Nintendo DS

Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja

If, on the other hand, you prefer saves and epic lengths of play to intense difficulty, avoid Izuna, as no amount of presentation polish is going to save you from dying, dying, and dying enough times to risk breaking your DS in inexorable frustration. The game's gotten a lot of hate from a lot of people, and while I hate to admit it, it's true for certain games in certain genres - you may not be worthy of playing Izuna. Chat with the Oracle a few times, and maybe you'll figure out if you are.

Izuna is one rough quest, and the old-school gameplay and unforgiving difficulty are a stark contrast to the story’s lighthearted tone. However, if you’re looking for a good story and one tough cookie, then this one is for you.

In the end, Izuna captured my attention and made a believer out of me. The action may grow somewhat trite and drawn out and the whole "someone looted me while I was passed out" aspect kind of sucks, but the attention to old school detail and gameplay really packs a mean wallop and the localization is incredibly amusing and fun. While I certainly think this is a niche title and will only appeal to fans of the genre, it certainly does the genre proud and in that respect, Izuna is an entertaining ride while it lasts. The graphics and sound might be a bit sub par for the Nintendo DS, but the overall experience is pretty darn amusing and well worth looking into.

If you're in the dark about Roguelikes but still want a taste of one, it's better to start with the more accessible Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Its difficulty is more gradual, it's got touch-screen controls, and it features more than one party member, which is easier to deal with than Izuna's solitary dungeon-crawling. But those who already love the genre -- or want to "graduate" from Pokémon -- will still find great enjoyment from Izuna. it's the closest Mysterious Dungeon copycat we've seen, but bear in mind that close is about as far as any facsimile will get.

Replay in LotUN is actually pretty good. I mean, the whole random dungeon system definitely adds a lot of variety to the game (the game's box even advertises it as a special feature), especially due to the battling in stuff, quite literally, you could keep returning to the same dungeon over and over again, and just keep leveling up if you get pummeled in any of the later dungeons, and the grinding would be a little less painful due to the stage's variety. On the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, dying in the game is extremely costly, so either keep a good gauge of when you're going to die or kiss your hard-earned items and cash goodbye. Needless to say, if you feel cautious enough to avoid these things, replay may drop a bit for you. So, if you're looking for another good dungeon crawler, enjoyed Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon, or just happen to be curious due to the game's comedic storyline, pick up Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja.

Izuna is, overall, a fun game. While it is often incredibly difficult, you’ll eventually get through the dungeons. The only time I found myself overly frustrated with the game was when I got mobbed by one of the famous endless strings of monsters - it was then that I just turned the game off for awhile and went back to it later that night. However, the game’s ability to save whenever you descend to a new level makes for a great amount of bite-sized gameplay in a car or between meetings at work. You should give this a try before you buy it, though - the difficulty and overall design won’t appeal to everyone.

In the end, Izuna is nothing more than a short and simple game that provides a thoroughly unsatisfying experience. While the localization is excellent, not only is there not enough of it, what's already there is lost in the torrent of monstrous difficulty, subpar aesthetics, and an overly simplified game system. If this game is any indication, it's no wonder why ninjas are, as the game states, "sooo yesterday."

Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is a game that isn’t really represented well with a simple number score, but rather is based on the player. From a purely technical standpoint the game uses no touch, displays GBA style graphics, and makes very little use of comprehensive VO. It has some plaguing flaws, such as the inability to leave a dungeon at any time, and it’s amazingly shallow story which will leave many RPG fans bored. Still, the game is designed as a throwback title, focusing on traditional dungeon-crawling aspects and hinging on surprisingly difficult gameplay. It’ll most certainly be a title that is best geared towards fans of Contact, Riviera, or Summon Knight: Swordcraft Story. Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is a game that’s everything but mainstream, and while it will appeal greatly to its intended niche audience casual gamers and fun-loving current-day RPG fans are forewarned; this game is hard, merciless, and a blast from gaming’s “kill or be killed” past.

In a sense, Izuna is what it is. Your ability to weather its unfriendly difficulty is the key factor in determining whether you'll be able to put up with this game or not. Its use of a permadeath system heightens your sense of risk-versus-reward to an extremely intense level, so as frustrating as it can be, it can be just as satisfying when you finally do emerge victorious from a particularly insane situation. Plus, the dynamic nature of never knowing when your items are going to break, where the next trap lies, or when yet another enemy will round the corner alleviates the otherwise tedious single-button combat mechanic and repetitive-dungeon feel. For those who like games with bite, Izuna brings the pain.

Comedy aside, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja is a love it or hate it title. Without learning how to best use the items and talismans available to Izuna, this is a frustrating trip. But for those who enjoy the way Izuna forces players to use more than just a handful of attacks, the strategy of battle and the joy of victory can be quite fulfilling. Still, it is more repetitive than necessary and a bit too much on the shallow side.

Clearly targeted at a niche audience, Izuna isn’t a game suited for all gamers, but fans of the roguelikes will appreciate a slightly different face to an old genre.

Appliquant sans imagination aucune les règles du Dungeon-RPG, Izuna est un soft un peu décevant mais qui a le mérite de ne pas rebuter le joueur néophyte. Entièrement traduit en français et proposant une aventure à la fois courte et abordable, le soft se laisse jouer sans générer de frustration mais il ne restera pas pour autant dans les esprits. En ce sens-là, le jeu s'adresse plutôt à ceux qui souhaitent découvrir le genre en douceur plutôt qu'aux vrais amateurs de challenge qui lui préféreront sans doute Shiren the Wanderer.

Le constat est donc clair, Izuna : The Legend of the Ninja est l'archétype du donjon-RPG nippon de petite envergure. Cela n'en fait pas un mauvais produit pour autant, et il pourra même constituer un ticket d'entrée pas trop cher pour les curieux désireux de découvrir le genre en douceur, d'autant que sa suite prévue aux Etats-Unis pour bientôt a toutes les chances d'arriver aussi chez nous un peu plus tard.

Like most roguelikes, Izuna can fill an awful lot of time. There’s action available (and plenty of loot) as long as you want to go back to the dungeons. You can blaze through the story if you really feel like playing it that way, but that’s kind of missing the point. In this sort of game, getting there is half the fun.

If nothing else, Izuna delivers what it advertises, if little else. This kind of game works better for the short-attention span handheld format than it ever has on a console. It's also a good alternative to the deep, involving, epic storylines of traditional RPGs. Izuna isn't frustrating, unbalanced, or otherwise broken. It just isn't great. It doesn't strive to be. Like a disgruntled warehouse worker, Izuna does what it has to in order to get through the day without getting in trouble, but there's no passion to be found.

In many ways Izuna is wholly incongruous to the modern world of JRPGs - despite her appearance and manner of speaking she has more in common with thirty-year-old dungeon text adventures than even the decade-old Final Fantasys. Indeed, any prospective patron should be well-prepared for an extremely challenging relationship that will strain even the most-committed Rogue-devotee. But, for the very few fans still looking to recruit in that toughest of niche sectors, Izuna is a worthy hire.

In the end, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja feels like an SNES-era game that has aged badly over time. It's not broken or low-quality, but the interface and gameplay feel constricting and the learning curve makes it inaccessible to the casual gamer. While the characters are funny and there is a definite old-school/hardcore edge to the design, only those in the market for a tough-as-nails dungeon crawler are likely to find enjoyment here.

Astute RPGamers should not be fooled by Izuna's mesmerizing ninjutsu. There are better dungeon crawlers out there. Izuna has occasional humor and colorful anime-style graphics, but it also has punishing game conditions, a boring story, an annoying lead character, and virtually no innovation to the rehashed dungeon crawler subgenre beyond adding a ninja theme. Short of morbid curiosity or an Atlus fetish, there is no reason to touch this game.