Mini Ninjas Review [DS]

16 Sep 2009 at 10:30:25 by James Chalmers
Systems used to review this title: (DS)

Mini Ninjas was one of those titles which stuck the summer almost self-promoting, while not a single person knew why everyone seemed to be getting sucked into the hype machine surrounding it. I didn't even know what to expect from the title and, when asked to review the DS version, I was unexpectedly excited. But now after playing through it does Mini Ninjas live up to the hype bandwagon which everyone jumped on?

You predominantly take the role of trainee ninja Hiro but after being thrown into a quest to save the world in which he lives in from evil domination, you gain extra buddies who all come in handy with different weapons and special attributes. While the majority of the time you are solving puzzles and exploring using Hiro, it's the likes of the two-handed hammer warrior Futo whom I kept returning to when confronted by a horde of enemies; simply because of his brute strength and efficiency.

Essentially the title is split between two genres; while the main core of the gameplay will be familiar to adventure and platform gamers, the addition to the DS version of the spirit mode creates a new mini-game mode which wouldn't seem out of place in something like Wario Ware. The spirit world segments are my favourite sections in the game they require Hiro to meditate at certain locations and then, using a variety of techniques with the stylus and microphone solve little puzzles, to advance. Some can be as simple as drawing the outline of a letter or defeating a spirit boss, while others see you cutting out shapes and then drawing gears and cogs before having to blow into the microphone to complete the levels.

The spirit mode sounds good doesn't it? Believe me it is, however the same cannot be said about the majority of the main game.  There is too much micro-managing such as swapping characters and changing spells, and they're all done on the touch screen.  The user interface is fine and not confusing, and even the combat couldn't be simpler, pressing the A button to attack, R shoulder to dodge, the Y button for projectile attacks and finally the X button for spells. However just because the controls are easy it doesn't mean there aren't problems, the combat comes under criticism with two major points of trouble. A) It gets very repetitive quickly and B) The camera makes it an awkward mess!

The camera has to be one of the biggest flaws for Mini Ninjas, as you explore levels where alot of walls are present the camera has a tendency to flick to a position where you can see bugger all and leaves it to you to move around your selected character to find a location where it feels comfortable. Aiming with projectiles such as the throwing stars is also a problem.  Even though these ninjas are meant to be trainees, you'd think they'd have eyes of a killer? Door switches and boss battles can become very problematic and results in you using twice as much ammo had the camera angles worked.

When battling a boss not only do you have to tackle the camera problems but you also have to overcome the lack of a hint system of how to defeat a boss. Alot of the time I found it resulting in a trial and error affair until you figure a way to beat them, while some of you may argue this adds to the challenge I urge you to stick to that theory when you get to the sixth or seventh time and you still don't know what to do. Believe me it can be very frustrating to start the fight over and over again.

While the restarting feels like each chapter is dragging on, the overall level design is fairly well laid out. Chapters can be fairly lengthy and are normally separated with numerous locations making each chapter feeling fresh and ready to explore. Along with the main quest there are many herbs and plants to collect on your travels, these can be used to craft special healing and buff potions from certain vendors but while its a nice addition the vendors are spread sparsely throughout the campaign and feel like they were forgotten about while the game was developed and added back in as an after thought (or maybe I just couldn't find them).

Alot of the game feels like an after thought, the animations for each character when they attack are limited to a combo of three. Granted for each character they are different but when you add the same sounds over and over again and the randomly placed shrill of "Mini Ninjas!" you soon find yourself aiming for the mute button along with a quick hope that they learn new attack moves when they level up, which they don't.

Yes that's right your characters level up throughout the game. For each different level you can receive a variety of improvements whether it be more health bar in the form of hearts or an increased Ki (sprinting/spell) bar. How do you level up I hear you ask? Well it's the usual suspects unfortunately in the form of defeating enemies, completing chapters, rescuing trapped animals (awww aren't you a sweetie?) and basically being a ‘good' ninja. This is where the developers could've done something new and fresh, offering XP for completing the Spirit mode levels in a certain time for example. However the omission of these aren't sorely missed and while trying to introduce a levelling system to this game is a nice idea it isn't really needed.

So does it live up to the hype? In a word, No. Don't get me wrong the majority of the game is an enjoyable experience however the way the game handles just feels broken. Awkward camera control, repetitive gameplay and re-occurring sound affects mar a title which could've been a mega hit this month. The addition of the mini game style spirit mode is one of the saviours of this title and makes great use of the touch screen along with the DS mic. I can only recommend this title if you find it in the bargain bin in the not too distant future, but if you want to spend money on Mini Ninjas I recommend the 360/PS3/Wii versions.

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