Generally, when you hear about a game starring a ninja you tend to think of something serious--or at best, semi-serious. More specifically, this evokes memories of classics such as Ninja Gaiden. This game in no way, shape, or form, meets the criteria of any of these predecessors.
I-Ninja stars a small, Bomberman-shaped hero donning a stereotypical--and cartoonish--ninja costume complete with bandanna over the eyes and katana over the back. In a quest to avenge his fallen master, the Ninja takes up his sword and calls upon the mystical energies that power his Matrix-bending abilities. The plot is thin at best, but the fun is derived from the cartoonish violence scattered throughout the vivid, imaginative game world.
The game world in general brings back memories of Bomberman, and not just because of the Ninja running around in it. Levels are laid out in a pattern that requires a combination of combat and puzzle-solving skills to advance, much in the way Bomberman 64 is designed and laid out. Puzzles are relatively simple, but still challenging most of the time. Sometimes they require combinations of skills, such as wall-walking and jumping from rope to rope to cross a gap. Other times they require the activation of a series of switches to open a door or lower a barrier. Either way, it's often just challenging enough to satisfy the intellect while still being fun and, more often than not, entertaining.
Combat is just as the puzzles are. It's simplistic, requiring only basic button-mashing combinations to achieve well-animated and -designed maneuvers such as spins and air kicks. In this sense it's fairly similar to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, with the ability to chain attacks together and devastate a group of enemies surrounding you with ease. Oftentimes a specific finishing move will trigger, resulting in an enemy ninja being split down the middle or cut into chunks, but the game stops short of gore and blood and instead the enemy combatants have been filled with some kind of bright green jelly that oozes out as they fall into a heap. It's far more amusing than it sounds.
The game's visual appearance also harkens back to Bomberman 64, like so many of its other elements. Stages are uncluttered but still manage to be quite detailed, with bright vivid colors that are friendly to the eye and provide for a significant degree of imagination to be injected into the game. Along with this are somewhat simple sound effects that attempt to add to the kid-friendly gameplay, but end up falling short of pleasing the ears the same way the stages please the eyes.
All told, it's definitely a fun romp through Ninjaland, and more than enough to keep you busy and giggling for a few hours. Younger gamers will probably find this more appealing, but it is by no means boring for more mature players. It's only really good for a single play-through, but there are unlockables and hidden treasures to go back and search for if you feel compelled to do so. Otherwise, however, it's probably worth a good $15 if you can find it used.
No Comments