Mini Ninjas (Xbox 360) Review
Posted by Sean Garmer on 10.22.2009
Do cute and funny work with a ninja game? Actually it kinda does. The gameplay isn't half bad either.
Similar to a great fictional story, There is more mysticism known about Ninjas than historical fact. Their rivalry with samurai actually has more to do with a battle between lower class and aristocrats than fantasy stories. That's what makes Mini Ninjas great though it doesn't try to make its own fantasy about ninjas, but instead stays true to these ninja legends that already exist in a rather honest yet hilarious way. IO Interactive known for the "Hitman" series has taken a new direction in making games and made an enjoyable game for anyone.
Title: Mini Ninjas (Also Available on PS3 & Wii)
Publisher: Eidos Interactive, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Developer: IO Interactive
Genre: Action RPG or Action Adventure
Players: 1
Rating E + 10 for Everyone 10 and up
Graphics:
Mini Ninjas is wonderfully animated and truly does make you feel "mini" in this large world. Every level is different and gives the player a feeling that you are going through this journey to save your ninja buddies and defeat the Evil Warlord. In one level you be in this lush forest and in the next part it will be dark and raining. Then you may go into a dark village and have to roof walk through the level, and even later you have to deal with the snow. Don't worry though, thanks to the power of meditation the player will never get lost. The simple press of up on the d-pad points you in the direction you need to go. The ninjas themselves are drawn in a more cutesy and comic approach that is sure to appeal to the kiddies. The game makes fun of their samurai rivals by making them run around like chickens and act like babies. There are different forms of these samurai and ultimately they are dumb. It doesn't mean you won't have some trouble defeating them, other than the archers, they don't seem to have much smarts. There are also drops in frame rate when a lot of enemies are on screen at once fighting against you. Regardless, it doesn't take away too much from the graphics which are one of the high points of this title.
Gameplay:
Mini Ninjas is really an action RPG at heart, very similar to Kingdom Hearts. You gain levels, use magic spells, make items through receipes, and most of the fighting centers around a couple of buttons. By making the ninjas "mini" it tells everyone that this is not the serious gore-ified gameplay of Ninja Gaiden, and just like Kingdom Hearts, its meant for all ages. In this game you play as the katana wielding Hiro and his large friend Futo. Their sensei has sent out many of their friends to try to see what the Evil Warlord is up to, only for them not to return. So sensei is down to his last two trainee's and though he admits they aren't ready, he has no choice either. In this adventure you'll mostly be in control of Hiro, but as you go around freeing Hiro's other comrades there will be times where you may want to use their talents as well. There is an archer, a spear wielder, a ninja that believes he's a cat to the point that he made himself wolverine claws, and even a girl that knows how to use a flute in combat. After obtaining those friends you can switch between them at any time by pressing one button.
Aside from using weapons there are other forms of dealing with enemies. As each ninja has their own stun attack and their own special attack that uses Ki obtained by defeating enemies or breaking barrels. They can also gain special abilities like sprinting as you progress through the game. There is a stealth element that does reward the player for attempting to stay hidden but except in rare cases, most of the time you won't even bother with it. The most interesting part of the battle system is using the magic attacks. Hiro is the only ninja that can use kuji (or magic). As you journey throughout the land you'll find shrines that contain new magic spells Hiro can learn. The game even gives you a spell to help locate the shrines too. These spells vary from fire and wind spells to a spirit spell that allows you to go inside the spirit of animals. The spells come from old ninja legends that said they had power over the five elements and the ability to turn into animals. Yeah that's right, you can fight as a Wild Boar or a Panda if you wish.
The game does attempt to keep you from fighting all the time by challenging players to explore the vast landscapre looking for items, doing a few fetch quests, and even some rafting and fishing. Aside from finding shrines, there are also various flowers to locate (they serve as receipe ingredients), statues, and plenty of animals to save. The enemies in the game turn into little animals similar to the old Sonic games. There are also animals locked in cages that you must find, getting some of these extra items also gains experience points so there is an incentive to go after these. There's even some extra fun to be had for those looking for items, as there are times where you'll have to go white water rafting on your hat or do some fishing. The best part, is to get through each level, for the most part, you are not required to collect anything, just fight or stealth your way through a level.
All that being said, the game does have a few issues. Though the game is tailored more to kids, the game never truly gets difficult. The bosses, though funny, are all mostly beat the same way with quicktime events, and the other opponents are really only difficult because they come at you in masses. The fire flame archers actually do know how to aim so they can get rather annoying. Aside from them and the ghosts you fight in a couple areas you probably won't run into too many problems. As with any beat-em-up style game the constant button mashing can get tedious after a while, but the story is good enough to keep people interested.
There's also no real reason except for in a few instances to use the other characters besides Hiro. I understand the story is mainly based around Hiro being well, a hero but its still puzzling why he had to be the strongest character by a mile. I think it would have made the characters a lot more useful to give them each power over one element and then have one of them be able to do the control spirit thing. As it is the other characters are really only used if the player chooses because every enemy can be defeated by Hiro. Though it never bothered me, the kiddie look and characters may keep older gamers from playing the title too.
Sound:
None of the main characters talk and since the samurai are animals all they do is sound like babies. The voice acting that is in the story is good though, sensei, the evil warlord, some of the guards, and bosses all add their own personal touch. One of the standout things about the title is its soundtrack. Every piece of music matches and fits very well with each situation in the game.In stealth parts the music makes the player feel sneaky and so do the all out battles as well. Even when I was beginning to get tired of the battling the good music kept me motivated to keep playing. So I do have to commend them for the great effort there.
Lasting Appeal
The story mode of the game is longer than most action-adventure titles these days and that's a good thing. Since all the levels progress into each other literally (though there is a loading screen in between) it makes the story flow very well. Each character is introduced with a video that can be seen in the menu to make you care about them, but as I said before, how much you get into the story can depend how interested you remain with the title. This game also screams co-op to me, and I wonder why it wasn't included. It would have added a lot more replayability to the game to be able to play with a friend or three. Especially since the way they make the game harder is by adding more enemies and not by making the A.I. more difficult to defeat.
Fun Factor:
If players can get into the exploration element of this game you can have even more fun than just battling it out through each level. There are many things to collect and going back to each level to try to find everything can add hours of play time, but most probably won't do that. Especially the kids that this game is aimed to the most. The battle system has enough in it and if you change out the characters it will probably take a little while before you get totally bored fighting enemies. I had a bunch of fun with this title, but I also was happy to get very involved with it.
The 411: This is a very good first effort from IO interactive. The story will keep you involved and they added plenty of things to try to extend it. The cuteness and comedy also makes this game rather humorous, which is something I was surprised about. I didn't find anything really wrong with the game, other than a needed co-op and the possible eventual tedium of the button mashing.
Graphics
8.5
the ninjas may be small, cute, and funny but they work well with the game and the environments are very nice
Gameplay
8.0
There is some exploring, collecting, and fighting all packed in, but it can get boring
Sound
9.0
some voice work, but this stands out because of the soundtrack
Lasting Appeal
7.0
Though there are some things to do outside of fighting, at heart its button mashing and it feels like its missing co-op too
Fun Factor
8.0
I had lots of fun with this title because I took the time to get involved with it, but I don't think most will
