Play Drawn to Life Online
Game Info
3.7 / 5
21 votes
- Platform
- Nintendo DS
- Multiplayer Options
- Split Screen
- Player Perspective
- Top-down
- Developer Companies
- 5th Cell
- Publishers
- THQ · Agatsuma
- Release date
- 10 September 2007
- Languages
- 🇬🇧 🇺🇸 English · 🇫🇷 French
Summary
Drawn to Life lets you turn the DS stylus into a creative wand, letting you sketch the hero, weapons, platforms and even the title screen before you set out on an adventure. Each drawing instantly animates and becomes a functional part of the side‑scrolling levels, giving a surprisingly personal touch to a classic platformer. The game centers around a top‑down village hub where you trade rapo‑coins for songs, patterns and new abilities, while Raposa villagers hand you fresh drawing challenges.
Adventure Mode offers sixteen stages spread across ice, forest, tropical and city worlds, each guarded by a distinct boss and packed with hidden orbs to unlock extra items. By entering Draw Mode at easels within a level, you can conjure a bridge, a trampoline or a weapon on the fly, turning puzzles into spontaneous art projects.
Behind the whimsy, 5th Cell built the demo on a reverse‑engineered DS kit, caught THQ’s eye and shipped a hit that moved over 800,000 units in its first six months. Critics praised its inventive design, earning IGN’s Most Innovative Design award and a nomination for Handheld Game of the Year at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards.
Storyline
The DS game Drawn to Life opens with a fox‑like Raposa named Mari begging the player, the Creator, to rescue her village. After designing a hero, you free the Mayor, who tasks you with retrieving the torn pages of the Book of Life that Wilfre—once a village Raposa turned corrupt—stole and used to summon shadowy monsters.
You craft the Eternal Flame to cleanse darkness and gradually restore the hamlet, recruiting rescued villagers like half‑dark Raposa Heather, human boy Mike, and the shop‑keeping Dr. Cure. Mari trains to become the new Mayor while Jowee’s reckless treasure‑hunt antics spark a brief rift with her, only for the pair to reconcile as the hero battles Wilfre’s summoned beasts.
In the climax Wilfre dupes the Mayor, steals the Book again, and the hero defeats him, reclaiming the pages. The village celebrates, Jowee departs on his quest, and a bittersweet Mari watches the sunset on a beach, surprised to see Jowee return, while the spirit of the Mayor and the hero watch from the cliffs above.
Edited by Maya Carter
