Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns (NDS)
2008 Atlus/Success/Ninja Studio

The Short Version: Some sequels really earn that ‘2’ next to the name. This would be one of those games, since it has at least twice as much to do in it. Not the most brutal of dungeon crawls, but boldly introduces being kind of actually fun into the genre.

DISCLAIMER: THE NINJA BOOBS IN THE PROMO MATERIAL ARE STILL A LIE.

The Long Version:

Uh, if either of the guys from Gamestop in Englewood stumble upon this page, the bonus pre-order Izuna posters are actually tucked beneath the cover of the game itself. They’re not lost or nothin’ after all. The cover is also reversible/a poster in its own right, sporting one or two randomized designs (I got the far too brutally teasing image used as the cover to the elusive Romantic Fool doujinshi. Which I’m starting to suspect doesn’t exist after way too much searching and Rickrolls.)

I have to confess that Etrian Odyssey didn’t snare me the way it seems to trap a lot of the gamers in the circle around me. It’s fun enough in it’s own, right, but wandering around crudely 3-D forests for a seeming eternity collecting bits and pieces of small mammals to sell off for gear is basically the reason I never gave into anyone trying to talk me into World of Warcraft or Everquest before it. (I did, however give in to City of Heroes, and maybe-not-coincidentally gave up about the time that more ‘medieval’, foresty looking zones began to open up.) Shiren was good. But for some reason of the really… really odd glut of DS dungeon crawls last year, Izuna seemed to be the one I messed with the most. Maybe it was due to the core simplicity and less punishing difficulty curve. Maybe it was the shiny, shiny animu art and bouncy Japanesey music. Whatever the case, I was pretty excited when I heard there would be a sequel! Then I kind of got sidetracked, as I often do, and a few months whizzed past, and whoah what the hell it’s out in the States.

I’d bought Izuna 2 expecting more of the same with some gimmicks or new characters thrown in just for variety’s sake. I knew that they had to find some way to let Izuna and Shino team up before word even came out about the tag system’s addition, since they spent so much time hammering home how close and sisterly and whatnot they were in spite of the others of the ninja band were sidelined to NPC status for the whole game. Well, the sequel not only lets you in on some misleading sounding hot non-blood-related sisterly action, but also adds others to the mix, like the gods who filled the roles of bosses in the first game. And Mitsumoto, which I guess he’s happy about. Equipment has been greatly expanded on accordingly, with certain weapons only wieldable by certain characters (was disappointed Izuna can’t use a bow or yo-yo at first, though- come on, main character privelige?) at certain levels of skill. (Mitsumoto, the series whipping boy can USE any weapon, but sucks at them all as well.)

Talismans and upgrading of gear works like it did last time, which incidentally is one of my favorite equipment systems ever. I’d love to see something like it used in a mainstream RPG. Rather than the usual tradition of finding gear that’s vastly better than what you have in every conceivable way just because you found a new hole in the wall shop at The Next Village, there’s several different weapons that have distinct advantages and weaknesses, which you can upgrade yourself as you adventure on by fusing talismans into them. So, it’s up to you whether you keep the blade that has a chance of inflicting instant death on weak enemies to keep upgrading and honing, or focus your attentions on the blade that consistently damages ‘holy’ enemies (bosses) more than a regular sword. No clear ‘best weapon’ unless you power it up yourself. I dare say that is one manly upgrading system, and it gives you an excuse to keep crawling finished dungeons since even at your max level, you can’t handle it all bare-handed.

The first game’s claustrophobia has been alleviated a bit- no longer sealed inside a single village, there are forests and multiple towns to visit, with both familiar and unfamiliar faces about. The storyline is a lot richer too, following Shino’s search for her sister as sort of the center and allowing a lot more room for dialogue and such. (Izuna’s got more of a thing for food than the first one seemed to let on- “I don’t care if I get married or not, so long as I can keep having good food!”) That might be damning with faint praise, though. Charm aside, the single-village setting and overall setup of the first game had the feeling of a tech demo that saw an actual release- and having gotten into the second, it half seems like it was a rough draft for 2. If they keep churning these things out, Izuna 2 will probably be the Mega Man 2 of Izuna- which I guess means that by the 6th installment, you’ll be able to wear Shino.

…what? Sorry, got distracted there.

The game plays much as it did before, overhead-view, randomly-generated dungeons full of monsters and treasure for you to plow through on your way to battle a pissed off diety. Enemies only move and act when you do, so you can sit tight and think your next move out even when surrounded. The biggest addition, once again, is that tag system. You have a pair of meters below the current character’s portrait, the tag meter which holds up to three ‘charges’ you can use to switch in and out with Select. Over time, the lower gauge will fill up and enable a damaging team combo attack, helpful on bosses and in a tight squeeze. In addition to having different skill levels, the very fact you have two people at your command lets you basically have an ‘extra life’ in the dungeons, an invaluable asset when you’re in over your head but SO CLOSE to winning.

I can’t help but wonder how far Success will take the Izuna thing. Of late they seem to be making her into a mascot, and inserting her and Shino in cameos, as well as a DS fighting game (Windy X Windam) that’s apparently set within their world setting. Will Izuna games be an annual thing? Will they branch out, like the Fisherman’s Wife, inspecting and intruding in other nooks and crevices like puzzles and SRPG’s? WILL THAT DAMNED HENTAI MANGA BE LEAKED ONTO THE INTERNETS ALREADY!?!

What? WHAT.

At any rate, Izuna 2’s showing a sharp jump up in quality compared to its predecessor, so here’s hoping the best. Or at least, here’s hoping to the day when Izuna is ubiquitous enough for people to slap their heads and laugh increduously “OH MAN, ANOTHER ONE!?”, to further the Mega Man comparison. Further credit does need to go to the developers for not straight re-using ALL the assets from the first game, Izuna herself has been noticeably redrawn to look more like herself and less like a starry eyed UFO catcher of herself in-game. Animations were expanded, voices were added, even returning foes like the foreman moles have different animations when setting traps or attacking.

(Now this one went into some weird territory, didn’t it?)