Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter

Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter is the title of two sequels of the video game Drawn to Life, that were published by THQ. One of the games was developed by 5th Cell for the Nintendo DS, while the other was created by Planet Moon Studios for the Wii.^[1][2]

Plot (Nintendo DS version)

The game begins with a surreal sequence, wherein an unknown party asks the player “What do you remember about that day?” The player is given several dialogue choices that build a cohesive description of "that day", though at this time, the player is not aware of the event's importance (or even occurrence). Before the game properly begins, the player is asked to draw an image depicting this mysterious scene, introducing them to the game's core "draw" functionality.

Following this is an animation sequence wherein one of the characters from the previous game, Heather, recovers from a nightmare. She is shown to possess a red-colored jewel pendant. In the same sequence, Heather is abducted by a darkness which emanated from a scepter she discovered in a beached treasure chest in the middle of the night. The next morning, when the other characters realize she's missing, a search for her is dramatically cut short by Wilfre, who causes the majority of the Raposa villagers to vanish, reveals himself as Heather's captor, and ultimately drains the Village of color. The remaining characters flee to the back of a massive turtle delivered, upon request, by the Creator.

Their numbers sorely reduced and their home ruined, the game follows the Raposa's struggle to reunite with their fellows and, with the aid of the Creator's Hero of Creation, defeat Wilfre before he can realize his as-yet unknown goals. The remaining members of the Village travel to Watersong, Lavasteam, the Galactic Jungle, and Wilfre's Wasteland, a combination of all three villages. At Watersong, Mari and Jowee meet Sock, who is an important character later in the story.

Screenshot of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter

Ending

During the last level of Wilfre's Wasteland, Wilfre kills the Hero and starts absorbing color from it, supposedly destroying it. The villagers from the Turtle Ship, Watersong, Lavasteam, and Galactic Jungle all pray for the Hero to revive. The Hero revives but Wilfre returns with the creation that Mari built. After the Hero defeats Wilfre, he morphs into Sock, Salem, then himself, and then vanishes, leaving Heather behind.

The Hero then returns with Heather, who is now without her "dark side". Then, Mari told the Creator they are now ready. The Creator puts out the Eternal Flame. All the Raposa disappear, with the exception of the non-Raposa Mike. The screen turns black then to white. The same description of "that night" is displayed. Heather prays for her little brother, "God, just bring back my little brother to me."

During the ending credits, a series of still photos of the events of "that night" are shown, which depict Heather, Mike, and their parents going home from a carnival, and eventually being involved in a car crash, killing the parents, injuring Heather (A bandage covering half her face), and putting Mike in a coma. Heather prays that her brother is to wake up. Later, Mike wakes up from his coma, and Heather hugs him out of joy. The final photo shows doll versions of Jowee and Mari won at the carnival.

An alternate ending can be encountered where, rather than a car crash putting Mike in a coma, it is shown that Mike and Heather were chasing fireflies and Mike climbed up and fell from a tree. Many claim that this ending is only available on the "Drawn to Life Collection" cartridge, which contains both Drawn to Life games. However, it is possible to get this ending on certain single copies of Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter. There has been much speculation suggesting that the changed ending here is a result of the player's answers to the question "What do you remember of that night?" at the beginning of the game, but it is also possible that the publishers of the game released new versions of the original cartridge with the changed ending, due to the original being too dark for kids. No official statement has been made on the subject.

Plot (Wii)

The Raposa Village has been in peace for a long time until items from the city start disappearing. Mari (now the mayor) asks the Creator to draw a new hero for help. Jowee (Mari's close friend) believes that Zsasha (a well-known thief) has stolen the items and gone off to Jangala. The Hero and Jowee (who loves adventure) go off to Jangala to find Zsasha, who has been held captive for days by the monkey king. Shadow walkers appear; invading Jangala. After the Hero defeats them and saves Zsasha, the monkey king gives them a strange mask (which will later be important to the story). Mari realizes Zsasha did not steal the items. Mari and her assistant Circi wonder who the thief is. Mari believes Wilfre might be the thief. To make sure if Wilfre is alive, Mari sends the Hero (and Jowee) to Shadow City. Soon, the Hero finds the ink factory working again creating shadows. The Hero then finds Wilfre's journal which holds a plot to destroy the Creator. They must get: branches from the tree of ages, the eternal furnace, a pen and pencil, (which they already have) and a magic mask (which they also have, given to them by the monkey king). Mari sends the Hero to Icy Wastes to find the eternal furnace. While there, a strange shadow creature appears stealing it. The shadow creature is unknown but resembles a Raposa girl. Soon, in the Eastern Winds, the tree of ages is in danger. After fighting off the shadow creatures, the Hero saves the tree. Mari is happy Wilfre's plan has failed until Circi reveals she's Wilfre's wife. She uses the items that the Hero had found to make creation ink and recreate Wilfre, but she can't remember what he looks like. She keeps on drawing pictures of him but they don't resemble Wilfre. After throwing away the pictures, they begin to combine together, creating a monster that kills her. The items used for creating the monster combine into it too. The Village is flooded with ink and the monster. The Hero fights the dark monster in a final showdown defeating it.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score DS Wii Edge N/A 5/10[3] Eurogamer N/A 5/10[4] Game Informer N/A 5.75/10[5] GameSpot N/A 6.5/10[6] GameTrailers 6.7/10[7] N/A GameZone 7.9/10[8] N/A IGN 6.7/10[9] 6.2/10[10] Nintendo Life [11] N/A Nintendo Power 8/10[12] 7/10[13] VideoGamer.com N/A 7/10[14] Aggregate score Metacritic 72/100[15] 58/100[16]

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on both platforms according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.^[15][16]

References

External links

• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter at MobyGames
• Official THQ website
• Official Nintendo page