Shangri-La Frontier: A Crappy Game Hunter Challenges a Godly Game is based on a novel serialized on Let's Become a Novelist, and was adapted into a manga in Weekly Shonen Magazine without first being published as a light novel or other publication. Despite its unusual history, this work is based on a full-dive VRMMO, and follows the protagonist, who loves and plays crap games so much, as he becomes invincible in a godly MMO using the unreasonable resistance, mental strength, and techniques he has acquired through crap. In this article, we would like to introduce the protagonist of this work, Crappy Game Hunter Sanraku!
VR is the dominant force in the history of gaming! But it was also an era that saw the birth of a ton of crappy games.
In the world of this work, games played on a monitor were considered retro, and VR was the dominant gaming medium. Technology had advanced to this point, but the evolution of systems couldn't keep up with advances in video technology, and in the process, a ton of crappy VR games were born. While these games would normally be despised, there have long been those who have loved them and enjoyed fighting against their crappy elements. These people are known as crappy game hunters, and the protagonist of this work, Rakuro Yomuro, is one of them.
Crap Game Hunter Sanraku Conquers a Countless Crappy Games
The protagonist of this work, Yomuro Rakuro, is a true crappy game hunter who challenges every VR game rated as crappy, and after a mind-boggling amount of trial and error, he beats games that clearly have flaws in the difficulty setting, feeling a sense of accomplishment. He uses the same player name, Sanraku, in all his games, and has tried his hand at a variety of crappy games. He not only has the mental strength to withstand the crappiness of crappy games, but also the techniques to tackle unreasonable difficulty levels.
Crap Game Hunter Sanraku Steps Into the World of Godly Games
Sanraku has only ever completed crappy games or extremely difficult games. He's not the type of hunter who'll play both godly games and crappy ones; he's the type who only plays crappy games. However, after playing most of the crappy games, he finally decides to try the undisputed godly game, the VRMMORPG "Shangri-La Frontier." He starts playing under the same name, Sanraku, regardless of the game.
Character Creation for Crap Game Hunter Sanraku!
After stepping into this amazing game, Sanraku creates a character that will become his alter ego. Due to his personality, he generally prioritizes offense over defense, and since his starting equipment can be sold for cash, he sells off his armor and turns it into gold. However, he felt uncomfortable revealing his true face in such a major game, so he only equipped himself with a bird-head mask, resulting in a half-naked pervert wearing a bird-head mask.
Crap Game Hunter Sanraku is Impressed by a Godly Game
For Sanraku, who had only played crap games up until then, a smooth game without unreasonable bugs like slip-throughs and crap detection was truly revolutionary. However, Sanraku, who was accustomed to unreasonable crap games, fully demonstrates his adaptability as he progresses through the game. His tolerance for unreasonableness honed by crap games and the skills he cultivated to clear them are his greatest assets in this godly game, which allows him to move freely and more realistically, overcoming numerous first-time kills.
The Crappy Game Hunter Sanraku Encounters the Night Raider Lycaon
Freed from the crappy game, the Crappy Game Hunter's playstyle is reminiscent of an RTA, skipping the first town and progressing through bosses that are usually challenged by multiple players and enemies that are difficult to defeat on first try. There, Sanraku happens to encounter the incredibly powerful unique monster, the Night Raider Lycaon, who was wandering around. Naturally, Lycaon, who had just started playing the game, was incredibly powerful. However, Sanraku, who had a high tolerance for the crappy game where unreasonable attacks could kill him in one hit, fought with a tightrope-walking style. However, he was ultimately defeated by the difference in stats.
Crappy Game Hunter Sanraku's Curse Gives Him a Sensitive Playstyle
After being defeated by Lycaon, Sanraku vowed to get revenge, but Lycaon, acknowledging Sanraku, imposed a troublesome curse on him. This is a significant disadvantage: the cursed body part cannot be equipped. While there are some benefits, the inability to equip equipment is a significant drawback. Since you can no longer increase durability with armor, allocating a certain value to durability is pointless. This forces you to play with paper armor focused on firepower and evasion. Because the curse has prevented you from equipping equipment, you've also had to continue your perverted half-naked, bird-headed style.
The Crappy Game Hunter Advances a New Unique Scenario
Shangri-La Frontier is home to numerous unknown scenarios whose unlocking conditions are unknown even to the collective wisdom of the community. After being cursed by Lycaon, Sanraku triggers the unique scenario "Invitation from the Land of Rabbits."
The Crap Game Hunter Family is Full of Eccentrics!
Sanraku is a character who shows incredible concentration when it comes to crappy games and games with terrible difficulty. His family, too, specializes in a single genre. His father is a fishing fanatic who loves fishing more than eating a meal, his mother is a serious insect enthusiast known even among experts, and his sister is such a fashion enthusiast that she has her own wardrobe, even at this age. They all have one rule: they must meet and talk on Sunday mornings. Apparently, if they don't, they'll all be so absorbed in their hobbies that they won't have a chance to see each other.
The Crap Game Hunter Network is Full of Eccentrics!
The world of crappy games, especially those with few players, is small, and the people you meet in-game are often quirky characters. It's not unusual for someone to willingly play crappy games, but there are characters like Oikaczo, the country's strongest hardcore gamer, and Arthur Pencilgon, who, despite being a single player in a certain crappy game, used every means possible to reach the top. I later teamed up with these two on the Shangri-La Frontier, successfully defeating the strongest unique monsters.
Sanraku, who never loses his passion for crappy games
You might think I'd stopped playing crappy games since I started playing Shangri-La Frontier, but that's not actually the case. I sometimes play crappy games when I'm stuck or to hone my skills. Even among crappy games, I seem to prefer ones with unreasonable difficulty. Perhaps because VR technology has advanced, I haven't seen any games with fatally lacking content (gameless). I also enjoy games that aren't crappy, but are so difficult that they're sparsely populated.
Sanraku, the Crap Game Hunter, Searches for Loopholes in Every Possible Way
Many of the crap games Sanraku played were difficult to beat using conventional methods, and sometimes required exploiting bugs or loopholes in game mechanics to clear. Even within Shangri-La, he's constantly searching for loopholes in game mechanics through trial and error. His instincts as a crap game hunter allow him to come up with easy ways to make money, but the UNEI doesn't tolerate them, and they often end up being silently patched.
[Shangri-La Frontier: A Crappy Game Hunter Challenges a Godly Game] Summary of Sanraku
I'd like to introduce you to Sanraku, also known as Yomuro Rakuro, the protagonist of the anime Shangri-La Frontier: A Crappy Game Hunter Challenges a Godly Game, scheduled to air in October 2023! He's a unique character, a crappy game hunter whose playing skills and mental strength have been honed by playing crappy games, but I thought he was an interesting protagonist because of the respect he shows for crappy games throughout the show! There are a lot of crappy games in real life, so knowing how crappy they are will make the show even more enjoyable. I hope you'll learn about crappy games before watching the anime!
