Izuna's milkshake brings all the boys to Amazon's yard
by Candace Savino 
{ Jun 21st 2008 at 2:00PM }
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
Gallery: Izuna 2
[Via press release]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris @ Jun 21st 2008 2:15PM
This is a tough choice, as Poster 1 allows for more cleavage while Poster 2 has more sideboob...
SephFinale @ Jun 22nd 2008 1:52AM
"Look at that. That is some great sideboob."
fullluphigh @ Jun 22nd 2008 12:23AM
Hey, DS fanboy, is there an email address I can contact you by?
I heard a very interesting tidbit from our Nintendo rep at best buy yesterday, and I figured you might be interested.
Donald @ Jun 22nd 2008 1:01AM
Click on the "Send us news tips" button under "Resources".
Mr Khan @ Jun 21st 2008 4:17PM
Huh, i was thinking of picking up Izuna 2 for my birthday, maybe i could go for this
A poster to advertise my otaku-ness as i go away to college
Backslash @ Jun 21st 2008 10:09PM
Wow. Umm. Those are some large . . . tracts of land.
Chrismix @ Jun 22nd 2008 2:27AM
that is some great posterage. so is this game any good? the first i mean.
Tristan @ Jun 22nd 2008 8:01AM
It must be amazing if they chose to release a sequel.
Alisha Karabinus @ Jun 22nd 2008 8:33AM
The first one was great, but really hard!
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:33PM
It's another rougelike. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Shiren the Wanderer, etc. as just a couple of examples of other games in the genre.
It certainly has some quirks, but is enjoyable if you can deal with the difficulty.
Lord Bowser @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:06AM
Pretty eyes.
TJF588 @ Jun 22nd 2008 11:13AM
Farnsworth: "Oh my..."
Yeash, this almost makes me want to opt for it, but I'll still hold off, since there's other things that've been on my "waste money on" list for longer.
Kimiko @ Jun 22nd 2008 12:49PM
Don't you think it's sad that in 2008 a publisher known for series like Izuna, Touch Detective and Summon Night still thinks it's a good idea to objectify women like that? Izuna is certainly strong/brave/heroic enough to get by on her own merits without being shown off as another dumb cow to be ogled.
Atlus used to be one of the few gaming companies who takes women gamers seriously, but this just throws out all that goodwill in favor of pandering yet again to the same old lecherous boys stereotype.
Mr Khan @ Jun 22nd 2008 1:35PM
The March 2007 issue of Nintendo Power has on the back
"Finally, a dungeon RPG strong enough for a man...
...but played as a hot CHICK!"
They've been trying to run on her sexuality for some time, she's a Lara Croft type, not a Samus type
rikki @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:13PM
Izuna's pretty much always been marketed that way. Keep in mind that Atlus, as a localizer, did not create the artwork found on the posters -- that was the original developers' job. Yeah.
...And Shino is the lolita of the series for the fanboys who don't like "developed" women. Isn't Japan great? ^___^
If you want a better roguelike without the fanservice, pass on Izuna entirely and get Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer.
rikki @ Jun 22nd 2008 4:16PM
Izuna's pretty much always been marketed that way. Keep in mind that Atlus, as a localizer, did not create the artwork found on the posters -- that was the original developers' job. Yeah.
...And Shino is the lolita of the series for the fanboys who don't like "developed" women. Isn't Japan great? ^___^
If you want a better roguelike without the fanservice, forget Izuna entirely and get Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer.
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 22nd 2008 9:42PM
It's fanservice, Kimiko. If you want to blame anyone, blame Ninja Studio (not to be confused with Team NINJA (DOA, NG) or Ninja Theory (Heavenly Sword)). They developed her as a fanservice-y character.
foremost final @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:36PM
Wait, so women gamers CAN'T POSSIBLY want a poster of a scantily clad chick? These things are ONLY for the boys?
As long as you're talking about offending women, you should be more careful about offending women who like other women.
Christopher @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:54PM
Kimiko, I completely agree with you. I think it's really sad that's it's very common (and accepted) to take a potentially strong female character and make her a slutty stereotype with unrealistic and exaggerated features (at least in the anime-esque world). Yes, I understand that Izuna has "always been marketed this way", and I understand it's "fanservice". It makes me concerned, though, that this is what people want and that it's seen as totally fine. To me, it feels a little misogynistic. I am really interested in what more female gamers think about this.
Kimiko @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:28AM
BPM - Calling it 'fanservice' doesn't make it any different, does it?
Foremost Final - I am a woman who likes women actually. And yes, it's virtually only boys who objectify women like in these pictures.
Cristopher - Glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks so.
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:15PM
No, it doesn't change what it is. What I'm saying is directing your rage at Atlus is misplaced anger. They didn't make Izuna. They simply published it in America, using all of the Japanese version's art assets.
It isn't like they took a character who had never been oversexualized (say, Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2?) and then strip her of most of her clothes and gave her a breast enlargement.
No, how you see Izuna now is how she's always been. While she may be a strong fighter (you'd have to be to be a dungeon explorer, huh?), she's still a fanservice character. Kinda like the DOA girls.
I mean, c'mon, a piece of official artwork for the first game is of Shino groping Izuna's bare breasts!
If you're looking for a strong female lead who isn't eye candy, Izuna's already a lost caust.
BPM [MKWii: 2578 3585 8392] @ Jun 23rd 2008 1:16PM
*cause
Blah, I need to proof-read better before I submit...
Kia @ Jun 23rd 2008 5:19PM
Nope, I don't think it's sad at all. I'm a woman, and I think if Izuna sells the game with fanservice, then by all means, sell away! Besides, it's hot, hot fanservice at that. ;D
aj @ Jun 28th 2008 1:57AM
The video game industry is pretty bad for the whole gender equality thing. Just take a look at all the games marketed for girls - Imagine Babies! Barbie's Dream Something! Harvest Moon Cute! It's as if someone, somewhere believes that girls are incapable of doing anything unless it is suitably feminine. I hate the bizarre and inappropriate machismo in games, but they're still fun. So meh.
As to the whole lesbian angle - I don't think that being a lesbian makes objectifying women any less terrible, really.
foremost final @ Jun 22nd 2008 10:36PM
I prefer the first one because Izuna's jawline just looks weird in the second. Also, it's more dynamic. The second one is too cluttered.
shelliac @ Jul 8th 2008 12:02PM
Wonderful Atlus! Such lovely fan-art bonus goodness (amazon poster) ... and 100% US exclusiveness ... WTF?
For those who are not aware, this item, as far as I've found thus far, is only through amazon.com. For anyone living in the US this is fine ... but for those like myself in Canada, this means no bonus goodness as amazon.com refuses to ship it to Canada ... and Atlus refuses to recognize this and offer it for amazon.ca as well.
Why can't more gaming companies follow in the footsteps of NIS, releasing their games in their own store with the preorder goodies so there is none of this arbitrary shipping nonsense