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Review: Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Izuna may not be the most legendary of figures in the world at large, but around here, she's a star. She's only unemployed in the ninja sense; she's got other gigs on the side. And for a second time, she's back with a roguelike challenge set to kick you all around the dungeons.Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns is a lot like its predecessor -- it's tough, it requires more than a bit of caution, and there are a lot of silly jokes about boobs and being in a game. If you didn't play the first one, that's okay; feel free to pick up the sequel, as all you'll miss out on is a little bit of the backstory and relationships between characters ... none of which is particularly important. The story of Izuna 2 is merely stage-setting. It gives you something to watch between dungeons.%Gallery-15250%
Amazon's Izuna posters delayed
Were you looking forward to getting a piece of Izuna with your copy of Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns from Amazon? You'll have to way a little bit longer, dearest fanboys; there's been a bit of a mix-up and the posters have gone missing. The folks at Atlus offered up profuse and unending apologies in today's newsletter, and promise that the posters will be in the mail soon. So far as we know, this only affects the posters with the Amazon copies. If you were getting a poster from GameStop, we're guessing that'll still be included, and of course, you still get the reversible boxart.
DS releases for the week of July 21st
It's a tough week. Not only are we coming off the excitement of E3, but we're faced with several great releases this week, too. Will you be shelling out for more than one game? At least in Australia, the choice this week is much, much simpler. Final Fantasy IV Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society New International Track & Field Check out the rest of the major markets after the break.
Izuna 2: Hands-on with an Unemployed Ninja
If you enjoyed Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja (or at least thought you might), then there's good news: the sequel is just as charming, just as engaging, and perhaps even a little more fun than the original. The sequel has a lot of new things, including a second baby step toward making Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns a hair easier on your sanity and frustration levels. That's right -- while Izuna's games definitely fall under the roguelike label, they're a fingernail easier than the traditional dungeon crawler. That doesn't make them any easier to me, but the hardest of the hardcore may scoff at Izuna's differences, while the rest of us can actually attempt the game without "accidentally" dropping the DS or anything. What's different? In both Izuna 2 and its predecessor, when you die (and will you ever die), you keep your levels. In keeping with the roguelike tradition, you lose everything else, but it's not absolutely everything in a square-one sort of way. Izuna 2 adds something else on top of that: the tag team system. And that's where things get a little sticky.%Gallery-15250%
Create Lulz of the Unemployed Ninja, win stuff
Do you enjoy the Izuna character portrait comics on the official website? If not, you probably haven't read them, because they're delightful. Atlus is now offering a chance for the fans to share their own Izuna comics, and get a shot at some free stuff for doing so! All you have to do is pick one of four templates (each one featuring interactions between different Izuna characters), add text to a form, and submit your hilarity to Atlus for judging. The winner gets a copy of Izuna 2 and all the posters -- even the one that they didn't pick for Amazon copies!%Gallery-15250%
Izuna 2 QA causes a lot of pink hair pulling
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns is about more than mini-posters and sexy ninjas -- a lot of work goes into getting a game like this localized. Not only does a good localization team have to focus on the translation, but they also need to fix any bugs or problems that gamers found in the Japanese release. Apparently, fixing bugs for a roguelike is especially hard and frustrating, as you might have guessed.Here's the Quality Assurance stat breakdown, according to Atlus: Number of testers on Izuna 2: 6 Number of DS systems almost thrown against the wall: 6 Number of system-type bugs our testers reported: 104 Number of text bugs our testers reported: 259 Number of times the testers nearly gave the project lead a heart attack with a fake system bug: 3 Number of bugs our testers reported to which we responded: "That's not a bug, that's the way this game works:" 17 Number of monkeys we could have hired to do their job: 0 The production diary is actually a really interesting read that not only Izuna fans, but also people interested in the localization process should give a look. Besides, we always appreciate more insight on how the other side of the gaming industry works. Gallery: Izuna 2
Izuna poster overload!
The Izuna 2 poster situation has officially become ridiculous. Atlus has revealed that the cover of every copy will not feature the same mini-poster on the reverse; rather, each copy will have one of two pieces of arttwork. In addition, they've released the winning design from the Amazon poll. With the Gamestop-exclusive poster, there are now four different Izuna 2 posters. Each copy ordered from Amazon or GameStop will include two, one of which can be chosen. Crazy people can try to collect them all by ordering one copy from each retailer and just hoping for two different posters on the boxes.
Gamestop furthers Izuna's new modeling career
Not only is Atlus including a fold-out poster on the back of the Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns boxart, they're bundling one of two provocative posters with Amazon orders of the game as well. But even that isn't enough coverage for Ninja Studio's roguelike heroine: GameStop orders of Izuna 2 will ship with yet another mini-poster featuring a more dressed, but no more demure, Izuna than the others. You could probably get away with having someone see this one on your wall. We predict a minor swell of unopened Izuna 2 copies on eBay shortly after release, sold by people who just couldn't choose a poster.
Izuna's milkshake brings all the boys to Amazon's yard
While Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns comes with a spiffy reversible boxart feature, that's not the only bonus male Atlus fans can expect this July. There will actually be another mini-poster included with the game -- a much more risqué poster, at that. Here's the catch: in order to get one with your copy of Izuna 2, you have to order it from Amazon.com (which means the promotion is only available for folks in the U.S.). Atlus tells us that there are only a "limited" number of these special edition copies available, so take that as you will.Atlus is also holding a voting contest to see which one of two posters (shown in full after the break) will be included with the software. When we last checked, the two options were almost neck and neck, with the first one taking a slight lead.If your lecherous curious eyes want to see the uncropped posters featuring Izuna and Shino's scantily clad figures, just click past the break.%Gallery-15250%
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja's Boxart Reverses
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns featured some fairly risque alternate boxart in Japan, where initial shipments were packaged in H-game-like boxes with art of Izuna and Shino bathing in an onsen. The American box for the game may not be modeled after erogames, but it does feature some extra pinup-style art of the title character.In an absolutely lovely trend, the Izuna 2 boxart has been revealed as reversible, like the boxart for Victorious Boxers Revolution. However, instead of alternate boxart on the other side, the reverse of Izuna 2's cover is a mini-poster of the title character. Nice to see Atlus treating a niche game like Izuna as such a deluxe product.[Via press release]
More Izuna 2 art than you can shake your fist at
Her games haven't broken any sales records, but everyone seems to like Izuna anyway ... which may go far in explaining why we've seen tons of artwork for Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns, but not a lot in the way of screenshots. Guess that's one way to rope the unbelievers into laying hands on a roguelike, but will the pretty, pretty character portraits make them forget the ass-kickings that came before? We'll see. Besides, you can always get some ass-kickings in yourself with the recently-announced Windy x Windam, eh? Check out the new portraits in our gallery below and start gathering your courage. You'll need it come July.%Gallery-15250%
Izuna 2 screens simulate gameplaying experience
Do you see the tears in this screenshot? This is a message. Don't be fooled by Izuna's pink-haired cuteness -- this girl isn't as easy as she looks. The first title was all about kicking your ass (and having a laugh about it), so we fully expect the same challenge from Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. The big zero next to the hit points here gives us hope.If, like us, you enjoy a challenge, make your way into the gallery below for the latest screens from the upcoming title.%Gallery-15250%
An unemployed ninja enlists the aid of a new trailer
Atlus has gone ahead and released a trailer for the upcoming sequel Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. As you may well remember, we found the original game to be pretty satisfying, so imagine how delighted we were when we found out the sequel would be releasing to North America in July. We're glad we featured it in our 2008 round-up, as we're sure the power of our site and its 12.5 readers made this happen. We must remember to only use our powers for good, though!%Gallery-15250%[Via press release]
Izuna 2: The gallery returns
At least one guy involved with Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns has a steady job: the guy responsible for uploading screenshots. Just one day after the initial announcement and the first delightful bundle of screens, Atlus has already sent us more screens of the ninja roguelike sequel! This time, it's all awesome 2D gameplay.What is up with the DS and roguelikes? We've got Izuna, three Pokémon roguelikes (and the GBA one that also works on the DS), Shiren, Tao's Adventure, and now a second Izuna game. The DS completely wins at having games at which you're likely to lose repeatedly.%Gallery-15250%[Via press release]
Izuna 2: Jobless again in July
Back in February, when we wrote about our most anticipated titles of the year, we were hoping Izuna and her crew would return, and lo, Atlus has announced the sequel's localization. Rejoice and prepare to get your ass thoroughly kicked this summer, when Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns shows up for a second round of punishing-yet-hilarious roguelike action.While the first game was a solid offering, the second purportedly packs more action, more content, and more challenges -- but also offers up the buddy system to help you through the pain. Don't expect that to ratchet down the difficulty, however; import impressions indicate that Izuna's return is a much bigger experience, and very much worth the wait. Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns slides into an already-tight summer schedule July 22.%Gallery-15250%
Atlus bringing DS roguelike Izuna 2 to North America in July
Last year's Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja for the DS was an irresistible treat for fans of dungeon crawling, particularly those fond of roguelikes and their trademark randomly generated mazes. Now fans of the original -- all three of you -- will soon be able to re-step into the tabi boots of the game's arrogant teenage ninja, as Atlus has confirmed plans to release the aptly-titled Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns for the DS on July 22.Atlus promises that the sequel will include more content and options than the original, as well as a larger collection of those pesky random dungeons and the ability to use two party members at a time for combination attacks. The game still looks incredibly niche, though it will be interesting to see if these additions will be enough to push the series' fan base into uncharted territory -- perhaps even into double digits.%Gallery-20711%
