Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns

Written by Kris Rosado  on April 30, 2008

Import Impressions: Taking a Look at the Import to see what is In Store for North America

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It was only recently that Atlus had announced they were rehiring our favorite unemployed ninja to bring over the sequel to the roguelike dungeon crawler by Success, Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja, to North America. That news alone got my ninja senses tingling, so I got my hands on an import copy of the game, Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns so I could see just what this sequel had in store for us.

Our favorite self-absorbed ninja, Izuna and her friends have been invited to attend Ichika's weddingЕ or to Izuna: a free food gathering. But things are never simple in Izuna's world, there always has to be some big event happening that places her in the center of attention and this time is no different. Shino-sis has disappeared and Izuna once again has to face off against angry and powerful deities. Seems like Izuna will have her plate fullЕ and not with the food she oh-so desires.

Luckily for Izuna, she will not have to take on all of this alone, this time her friends will be able to accompany her into dungeons for support. Before venturing in, players will have to choose which character will accompany them, and then inside, pressing the select button will alternate between the team. This is the Tag System and is definitely the most prominent addition to the series. Not only will this take the load off of Izuna, it will make things much easier on the player as well. The Tag System also will allow players to convey a new layer of strategy in their spelunking, which is important especially in this kind of game where simply level grinding isn't enough to get the job done. There is a limit to how many times a player can switch off characters however, you are permitted to do it only three times and then you will have to regenerate the system by killing enemies.

Besides the introduction of the Tag System, the fundamental play of the sequel is similar to the previous title, you have a storehouse, and shops all conveniently placed inside the town. The visuals also share similarities to its predecessor, which look like smoother more toned versions from the previous game.