shakuhachi flute.

Hayato Matsuo later became the main composer for the series, starting in the Game Boy Color release of Magic Castle of the Desert in 2001.

[23] New titles are released with unique gameplay for each one, with Seiichiro Nagahata balancing the core games based on how players and employees would complete a dungeon.

Gameplay was balanced with the use of sheets from Microsoft Excel by Nagahata, in order to understand data for items and monsters better in dungeons.

[27] Character designer Kaoru Hasegawa later took part during the production of Mystery Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer after his first contribution in Chunsoft's Kamaitachi no Yoru as an artist.

[29] From the Wii release of Shiren the Wanderer to The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, the lead scenarist was replaced by Masato Kato,[30] as Tomie was working on the other branches of the Mystery Dungeon series, most notably in the Pokémon branch, before reprising his role in The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island.

Another game for the series was released for pachinko machines in 2013, titled Shiren the Wanderer: Princess Suzune and the Tower of Slumber.

[41][42] As of 2025, the series has sold over two million copies, with all versions of Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer and The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate leading among other titles.

[a] Crossovers with this series also happened outside of the Mystery Dungeon franchise, with the eponymous protagonist appearing as himself or costumes based on him, likewise for Asuka, or monsters make their presence in games that were published by Spike Chunsoft, like Terraria and Crypt of the NecroDancer, or in their own IPs such as 428: Shibuya Scramble, and the Danganronpa and AI: The Somnium Files series.