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IGN Review of Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns
We'd be lying if we said we expected Izuna to see the light of day again on the Nintendo DS. With what was a fun -- albeit very simple -- classic dungeon crawling experience on DS, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja hit a very small niche in its US release in February of last year. Along the same lines as games like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Dragon Quest Monsters, and the upcoming Away: Shuffle Dungeon, Izuna is all about grind gaming, and it'll take a very specific gamer to cuddle up to this cute, comedic experience.
Just like its predecessor, Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns is a strange mix of comedic writing, token anime structure, and punishing, hardcore dungeon crawling. The game follows Izuna -- a smack-talking smarty pants who seems to know she's stuck inside a game, constantly commenting on players, story lines, and situations -- and her gang of friends. In Izuna 2, the game opens with a town wedding and the eventual disappearance of Izuna's best friend, Shino-Sis, and from there the adventure branches out into the expected level-to-level battling, as Izuna roams the land in search of her friend, and battles powerful gods and bosses along the way.
The core structure of Izuna is just as traditional as it ever was, so you'll explore dungeons with a classic "move equals turn" design. Every time you take a step, use an item, or attack, so will every other enemy in the dungeon, so it ends up being a hybrid of turn-based and active gameplay. If you die in a dungeon, you'll keep your experience and level, but lose all your items and money; harsh.
Izuna remains a very similar experience as the previous game, and while you don't need to play the first to get into this one, you also won't find too much that's new if you're a returning fan. The new Tag-Team system allows players to now bring more than just one character into dungeons, allowing you to switch between partners that level up individually, and it makes things more forgiving this time around. The addition of the SP gauge in turn adds challenge to the experience though, as the classic "walk in place to regain health" system is still there (a must, since the game is based entirely on random drops) but now you'll drain your SP gauge the more you do it, dropping your overall effectiveness in dungeons the more it drains. You can still kick ass with it at zero, but it'll be easier sailing if you mind your SP levels along the way.
We had a bit of an easier time getting into Izuna the second time around, partially because the game was already familiar to us, but also due to a better front end, which included more descriptions on how to play, a well as a full, optional tutorial. Aside from a few small tweaks though -- specific characters have changed, and of course the story is different -- the core game remains virtually the same. There's still no multiplayer (which is too bad, since the game features single player tag), no touch control or Wi-Fi support at all, and the visuals haven't changed at all since the first game, minus a few tiny tweaks. Both fans and critics alike thought this would be a one-shot series on DS, so while any fan of Izuna will be happy to see the game's return, it's pretty obvious that the sequel -- just like the original -- was done on the cheap, with very little aside from a few gameplay tweaks and new dialogue to keep you going.
©2008-07-22, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Just like its predecessor, Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns is a strange mix of comedic writing, token anime structure, and punishing, hardcore dungeon crawling. The game follows Izuna -- a smack-talking smarty pants who seems to know she's stuck inside a game, constantly commenting on players, story lines, and situations -- and her gang of friends. In Izuna 2, the game opens with a town wedding and the eventual disappearance of Izuna's best friend, Shino-Sis, and from there the adventure branches out into the expected level-to-level battling, as Izuna roams the land in search of her friend, and battles powerful gods and bosses along the way.
The core structure of Izuna is just as traditional as it ever was, so you'll explore dungeons with a classic "move equals turn" design. Every time you take a step, use an item, or attack, so will every other enemy in the dungeon, so it ends up being a hybrid of turn-based and active gameplay. If you die in a dungeon, you'll keep your experience and level, but lose all your items and money; harsh.
Izuna remains a very similar experience as the previous game, and while you don't need to play the first to get into this one, you also won't find too much that's new if you're a returning fan. The new Tag-Team system allows players to now bring more than just one character into dungeons, allowing you to switch between partners that level up individually, and it makes things more forgiving this time around. The addition of the SP gauge in turn adds challenge to the experience though, as the classic "walk in place to regain health" system is still there (a must, since the game is based entirely on random drops) but now you'll drain your SP gauge the more you do it, dropping your overall effectiveness in dungeons the more it drains. You can still kick ass with it at zero, but it'll be easier sailing if you mind your SP levels along the way.
We had a bit of an easier time getting into Izuna the second time around, partially because the game was already familiar to us, but also due to a better front end, which included more descriptions on how to play, a well as a full, optional tutorial. Aside from a few small tweaks though -- specific characters have changed, and of course the story is different -- the core game remains virtually the same. There's still no multiplayer (which is too bad, since the game features single player tag), no touch control or Wi-Fi support at all, and the visuals haven't changed at all since the first game, minus a few tiny tweaks. Both fans and critics alike thought this would be a one-shot series on DS, so while any fan of Izuna will be happy to see the game's return, it's pretty obvious that the sequel -- just like the original -- was done on the cheap, with very little aside from a few gameplay tweaks and new dialogue to keep you going.
©2008-07-22, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved