#game-review #finishedgame2025 # Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja ![](https://cdn.mobygames.com/covers/4921919-izuna-legend-of-the-unemployed-ninja-nintendo-ds-front-cover.jpg) [Console:: Nintendo DS] [Status:: Beaten] [Approximate Start Date:: 2025-04-15] [Finish Date:: 2025-04-29] [Clear Time:: 16h 30m] [Total Play Time:: 16h 30m] [nReplays:: 0] ## [Rating:: 79] Come for the girly ninja, stay for the Mystery Dungeon, leave at the Singularity. # Playthrough Notes - started on my 3DS on Twilight Menu, finished on MelonDS - My Musou Blade got cracked and then damaged. There's weapon durability in this one, huh? - Oh it's because I used up too much of the weapon's MP by sticking it with upgrade tags. - Oh this is cool - I swallowed the fire pill........ - Don't take the red pill, jimmy - F1 has the final boss map - If you helpo everyone in the village they'll show up in the thank you scene after the final boss # My Thoughts - [[Have you SEEN the Official Trailer for Izuna Legend of the Unemployed Ninja]] - Tsubaki is kinda cute - Oh Fuuka is cute too - Lots of cute characters in this game - Izuna was ALL OVER Nintendo Power back in the day, - Erin remembers her (Izuna) from there. - Tia shared with me a spread from Nintendo POwer that was a full page advertisement about this game. - At the risk of [[Boss Baby Tweet]]-ing myseelf, the starting town has the same feel as the Canyon Hamlet from [[Shiren the Wanderer, Mystery Dungeon]] - Is this really "Shiren but for girls?", like actually? Did Atlus decide that Shiren was a hit, but they wanted to market to girls instead in order to compete? - Boss fights taking place on floors in dungeons is VERY simimlar to the Final Boss of Shiren - drowsy shrooms are just the slime enemies from the swamp: - a second appears after you attack it once. - Oh the number next to the item name is the amount of MP it consumes. - It is fascinating how having a single unit as opposed to two units makes the game so much trickier. - Like, no wonder [[Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team]] gives you a second POkemon on your team. They sure as hell didn't want you stonewalled at Thunderwave Cave. - Include this in [[AC02 - The Game Itself]] if you haven't. - damn dude this game has got a loop - damn dude, this is a game to just play in the background, huh. A good grinder game. - its really funny how they manage to find ways to keep us in the town after we beat the gods. - Except until they do it with the final dungeon, then it just becomes kind of annoying. - I think ichika is probably my favorite NPC - I want a husband who can clean, do the laundry handle the budget and most of all, COOK! - She's so funny - tub trap and humor at izuna's expense versus humor at the player's expense. ## I Like Izuna - She's funny and awful - like Haruko [[FLCL]] - her little pitter-patter when running through a dungeon. - I know that's more the sound design, but it's charming, what can I say? - Pisses off God by trying to seduce him, LOL good stuff izuna. - ![[something_fierce.png]] This is such an interesting line - What was with this localisation? - Why is she unemployed???? - What was with this localization? ## The Final Dungeon Rug Pull Annoys Me Greatly So after I beat what I thought was the final dungeon, Maze of the Gods, I got bonked on the head with another dungeon: Singularity. First of all, the dungeon "Maze of Gods" *really* feels like a final dungeon. It's located in the shrine that you've been able to see, but haven't had access to the entire game. The dungeon is the longest one yet, 20 floors. It's got enemies of all kinds we've seen before all in what I thought was their strongest forms. It's the last dungeon where you would have to confront a God having all five orbs from the other five Gods. The confrontation with the God at the bottom of this dungeon has a much more involved cutscene than any of the previous bosses. the Boss fight itself has much more intense music during the fight. After the fight there's a "powers combined" cutscene, and after izuna leaves the dungeon while hearing the voices of all the people she helped using the Gods' orbs, a la Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door. For all intents and purposes, the story is *OVER* and we feel very satisfied. And then no one can leave the town because there's one more dungeon at the entrance to the town. And it's 40 Floors. And it's a mashup of all the previous dungeons. And the monsters are even stronger than those found in Maze of Gods. I was level 40 at this point, and I was struggling to even get past the first floor of the dungeon. I just have to ask, "why". I mean, "oh woe is me, I have to play more of a game I'm enjoying", but like, is fighting like 3-8 enemies on the first floor of a dungeon and then bailing using a Kikan really that fun? I don't really think so. The loop gets so tight that it starts to hurt my hips as I begin to make sharper and sharper turns inward (this is a running metaphor, don't worry about it if it doesn't make sense to you. In any case, it's a game that I can play while watching something, so long as I'm paying attention to my health at this point. I have no qualms looking for Action Replay Codes to get maximum health at this point. ### Again, I Like *PLAYING* This Game I don't mind the grind! I am enjoying trying to muscle my way through Singularity, even if I'm ultimately annoyed by the design decision. # Favorite Moments / Memories - Great translation tbh # What were you doing when not playing this? - Watching [[Action Button Presents Los Angeles Noire]] # Relevant Links - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ds/937101-izuna-legend-of-the-unemployed-ninja/faqs/47505 - Pre-release trailer - https://youtu.be/IIiS_4gpCj8?si=xWFoNIjavvGPXnML - screenshot at 91 seconds is nuts for a real video game.