I just arrived at my house, eager to begin the game. As usual, I first browse through the instruction manual, enjoying the many pictures scattered throughout. After reading through and potential understanding the basics of the game, I popped it into my DS.

After looking at my surroundings, I decided that my current location just would not satisfy my gaming desires; off to my room I went! Nestled in my bed, I was all set to begin my own adventure into the Labyrinth!

I turned on my DS, watched the title screen, and selected New Game.

I was greeted by a nice scene of Verda Plaza and presented with only one option: The Explorer's Guild. After visiting, I was presented with my first choice: a Guild name. I settled with Sobharu, a name I 'stole' from my own little RPG that is in production.

I was then presented with another set of choices: my first Guild recruits!

I chose to crea... errr.. 'recruit' a male Landskencht, a male Protector, a male Alchemist, a female Survivalist, and a female Medic, basing my choices on a belief of a steady group of units who could cover all of the bases. Their names were Sajo, Kiece, Xubo, Miwa, and Luce.

After I finished up with my units, I set foot back into Verda Plaza. Seeing that The Rooster Inn finally decided to open it's doors, I invited my units to have a day to themselves. Who knew it would be their last? After saving my game, I once again returned to the Plaza.

As I walked along, I noticed a large building. Radha Hall I soon discovered it was named. I invited my Guild to come inside and see what we could do there. We were greeted and invited to participate in the Adventurer's Initiation! My units seemed to be excited by the news so we accepted without a second thought. We were then presented with a map and given access to the Labyrinth. We could not wait to start our adventure!

As we entered the Labyrinth, we were greeted by the first strata: a sprawling forest! We all figured Miwa would be right at home here and that we could rely on her to help us survive. We were mistaken.

We walked a few paces into the forest and were stopped by a Knight. I asked him what he was doing there and he replied that he needed us to draw out a map of the floor if we wanted to continue. Seeing no other choice, we agreed to his request. He then told us how to draw on our map and we went on our way.

Our first encounter was coming soon, in the form of an ambush by a few Treerats. They were no big deal and we handled them with ease. We continued exploring and fighting and I could tell everyone was getting worn out. "A few minutes more and we'll return to town," I told them. They all looked relieved.

Along our path, I noticed a boot on the ground. I ran over and picked it up and unwittingly fell into an ambush by a few moles. In my party's weakened state, we were no match and were subsequently defeated.

I looked at my screen, blinked a few times, and swallowed spit that I had been saving up. "Whoa," I managed to say as I turned off the DS. I placed my DS onto my desk and walked to the bathroom. I turned on the faucet, dipped my hands into the water, and splashed it onto my face.

"There is no way that that just happened," I said to myself, in shock.

I left the bathroom and went to my kitchen to retrieve snacks and drinks, arming myself for a long night.

"I will NOT let that happen again," I swore to myself as I returned to my room.

I retrieved my DS, powered it on, and returned to the Labyrinth. Finally, a challenge!