"Legend of the Masochistic Player"

Ah, 'roguelike' games. The term defines games where the player decides to take on the role of a punching bag, underdog, or masochist. They are often inordinately difficult games to play, revolving more around strategy and careful exploitation of game mechanics as opposed to linear and constant progress. As a result of framing the context of the game around the game mechanics, good roguelikes provide many different and creative ways for the player to progress and succeed. Izuna definitely makes efforts towards this, but falls short of its intended goal.

(For those that have never played a roguelike -- perhaps you'd be more familiar with the popular Fushigi no Dungeon series, including games like Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon. This game plays very similarly to PMD.)

The story revolves around, as one might guess, a ninja. It is specifically based upon a silly messenger quest based around retrieving a bunch of magic orbs from various dungeons. I underscore "silly" -- the localization team provides many funny and entertaining bits of dialogue. The central focus of the game, as entertaining as it may be, isn't the story, so lack of extended character development isn't as regrettable as it might be in other games. The lack of emphasis on sound is something I'm going to gloss over, also, as while the sound is decent, it's not something you should specifically buy the game for.

Gameplay is where Izuna tries to shine. The player spends most of his or her time exploring various dungeons, collecting weapons, armor, sundry items, and special talismans which cast various spells when used. The talismans can also be attached to equipment, yielding various performance boosts. The central focus of items means that the game will attempt to punish you via these items should you screw up; die in a dungeon, and you lose everything. Even upgrading items is not entirely safe, as attaching too many talismans to a piece of equipment weakens it unless proper precautions are made. The game stacks the deck against you intentionally, because the whole premise of the game is based around you trying to succeed when faced with extremely overwhelming odds. And, quite honestly, this will frustrate gamers who aren't looking for a title where they need to work hard and think in order to succeed. For others who seek a challenge, this game will sate that desire in an admirable fashion.

There are a small number of nitpicky problems with the itemization. One is that there isn't an overwhelming torrent of weapons and armor for the player to use. This weakens the depth of the gameplay, as there simply aren't as many options to try. Keep in mind that I'm not stating that the game isn't playable as is. Compared to the mountain of items contained in other roguelikes, this title contains a truck full of items instead. The other problem is the naming of the talismans with Japanese names. I understand that providing creative item names helps the overall "flavor" of the game, but it gets downright confusing when you can't remember the difference between two talismans who have very similar names. Again, not a big deal, but a minor quibble.

The last issue: game length. This game is relatively short. I plowed through the main storyline in less than 20 hours, which isn't a huge amount of time given how hard these sorts of games are supposed to be. (I play these sorts of games quite often, so the number is probably skewed -- an average gamer will probably see at least 5-10 hours additional playtime tacked onto my estimate.) There are only seven main dungeons and one post-game extra dungeon, which really aren't too many considering that several more could have been implemented without too much fuss. For a game that is presumably based around killing stuff, getting items, and exploring dungeons, there just isn't enough of it. I wanted more! There is potential replay value (try using different strategies / weapons / armor in order to progress through the main story), but without an overwhelming variety of choices, this isn't a game one can play through a few hundred times.

I think the most important thing to underscore here is that it's difficult to make a good roguelike game. Games of this distinction are hard to implement and hard to balance. (They're also difficult to review, as the high level of challenge that the game provides ends up turning many players away immediately.) Izuna's designers have done a decent job at making an enjoyable game, although they've cut certain corners which prevent this from being an unforgettable title. The game is nonetheless worth a purchase, as it is entertaining and worth the money.

[For players of games of this genre, you may want to add a point or two to my review score.]

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/26/07