Drawn to Life

This Article Contains Spoilers!

This article may contain major plot spoilers that threaten to ruin elements of the story!

If you haven't completed Drawn to Life it is highly recommended that you tread with caution while reading this article!

Information
Drawn to Life

Developer(s)	(iOS)

Publisher(s)	DS (🇺🇸/🇦🇺/🇪🇺) (🇯🇵/🇰🇷)iOS (WW)

Release Date(s)	DS🇺🇸 NA: Sept. 10, 2007 🇦🇺 AUS: Sept. 20, 2007 🇪🇺 EU: Sept. 21, 2007 🇰🇷 KO: Jan. 15, 2008 🇯🇵 JP: Dec. 4, 2008iOSWW: May 21, 2014

Platform(s)

Genre(s)	Adventure/Platform

Rating(s)
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“Your Hero. Your Adventure.”

–Drawn to Life Box Art

Drawn to Life is an action-adventure/platform game for the Nintendo DS developed by 5th Cell and published by THQ in America, Europe and Australia. It was published in Japan with the name Drawn to Life: God's Marionette. (ドローントゥライフ: 〜神様のマリオネット〜 , Dorōn to Raifu: 〜Kami-sama no Marionetto〜) by Agatsuma Entertainment, and in Korea as Draw, Touch! The World I Make. (그려라, 터치! 내가 만드는 세상, Geulyeola, Teochi! Naega Mandeuneun Sesang

The game is known for letting players create their own playable characters, level objects, and accessories by drawing them using the DS's stylus and touch screen.

Overview[edit]

Drawn to Life requires the player to create a Hero in order to free a cursed village from an encroaching darkness. It features numerous platforming levels, a top down central village and other elements (such as vehicles, weapons, platforms, etc.) which are drawn and colored by the player using the stylus.

Gameplay[edit]

Drawn to Life is a 2D game with the unique hook of drawing your own playable character, weapons and accessories, platforms, and objects. This game is targeted towards children, young adults and non-gamers due to its lack of complexity and ease of play. The game is separated into three different play modes.

Village Mode[edit]

A top-down, central "hub" where the player progresses the story and interacts with the Raposa, purchases items from the item shop using Rapo-Coins collected from Adventure Mode and also accesses levels. Players draw different items at the Raposa's request to enrich their village. Over the course of the game in village mode, the player will play mini-games, participate in a town festival, hunt for a thief and help the Raposa thrive. Here players are given their objective for the next Adventure Mode level. There are two main buildings in this mode—Creation Hall, where players can edit their previous creations, and the Item Shop, where players can purchase songs, patterns, stamps and even new abilities for their hero.

Adventure Mode[edit]

A side-scrolling platformer, laid out into sixteen unique levels. Adventure Mode is where the "meat" of gameplay is done. Here the player battles enemies, rescues Raposa, and collects items. Players draw unique platforms that allow the player the progress through the level and reach the Exit Gate. Bosses are also battled through this mode. There are four different worlds: Snow, Forest, Beach and City, each with their own boss.

Players are tasked with rescuing three Raposa (usually one is named and two are random), and four pieces of a page from the Book of Life which will be used to create a new village object. Players can also collect "secret" orbs (three per level) that will then unlock and be purchasable in the item shop. In each section of the levels players tap on an easel icon to enable Draw Mode, which tells the player to draw some new type of platform or object. Once drawn, the player goes back to Adventure Mode and can then use or interact with the newly drawn object.

Draw Mode[edit]

The tool, similar to a robust version Microsoft Paint, through which players use to create new objects, weapons and even their hero. This is done through the stylus and touch screen input. Once drawn, objects and the hero itself will animate through the game's own design. The player can design up to three different humanoid heroes using a variety of colors, patterns and stamps. Character creation also features fifteen or so pre-made character templates which can be traced, or have their body parts swapped in and used for those people who are less artistic.

An interesting side feature to Draw Mode is that the game's title screen can be drawn and saved, so players can make their own unique title screen.

Players can also trade their drawn heroes and other objects via local wireless.

Story[edit]

“This is the story of the Raposas and their village. For many years, the Raposas lived happily in their village and prospered until a rebel Raposa named Wilfre, created an army of evil shadows to spread darkness over the land.^[sic] He tore key pages from the Book of Life and hid them across the world. These pages contained the templates for the moon, sun, stars and other cherished possessions. With those items gone, the Raposas began to abandon the village. Those who remain cry out to you, The Creator, to draw a Hero to help them rebuild their village back to greatness.”

–Drawn to Life instruction booklet

The main "race" of creatures inhabiting the universe of Drawn to Life are anthropomorphic fox-like beings known as the Raposa. They were drawn by The Creator, who also drew their world and everything in it.

The story begins with a Raposa named Mari crying out to The Creator to help save the Village she lives in. Her father doubts that The Creator will come back to help them, though Mari doesn't want to give up. Along the way, the player is introduced to her best friend, Jowee, and her father, who is The Mayor. These characters are the last remaining villagers. The player designs a hero for them, and they soon run into Wilfre, a corrupted Raposa that dabbled in creation, and spawned a legion of evil Shadow Creatures. The actual gameplay starts by rescuing The Mayor, who sets off to bring back the Raposa to the Village. As the player progresses, they learn that Wilfre was once a prominent member of the Village, and he stole the Book of Life, thinking he could do better than The Creator, and tore the pages from it because of his failed attempts. The Mayor asks The Hero to find and return the pages of the Book of Life, so The Creator can once again draw the missing objects from the Village.

The Hero starts by designing the Eternal Flame, which is used to clear the darkness from each section of the village, each time The Hero returns from completing a level. Along the way, The Hero rescue a cast of villagers, who agree to return to the Village and open up shops, restaurants and other places of interest. Mari begins training to take over as Mayor, and the Village plans a festival to celebrate. Meanwhile, adventure-hungry Jowee sneaks into a level, and The Hero has to save him and help find an appropriate gift for Mari. This reckless act causes a rift between Jowee and Mari, but they eventually make up and grow closer as they help The Hero restore the village to what it once was.

After numerous confrontations with Wilfre, he finally tricks The Mayor into appearing alone, and kills him. Mari and the villagers are devastated, but after seeing the village descend into chaos, decide to band together and stop Wilfre for good. The Hero defeats Wilfre, and returns to the Village. Jowee plans to leave on a treasure hunt, and after saying goodbye, Mari reminisces about the past, upset about losing her dad and best friend. The story ends with Mari on the beach, shocked at seeing Jowee walk up behind her. She runs to him happily, watched over by the spirit of The Mayor, and The Hero, on the cliff above.

Reception[edit]

Critical Reviews[edit]

Aggregated Scores
Critical Scores
	73/100 (DS)	53/100 (iOS)
	2.9/5 ⭐ (iOS)
Review Scores
	2/5 (iOS)

	6/10 (DS)

	31/40 (DS)

	7/10 (DS)

	4.5/5 ⭐ (DS)

	B (DS)

	7.5/10 (DS)

	3.5/5 ⭐ (DS)

	7.5/10 (DS)

	7.9/10 (DS)

	7.5/10 (DS)

	3/5 ⭐ (iOS)

The DS version of Drawn to Life received mostly positive reviews from critics, with many complimenting the concept, visuals, and story, whilst criticism was skewed towards the latter's repetitiveness and gameplay described by some outlets as "uninspired". According to Metacritic, Drawn to Life received mostly "Mixed or Average" reviews, based on 34 total reviews, with no negative reviews. The game was well received by critics in Japan. The review magazine Famitsu awarded the DS version three eights and one seven, bringing in a total positive score of 31/40^[1].

Reception of the iOS release was far less frequent, however the consensus towards this port was much more negative, with the few outlets who published reviews referring to it as a poor transition. Most criticism geared towards the port's poor optimization, particularly the control scheme and music and sound effects being mismatched. Again according to Metacritic, this version also received "Mixed of Average" reviews, based on 4 total reviews, though unlike the DS version, there were no positive reviews.

Awards[edit]

Drawn to Life was nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Story Development" at the 11th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, and at IGN's "Best of 2007" awards, Drawn to Life won "Most Innovative Design" (DS) and was runner-up for "Best Platform Game" (DS). In Game Spot's "Best of 2007" the game was nominated for "Best Platformer" (All Systems) and "Best Original Game Mechanic". Nintendo Power nominated Drawn to Life for Best Platformer (Wii & DS) for its 2007 Nintendo Power Awards. Drawn to Life was also a finalist in the inaugural Independant Games Festival: Mobile awards for Achievement in Art and Audio Achivement. In the 2007 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers awards, Drawn to Life won the award for Innovation in Gameplay. The game is also an iParenting Media Award Winner.

Sales[edit]

Supposedly, as of March 2008, Drawn to Life had sold 820,000 copies in North America and Western Europe, though the article this number was taken from no longer exists online in a complete form^[2]. A less accurate, but more publically available number is found on vgchartz - 780,000 copies sold.

In a conference call with investors, THQ President Brian Farrel stated that they were pleased with Drawn to Life's performance^[3]. The game was also very well received in Australia, making its debut on the Top 10 Australian sales chart for all platforms at #3. It continued to stay on the Top 10 sales chart over the next two months until Christmas.

The iOS release's sales nubers are rather obscure, however the game consistently being in the top releases for 505 Mobile also suggests the port was initially a commercial success for 505 Mobile, despite being a critical failure.

Beta[edit]

As with any form of entertainment, and especially with video games, many things were planned to be a part of this game, but were not implemented in the final release. A compilation of unused and removed features from this game can be found here.

Trivia[edit]

In this installment, the player gets to draw the world, the trees, and the Raposa at the start of the game. Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Wii) is the only other game the player gets to draw the world of Raposa.
- Unlike the original game, the Wii game doesn't let the player draw the trees and Raposa. Instead, the player gets to draw the sun and the moon.
In non-English versions of the game the default Touch Screen drawing has the word "Draw!" removed and the color of two of the swirls surrounding Jowee were altered.
- However, in the European version if you change the language to English and reset the drawing it will revert back to the original version with the word "Draw!"
According to the App Store, the iOS port was available to download as late as 2019, five years after it's intial release.
Two different boxarts exist for Drawn to Life; One features artwork seen in the title screen and was only used in the Japanese version and the pre-release North American boxart. The other boxart uses unique, oil painting style artwork with a more muted color palette, this was used in every other release of the game.
- Despite the changes, both boxarts share the same Hero artwork and game logo.
This installment was David J. Franco's favorite soundtrack that he composed.
To celebrate the game's Australian release, a Drawn to Life-themed competition was held by THQ and Nickelodeon.
- The winning prize was a Nintendo DS Lite for the victor and everyone in their class, as well as a copy of the game and a year's worth of THQ titles. Runner-ups received a $200 art set.
- Australia also received one of only four pieces of merchandise the Drawn to Life Series ever got: a DS carry case, complete with a stylus and branded whiteboard and marker^[4].
According to director Jeremiah Slaczka, Drawn to Life was loosely inspired by the Super Nintendo game ActRaiser.
- In both games you play as a god-like being, who interacts with the world with an unanimated object brought to life in their fight against a villain who represents Satan.
- Both games also feature overworld and side-scrolling sections, albeit in ActRaiser its a city-building simulator rather than a RPG-style hub world.
Four pre-release builds of this game have been revealed to the public. More information about these builds can be found here.
This game's instruction manual is the only one in the entire Drawn to Life Series to be in full color.
The Japanese website of the game contains a promotional flash game, titled Shadow Bashing. You can read more about it here.

Media[edit]

A HQ version of the background in one of Drawn to Life's boxarts.
Another version of the background on one of Drawn to Life's covers.
Promo Art
Promo Art

A screenshot taken from one of Drawn to Life's early trailers.
Early Promo art for Drawn to Life.
Promotional flier art for Drawn to Life's original demo^[5].

Note: This uses captures of the Australian version. The manual may differ between regions.

Front and back covers
Nintendo-related info and Page 1
Page 2 & 3
Page 4 & 5
Page 6 & 7
Page 8 & 9
Page 10 & 11
Page 12 & 13
Limited Warranty Notice
Notes & THQ Customer Service numbers

The website for Drawn to Life's Japan release.
The Adventure section of the Japanese website.
The Draw Mode section of the Japanese website.
The Hero section of the Japanese website.
The Character section of the Japanese website.
The title text of Shadow Bashing, reading "Think you can beat me? Click here to start!"
The title screen of Shadow Bashing.
A playthrough of Shadow Bashing.
The game's end screen.
An injured Shadow Bat graphic seen in Shadow Bashing.

Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.
Promotional Screenshot for the Japanese release of Drawn to Life.

The prompt presenting links for either the main website or the website based on Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition.
The website first loading. (Click to View)
The website starting up. (Click to View)
Loading after startup. (Click to View)
The Homepage being drawn. (Click to View)
The Homepage being erased. (Click to View)
The Homepage.
The Game page.
The Gameplay page.
The Character subpage.
The Competition page containing the winning results for a DTL-themed contest.
The Creator's profile.
Jowee's profile.
Mari's profile.
The Mayor's profile.