"Another hasty port, but with a few nice touches"

One of the biggest problems any given system will face in its life is the issue of Portidus. Portidus, according to the dictionary of my imagination, is the state of where a series of games is released on a console/portable that is little more than a game from a prior system brought over to another system, with minimal changes.

Once in a while, a ported game will be far superior to its original bretheren. Final Fantasy VI Advance is one example. Often there is little difference between a port and the original, as the full abilities of each system the game appears on is not tapped (here's looking at you, Zelda: Twilight Princess). Finally, there is the last category, where a port is just so horrible when compared to its original release. Setting aside pre-NES games and old Game Boy/16-bit console ports/releases, an example here would be Rayman DS (aka Rayman 2 for the N64/PSX).

So what does Portidus have to do with the DS and Deep Labyrinth? Was not this game designed for this system? No. Deep Labyrinth (DP for the sake of word count and my spelling) was originally an obscure Japanese cell phone game that wound up being ported to the DS, with the usual dual screen/touch screen features. Several other DS games have done this (coughcoughRayman DScough), and only a few are noteworthy of being true to their origins (Super Mario 64 DS).

So! Deep Labarynth...Labyrinth... See, this is why DP is being used... Er, yeah. So!

The story behind this game is...well, wierd enough to keep it in the back of your mind. While riding along in your family car, an accident sends you and your dog (Ace) into some random world. Only this is not a random world. A giant titan with an elephant head for a head stops you and warns you to go back, that this world is not for humans. After setting aside what the pink elephant/giant says (yes, a pink elephant. Let the jokes flow), you chase after your dog, and end up facing a...

Well, let's not go too far. I'll spoil the next three minutes of text reading. DP is not heavy in plot (and when you see text related to the story, it is usually about Ace), but the plot is both interesting at times, and down-right boring the next. But plot is not DP's claim to fame.

The basic game mode in DP is that you are playing from a First Person perspective, and while not a shooter, you can swing a sword (tap the screen), raise your shield (tap the screen), and you can cast magic (once aquired, and by drawing on the screen). Locking onto objects (be they NPCs (which take the form of various animals), creatures, doors, chests, or whatever) is acomplished by tapping the screen, and saving is navigated only by the touch screen. Moving forward and away are assigned to up and down on the D-pad, respectively (default, though you can swap at the title), while turning the camera left and right are assigned to their specific buttons. Straffing is handled by double tapping in the desired direction.

"Level" designs are basically a set of rooms that you have to navigate, killing foes and finding spells all the while. Once in a while, you will need to solve a puzzle, or scream into the microphone (more on THIS later), or some other random obstacle.

Not very deep, is it? At its core, DP is nothing more than an old dungeon crawler from the late 1980's or 1990's, moving from one area to the next. What saves it from pure boredom are two key factors: art design, and audio.

The graphics themselves are actually very nice to look at, with brilliant technicolor effects (ha ha), and suprising detail, considering that this was a cell phone game and barely updated for the system. The character designs, with the exception of the generic color-swapping foes, is rather unique. Heck, any time a purple platapus with a king's crown and septer shows up, I have to chuckle.

The dark side of the graphics, though, is that, like many cell phone games, the frame rate is notably choppy. It's not the worst I've seen (the often-mentioned Rayman DS again is an example), but it is annoying enough to keep your eyes off balance.

The audio in DP is simply amazing. Which, when it is known WHO did the music, is understood. The name Yasunori Mitsuda may not be as reknown as some in the world of video games, but fans of Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross are already familiar with his most famous works. Many tunes in DP share common threads with their distant cousins, and the audio is simply amazing. How Atlas managed to snare him from Square Enix is unknown to this writer, but his work is plainly worth the effort.

Now, there are numerous flaws keeping DP from being an easy recommendation. First, of course, the graphical frame rate. Second, trying to run in circles with the DS Lite's D-pad is nothing short of painful. Thank the Elements that Atlus allows you to circle a locked-on target. Third, remember when I mentioned screaming into the mic? There are a few doors scattered around the world that block your progress, and have to be opened by using the mic. Problem is, while some are as easy as simply blowing onto the mic, others need an insanely loud shout to open. We are talking LOUD (as in, a furious "KAAAAAHN!" shout), and there are not many places where one can open up and shout so without problems. My first time with said door came when I was at my grandparents during a move, and there was NO way I could have gotten that thing open while I was there, without getting some very nasty glares.

So is DP a horrid game? Not at all; it's just an aquired taste. The art style and music is enough reason to try it out, but with all the buzz that Etrian Odyssey is getting, Deep Labyrinth is probably going to be lost in the shuffle of DS games. Quite the pity to, as it's not that bad.

It's just a port that tries to use too many DS featuers, and gets drowned by them.

Curse that Portidus...


Score: 7 of 10

+ Best Features: Music, art style, somewhat unique plot behind the world, a nice throwback to the old dungeon crawlers of yesteryear...

- Worst Features: D-pad movement needs learning, due to DS Lite's D-pad, generic foes, can get boring, chasing after Ace and never getting close to him long enough, frame rate

* If You Liked: Etrian Odyssey (DS), Phantasy Star (Sega Master System, GBA), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (GBA/DS)

* Guilty Pleasure: Finally opening that blasted door, and actually opening it while imitating William Shanter's infamous line from Star Trek II.

- (Ugly) Reality: Deep Labyrinth was one of the first DS games Atlus brought over to the US, yet a year later, half of their DS games are riding on the excuse of "Old-School" to justify their release. Why not try to do something new?

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/07, Updated 11/20/07

Game Release: Deep Labyrinth (US, 08/15/06)