Mini Ninjas Review Page 2

10 Sep 2009 at 16:50:59 by
Systems used to review this title: (360)

There is no way you can get through the game without spells, which are picked up from Kuji shrines throughout the game world, and these spells, as we've said before, are only for Hiro.  And why are the spells so important?  Because if you're stuck in a forest with ghosts hell-bent on sucking your soul, the only way is to take them out with a spell that casts light.  If you're surrounded by a minions with no where to run, then dispatching a shock wave will help give you a bit more room.  If you're trying to sneak by some guards, then possessing the body of an animal is also useful.

I must say, in fairness, there are some of the Dave's army that can only be defeated by certain members of your team.  Well, Futo specifically; the guy with the massive hammer.  But you can't choose who you'd like to play at the beginning to decide who you'd like to be the special Kuji magic ninja.  As a result you find there is no need to play with any other ninjas than Hiro other than to satisfy your curiosity.  Couple this with the lack of multiplayer options, and there's a problem. 

But it's not enough for you to stop playing the game.  The beauty of this game is in the variety of things you can do as a gamer.  Completists will find the mini tasks in the game, such as running around in the expansive open world environments in the search for herbs, flowers and fungus for potion-making fun.  Even collecting all the hidden spells and statues can help extend the life of the game.  Fishing, too, in your arrow-proof hat - yes, a boat that's also a hat, or a hat that's also a boat - is also a welcome addition.

By visiting temples you can stock up on cherry, pepper or smoke bombs, as well as buying new potion recipes to take advantage of all that plant-like stuff you've been hoarding.  Equipping the spells, weapons and potions is a complicated matter, however.  To equip any of the above you must first hit your back button to bring up your inventory.  Next you hold down the A button to assign where you want the potion in your radial dial.  Back in the game you have to equip your item from the radial dial by pressing right bumper and to execute action for said item you hit the right trigger.  What I don't understand why the d-pad could have been made more useful.  So equipping spells for Hiro could go on the right bumper, while potions and projectiles on the d-pad.  And when you're not using Hiro, the right bumper becomes the d-pad for the other ninjas as they can't use the spells.

Even though they're not able to use spells, each of the ninjas does have their own special power.  For example, Suzume, that musical ninja, can enchant the enemy with her flute, and then beat them to a pulp as the music mesmerises them.  Shun, the archer, fires explosive arrows, while Futo rolls around knocking down the minions like the fat kid from Hook.  Hiro, again, has by far the most useful power: slowing down time and targeting specific enemies with a reticle before delivering a deadly one-hit strike.

Clambering along rooftops, sneaking around and rescuing animals is all great fun though, and the charm this game offers, as well as its wide audience appeal will be enough for anyone to enjoy it.  IO have taken the stealth elements which fared so well for the Hitman franchise and put it in a neat package which appeals to everyone.  If you want to play this game through you can, and it will offer you the same amount of time as any other single player title out there.  If you want to dip and out of the game, that's possible too.  But there's always that feeling of familiarity which can be seen as a positive or negative of the game.  Whether it's from Hitman, or something else, placing it is the problem.

Sometimes it's difficult to place something.  You know you've seen it, read it or played it before, but still you persist in the hope that something new will happen. Sometimes you give up, but most of the time you plough on and completing this seemingly familiar task is reward in itself.  Mini Ninjas is that exactly, and although you may be thinking you've seen it all before, you can't deny you're having fun.

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