After years (decades, even) of having their genre of choice languish in obscurity, hardcore dungeon-crawl fans are finally having their day in the sun. The last two years have seen a veritable flood of the obscure RPG sub-genre released — and though a few have been released for Wii and PS2 (Baroque, Chocobo’s Dungeon, and Persona 3 come to mind) the genre’s system of choice of late has been the DS. The system’s seen the recent release of Shiren the Wanderer, both Pokemon Mystery Dungeon titles, and Etrian Odyssey II, and has the upcoming Away: Shuffle Dungeon and From the Abyss to keep the streak going. In the midst of all this, Atlus has released Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns, the sequel to the title that arguably began the deluge when it released in February of last year. And much like its predecessor, Izuna 2 is a flawed yet charming title.

Eschewing the traditional fantasy setup of most dungeon crawls, Izuna’s adventures play out in a slapstick comedy version of feudal Japan. After saving Kamiari Village from the wrath of the gods that she had angered, Izuna and her crew (fellow female ninja Shino, forever put-upon male ninja Mitsumoto, and their elder leader/mentor, Gen-An) head to a nearby village to attend a wedding. Things start off simple, but the search for Shino’s long-lost sister signals the start of another adventure that will see Izuna responsible for the fate of the world. Not that she wants the burden (or even necessarily understands the situation) — Izuna is a self-absorbed, obnoxious, shallow girl who blunders her way through situation after situation. The dialogue is usually amusing and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and keeps things lighthearted when the gameplay becomes frustrating and difficult.

 
Izuna’s narcissism fuels a lot of the laughs, as well as serving as a catalyst for the plot.

Which it will, right from the beginning. As a roguelike, Izuna shares many of the features that make the genre intimidating: random level layouts, gear, and monsters; invisible traps that can do anything from put you to sleep to kill you; and of course, the loss of all money and items when you die. Yes, Izuna 2 is a tough, tough game that requires a cool head, a lot of luck, and a player who doesn’t mind to try the same dungeon over and over again until they get it right. That said, the game does make a few concessions that help to ease genre newcomers in. For starters, the game kicks off with an optional tutorial dungeon that holds your hand long enough for you to learn the basics of dungeon exploring. This is totally helpful to newcomers, as it explains many of the concepts that roguelike veterans take for granted (like the simultaneous-turn system, which has every monster act whenever you do). Izuna 2 also allows you to keep your experience level when you die, which immediately makes for a more forgiving game than, say, Shiren the Wanderer.

They’ve also implemented a tag-team system, which is something of a double-edged sword. On the surface, it sounds like a great idea: instead of sending one character into the dungeons alone, you pick a partner character to accompany you. You can switch to your partner at any time (by spending points that regenerate pretty quickly — don’t switch every other step and you should be okay), gaining access to their unique skills and equipment. You’ve also got access to a Tag Attack, which combines your characters’ skills to dish up massive damage to any enemy stupid enough to get in the way. The partner also acts as a sort of safety net for the player — if your primary character dies, you switch to your partner instantly, who can keep fighting or attempt an escape, as the situation dictates. So far, sounds pretty great, huh? Sadly, the partner system has a serious flaw: every partner character you encounter starts at level 1, meaning that any partner character you want to actually be, you know, helpful requires massive amounts of level grinding before they’re ready to take an active role in dungeons. During my playthrough, by the time the tag system was even introduced in the game, Izuna was already well on her way to level 15, meaning that I had hours of leveling-up before my partner was even close to ready to accompany her. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a handy feature to have; it just requires a lot of work before it becomes truly useful.

 
Tag attacks come with some flashy graphic touches.

So if the tag system is so flawed, then why did I spend an entire paragraph talking about it? Well, outside of a new storyline (obviously), the partner system is pretty much the only thing Izuna 2 changes over the original. Well, that’s not quite fair — the graphics are a touch nicer, and the learning curve is smoothed considerably (especially with that tutorial thrown in). But all in all, Izuna 2 is not that different from the original Izuna, and it kind of feels more like an expansion pack than a true sequel.

As I mentioned, the graphics are improved from the original, but neither the original nor Izuna 2 is that taxing on the DS hardware. This isn’t to say the game looks bad, as it certainly doesn’t — it uses nicely detailed 2D sprites for all enemies and characters, with pretty, high-quality portrait art accompanying dialogue boxes to convey emotions and the like. Still, there aren’t any visuals in this game that couldn’t have been pulled off on the Game Boy Advance. The audio end of things is a bit more impressive, with a nice melodic score and plenty of voice work — Japanese voice work, that is.

 
90% of the time, this is what you’re looking at when you’re playing. Not bad, but not impressive, either.

This game is a definite niche title, and genre fans will probably love everything here. There are certainly better roguelikes on the DS (Shiren still has my vote for number one), but Izuna 2 manages to keep you playing because it’s just so darn charming. You’ll want to power through the (admittedly vast) amounts of frustration just to see what smart-aleck remark Izuna’s going to make next. If you’re looking for an introduction to what roguelikes are all about, there are probably better choices out there. But if two of your interests include hardcore RPGs and Japanese comedy, and you’ve got the requisite patience and time on your hands, then Izuna 2 will be right up your alley.

Gameplay: 7.5
It’s not the best-playing roguelike out there, but there’s still plenty of depth to be found in the game’s many dungeons. Like other games in the genre, slow and steady definitely wins the race, so if you’re expecting quick, mindless action, this is not the game for you.

Graphics: 7.0
The game benefits from a cute anime art style, great character portraits, and nice 2D sprite-based characters and environments. Still, it doesn’t really push the bar for DS graphics, as the whole thing looks like it came straight from the Super Nintendo. The visuals aren’t bad, they’re just a tad underwhelming.

Sound: 7.6
The music is nice; pretty and atmospheric, but low-key enough that it doesn’t start to get on your nerves when it loops for the 13th time. Not a lot going on in the sound effects department, but there is an impressive amount of voice work on the cartridge.

Difficulty: Hard
Like every roguelike, Izuna 2 is tough by design. Churning through dungeons only to get killed right before the boss and sent back to town is just a part of the game. If you don’t like that, then maybe this isn’t the genre for you.

Concept: 8.5
The combination of old-school difficulty and zany lowbrow humor melds together quite nicely. The storyline and dialogue are much more of a draw here than in most other similar titles, and are indeed some of the high points of the game.

Overall: 7.4
I enjoyed my time with Izuna 2. It’s got a quirky, tongue-on-cheek charm to it that makes up for some of its gameplay deficiencies. Pick it up if you’re looking for something a bit different from your other, more serious roguelikes.