jorimslist.com - Mini Ninjas ESRB content review

Mini Ninjas

Available on: Xbox 360 - PS3 - Wii - PC
More information: Wikipedia
Cover scans: MobyGames - CoverGalaxy: 360 - Wii - PS3
GameFAQs.com: Xbox 360 - PS3 - Wii - PC
Press: IGN: 8.0 - GameSpot: 7.5 - Metacritic (average): 73

Pros & Cons:
Pertaining to My short list below.

(Wii version was used for review—360/PS3 versions used to compare graphics, control and gameplay)

The graphics have a cute, colorful and simplistic look, with plainly adorable character design and—for such a simple style—surprisingly intricate environments; from flowing fields of individually bladed grass and cherry blossom trees, to forests of bamboo and fir far as the eye can see, flooded ricefields lit by muted sunset, and vast snow cover landscapes; all of which have a large, impressive scope. The smoke clouds that expel when enemy Samurai are defeated have a substantial, layered effect, and the twelve Kuju spells, from Lightning Storm to Fireball, are dynamic and fun to watch. Textures are clean; the lighting filters prettily through mist-filled graveyards, fuels the torches' vibrant glow, and causes water to reflect on the rock walls—speaking of which, water interacts convincingly with your boat and feet as you run through it, and its effects on the pelting rain and falling snow are more than adequate; the framerate stays steady, even with vast areas to render; load-times are brief, and are only between, not during the levels; and even on Wii, the pre-recorded cutscenes, using each systems' in-game engine to tell the story, are sharp and uncompressed.

Just one of the many scenic views in Mini Ninja's seventeen vast levels.

Speaking of the Wii version, it uses a lesser version of the 360/PS3's engine, which, of course, uses higher-res assets, along with much more complex rendering and shader methods—meaning the latter looks better; roll-over for an example. And while the 360 and PS3 versions have virtually no pop-in—along with the fact that the plentiful grass reacts as you run through it; not on Wii—grass on Wii is continuously seen popping-up and loading in as you run through the environments. Regardless, it looks great on the Wii for its limitations, with identical animations and (low-res but still identical) particle effects, an impressive draw distance, solid framerate and very little aliasing—overall, each respective platform looks sharp and performs smoothly.

The controls are well-placed and responsive on all platforms, and, as always, the Wii version uses motion control in conjunction with its buttons; a flick of the Wiimote + A to pull up ingredients; a downward flick of the Wiimote to do a stun or stealth attack; A + Wiimote waggle left and right to drop health replenishing fruit from foliage, open jammed doors and close later Dark Monk portals; a fast forward flick of the nunchuck to toggle your arrow shielding hat; (-) + cursor to manually adjust the camera, along with the fact that Wii does have a slight advantage in having the ability to aim ranged weapons, Kuju magic and Power Attacks with its on-screen cursor. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions have the same control but for motion, and other than this, there is little worth mentioning; they're quite adequate. Levels are huge (a convenient sprint helps navigating them easier) and in pseudo open-world form, which means once you get to the end of one, that's it, but when you're in one, you're free to backtrack and explore for as long as you wish. The vastness of the levels adds a sense of freedom, furthered by the game's options and loose, open-ended level-design...

As soon as you are set free into a level, you can choose to perform your "Detect Kuji Shrine" spell and acquire the next Kuju spell right away, gather ingredients for potion making, search for secret Jizo statues on sidepaths (with adjoining platforming; wall jumping, shimmying on ledges, etc.), or just charge ahead fighting, then worry about the rest later—when you reach the end of a level, it will ask if you wish to continue or go on. Once an approach is decided, there's yet more decisions....In exploration, you can search for ingredients by eye, or take control of nearby animals, all of which can spot ingredients by clouds of rising purple smoke. If you're low on health or Ki (magic meter), you can smash open barrels to find the odd potion, shake fruit or honeycomb (the latter replenishes the most hearts but causes bees to pursue—this can be used in combat) off shrubbery, catch fish, or buy recipes with collected coins from the Tengu temples, which will allow you to make a variety of potions with acquired ingredients. This aspect is a nice touch, and instead of Samurai just dropping health or Ki, you will have to work at restoring both, adding a light sense of strategy.

Perhaps the most—simple but—satisfying aspect of combat; Hiro's Power Attack.

In combat, there are numerous ways to approach each situation; you can charge in as Hiro (have him possess animals like bears—or Samurai with an upgrade earned near the end—to rush/swipe at enemies, or use Kuju magic—Fireball, Slow Time, Lightning Storm, etc; as a side note, spells, potions and secondary weapons can be assigned to the well-managed quick wheel), hang back and use ranged attacks with Shun's bow & arrows, stun groups of enemies with Suzume's flute; sneak by using the "Camouflage" spell to disguise Hiro in a bush (as it bounces around in an adorable manner), possess animals (foxes, rabbits, frogs, even a fish with a potion) to flank enemies undetected, or use any of the eventual six characters (which you save throughout your quest, and can then switch to on the fly) to sneak through tall grass or hide in shrubbery and take the hapless enemy out with stealth attacks—the choice is yours. Combat is simple but fun, with satisfying feedback as each hit is rewarded with a red flash, then a little pop and a thick puff of smoke to signify enemy defeat...

And while in no way deep, you can use simplistic chains to down enemies, by doing a few quick attacks, then follow them up with Hiro's Kuju, Shurikens, cherry bombs, or best of all, his Power Attack (accessible when his red orb meter is charged—enemies drop these), which will have him leap in the air as time stops, allowing you to target multiple Samurai with a cursor; resume time, and he'll instantly take them out—once this is upgraded to allow six targets at once, it just feels plain cool. Hiro can also do a continuous roll in any direction in as he block; it's a blast to collapse enemies' rickety watchtowers from under them with a few swipes; and although combat is on the easy side, later enemy types may surprise you, and when you're in a situation with lines of spearmen, big Samurai (only hurt by Futo's hammer), rocket arrow equipped archers, teleporting Samurai (performing unblockable attacks), Dark Monks (that turn all cured animals back into Samurai and open portals with waves of them), along with the fact that said archer types smartly run out of your reach to pelt you from a safe distance, it can even give experienced gamers a decent challenge.

However, this breadth of option comes with its downside; while it is true that you can choose from a vast array of spells, weapons, potions and playable characters—devoid the necessity to use Futo for big Samurai, and that aforementioned Shun and Suzume can be useful; Tora and Kunoichi are quite superfluous—very few players will find the need to use anyone but the sole Kuju user Hiro, or use stealth for that matter, as the game is often too easy to rely on these aspects; instead, most will end up just hitting anything they see—if you're going to provide so many mechanics, you must force the players to rely on them through design. This carries into boss battles, where you can only play as Hiro, and while unique, they are overly easy and anti-climactic; it would have been more dynamic if each characters' skills where utilized. Lastly, upgrades are fully automatic; a later sled level is tacked-on; and some of the Wii's motion controls (equipping your hat—that takes a hard, unresponsive flick—or holding "A" and having to flick up on the Wiimote to collect ingredients, instead of a single button press) feel unnecessary and tedious in comparison to the 360/PS3 version.

One of the more unique bosses, "Windy Pants," is a—literal—gas; kids will like it.

The Samurai behavior is entertainingly idiotic throughout (early in, they burn a bridge to the village before they can cross, rendering them stuck), and it's fun to watch those like the larger Captains run from you as their arms flail behind them (when reached, they'll stand cross-legged in panic and awkwardly hold out their swords—akin to little girls dangling a dog-slobber laced stick—as they weakly deflect your blows), or their grunts' opposite reaction, as they come joyously screaming (Nini-ninja, Ninja!) toward you with their squeaky little voices. The story itself is minimal—find the Evil Samurai Warlord's location and then defeat him—but what's here is cute and humorous, as the inept Samurai report their failures to the Evil Samurai Warlord in between the game's bosses (which have tongue-in-cheek names like Lumbering Fool or Windy Pants). And unlockable vigettes in the "Extras" menu—that tell each ninja's origin story up to their disappearance—are funny and entertaining, like Tora's; he literally thinks he's a tiger, makes himself claws and even runs on all fours in full sprint—cute.

Closing comment:
So overall, this is one of the best kid-oriented games to come out in a long time, and while the game can be simplistic, and much of its potential variety is wasted because of the lack of incentive to use all of the extra characters, items and spells through its often less than challenging design, it isn't at all shallow, with clever item management through ingredient collecting and potion making; still several ways to approach every situation in its wide-open levels; and a solid length at 10-12 hours (double this if you try to collect everything). Mini Ninjas may be aimed toward kids, and as such, it's no epic or triple A blockbuster, but with its charming visuals, and fun, polished gameplay (Hiro's Kuju magic, combat and ability to run on walls, often makes it feel much like a clean, collect-a-thon Ninja Gaiden) it reaches genuine "sleeper hit" status.

Pros & Cons review posted: 10/03/09

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Content review for this game:
Pertaining to the ESRB rating and My age rating.

Content-wise: Although there's notable crude humor in regards to second boss, Windy Pants (who solely attacks with passed gas), bosses are moderately large and menacing, and later portions can get overwhelming; combat is entirely non- lethal—Samurai revert back into animals—and with its cutesy, colorful art style, 100% kid-friendly. Content-wise, it's suitable for all ages.

Difficulty-wise: The game has three difficulties, which can be switched from the pause menu—under "Options"—at any time. On the default "Normal," the enemy is sparse in number and can be dispatched in a few hits early in, and you rarely have to use the block or stun move; the basic attack usually works without fail. But further in, enemy number does step up, and those like archers with fire and rocket arrows; lined-up spearmen (which can't be attacked from the front); red- armor Samurai (that block and take more hits); the big mace-wielding Samurai (that only Futo can damage); umbrella hat Samurai (that are lightning-fast, and use unblockable attacks, you'll first have to stun them to hit them); Dark Monks (that repeatedly turn nearby animals into Samurai; trap you with magic—you'll have to shake out as others attack; or open a portal, letting endless Samurai in until you can close it with a rapid button press), become more common—it can get tough to manage when all the above attack in unison.

Ghosts in a graveyard level can only be damaged by the Sunrays spell, and will sap your health quick; Kuji Shrines and their activating flowers become tougher to reach and find; several platforming portions (including the last boss' fortress) and one sledding sequence could take a few retries; you cannot use checkpoints when enemies are nearby; and you'll have to scavenge for and make your own potions to replinish health—Samurai never drop it. However, there's an easy-to-grasp, in-depth tutorial at the beginning; Shrines are set in the most convenient areas of each level, and save your progress instantly; platforming portions are very forgiving, and if you fall, you'll appear right where you fell—if you lose all your health (unlikely, I only died once) you'll reappear at a nearby Shrine; you can summon an overhead arrow at any time to show the exact direction of your next objective; and while the solvents on boss battles can be cryptic, if you get stuck, hints will pop up to tell you what to do.

Kids under ten could be overwhelmed in later areas, and the many buttons may confuse them (although I could see more advance players in this age group play it on easy with little problem). And for this age group, it's advisable to let them watch an older sibling as they play through (they could run around in levels just for fun—they're huge), and once an older sibling finishes it, they could pick any level from level select, then play through it on easy with every character, Kuju scroll, stocked up items, and the ability to possess grunt Samurai (acquired at the end of the game), repeatedly—all this makes gameplay markedly easier. So Overall, it's (difficulty-wise) most suited to ages 10+.

Fun for: Kids will like this for its cute, colorful visuals, easy-to-grasp gameplay and, of course, the fact that they get to play as a variety of Ninja. Older players will find the art style just as appealing, and most importantly, gameplay, which, although simplistic, gives you dozens of ways to approach every situation, from taking the stealthy approach—sneaking through tall grass, using the Camouflage power to disguise yourself as shrubbery, possessing animals to flank the enemy unnoticed—or going all-out on an action-filled rampage as you slash away. This doesn't even include the option given in regards to whether or what twelve Kuju powers or preferred characters—whose styles vary wildly—you decide on using; everyone likes to collect stuff; and to top it all off, even adults will find worthy challenge in later areas, especially if set to "Hard."

The game's length is substantial, at around 10-12 hours (17 levels, 5 bosses) if you run through at a steady pace, but this can easily be doubled if you take the time to collect everything (coins, Jizo statues, ingredients, etc.) as you go, or if go back to get what's left with level select. There is also a nifty feature, where after you beat the game, it keeps your upgraded character and all of your items intact when you replay any of its levels—including items collected afterwards; it just keeps building—and the Wii verison allows multiple profiles, complete with unique save icon avatars, making it easier for siblings and parents to keep their own progress safely intact. And overall, while this lacks any sort of co-op multi-player and, in many ways, may not appeal to the hardcore, it's highly polished, casual fun, with lots of variety and a freedom to play in the way you wish—Mini Ninjas is equally appealing to kids and adults alike.

Gameplay sum up: After finishing your training and fetching your burly friend Futo, you'll begin your mission to fight the Evil Samurai Warlord's vast army of Samurai. And the base gameplay consists of traversing the huge levels, as you pluck ingredient plants scattered about to make your own potions; smash open pots and barrels to collect items and coins to buy potion recipes from merchant Tengu; and trace Kuji Shrines to offer rare flowers and recieve new Kuju Magic Scrolls (from Fireball to Slow Time; 12 in all). Playable character Hiro will use his sneaking (through tall grass and shrubbery), Kuju and sword skills (like his Power Attacks to take out multiple enemies at once) to combat enemy Samurai (who drop red [restore Power Attack meter], blue [replenish Ki] and gold orbs [experience points] when downed) free caged animals (also rewarding you with gold orbs) and, once in a while, his captured ninja allies, who will then join him on his quest—allowing you to switch between them on the fly...

These new fighters—six in all—will lend their own unique skills to Hiro's efforts, from the hypnotizing, flute-wielding Suzume, to bow and arrow armed Shun, in addition to Hiro's ability to possess animals (from frogs to bears), helping him sneak, sniff out ingredients, or with some, combat Samurai. As he progresses, Hiro will automatically level up—netting him upgrades in health and Ki, among others—and he will also have to navigate plaforming portions by jumping gaps, hopping and running from wall to wall, shimmying on ledges, and balancing on tightropes or narrow posts. Hiro's hat does a good job of acting as a boat, snow sled and arrow shield, but when low on health, you'll have to use potions, catch fish or shake fruit off trees and shrubs to restore it. After a few levels, Hiro will reach a Samurai castle, which you will then fight through, defeat the boss at its end and move onto the next area—each level also has a set amount of optional collectables, like hidden Jizo statues, and the Wandering Tengu will reward you with items if you fetch them requested ingredients.

Cartoon violence: After being banished from the empire for three-hundred years—in which there was a time of great peace—the Evil Samurai Warlord reappears, bringing his Dark Kuju magic (both light and Dark Kuju were unpracticed and forgotten by the ninja since), and uses it to turn harmless forest animals into a vast army of Samurai warriors—in using Kuju magic for his own evil means, he has disrupted the balance of nature, bringing floods, earthquakes and violent storms. Observing the signs from his outlook on Ninja Mountain, the righteous Ninja Master sends his best ninja to uncover their meaning, but none return. In final acceptance of this, he dispatches his youngest and most inexperienced ninja, the rare Kuju user, Hiro, and his burly friend Futo; they are the empire's only hope, but are they up to the challenge...?

Your sole enemies are forest animals turned into faceless (devoid little glowing-eyes) Samurai, and their many types (blue armor=weak, elite red armor=stronger); small, sword-armed grunt Samurai, their larger captains, archers (that shoot wood, fire and rocket arrows), spearmen, and big Samurai (armed with oversized maces); umbrella hat Samurai armed with dual short-swords; Dark Monks (that use their flutes to stun you and turn nearby animals into grunt Samurai); and—skeleton—Ghosts. You will be fighting these Samurai with Hiro's sword, Futo's hammer, Suzume's flute, Shun's bow and arrows, Tora's claws, and Kunoichi's spear, along with Hiro's Kuju Magic (Meteor Storm, Tornado, Ice Storm, etc.), his stealth attacks, Cherry Bombs, sneeze-inducing Pepper Bombs, Time Bombs and stunning Shurikens—each character also has a Power Attack; Tora will unleash a flurry of spinning claw attacks; Futo will roll himself into a ball and ram them, Shun fires rocket arrows, etc. As you fight, the Samurai will flash red on contact, then, with a *pop,* vanish in a puff of black smoke, revert to animals and run off unharmed—all combat is entirely non-lethal.

When you're spotted, Samurai will dash toward you in groups squealing, "Ninini-ninja, Ninja!" in joyous, high-pitched tones, as the larger, in appearance only, Captains send them out and then run in the opposite direction—arms flailing above their heads—and archers hang back, firing from the ground, walled barricades or their rickety wooden watchtowers (which you can collapse in a few quick strikes). Later combat portions do step up, as Elite Samurai, Dark Monks and portals that spawn enemies become more common, along with the fact that archers are armed with rocket and fire arrows, and Samurai often ambush you later in. One level is set in a misty, skull-filled graveyard, where veiled skeletal ghosts hover over to drain your Ki and health. And in cutscenes, Samurai are seen setting a village aflame; and as they report their failures, the Evil, glowing-eyed Warlord calls his lackeys idiots and imbeciles in a deep, ominous voice, angrily turning them back into animals. Age-wise, bosses can be large and menacing, and later gameplay can get tense, but there's no killing, and with its cute visuals and light-hearted approach to every situation, it's 100% kid-friendly.

Crude humor: After Hiro defeats the first boss, the Evil Samurai Warlord exclaims to his subordinates that "with a blow of wind, his (Hiro's) journey will come to a smelly end," in reference to the second boss, Windy Pants. As you traverse the level leading up to your encounter with Windy Pants, you can hear far off echoes of his gas-passing the closer you get. When the rotund boss is reached, he passes gas (abundant noises associated with this act included) as Hiro enters; one hand held to his nose, the other waving in disgust—Windy Pants then bends his bottom at Hiro and lets out a big one, which proceeds to follow Hiro. He continues this through the battle, forcing you to roll under his legs and redirect the green gas clouds toward him...

Windy Pants will also "shoot" small gas clouds your way in a semi-circle pattern (with rapid flatulent sounds); when closer to defeat, he'll squat down, grunt and repeatedly launch himself into the air with giant gas clouds, sending shock waves of gas towards you; and after defeat, he grunts, then explodes into a giant cloud of gas—the 360/PS3 Achievement/Trophy for beating Windy Pants is titled "Smell You Later." After hearing of his defeat, the Evil Samurai Warlord tells his subordinates that, in reference to the third boss, "we will get him (Hiro) into deep water this time...and he will flush away," and you can later create a "Burping Potion"—if consumed, it will make your character belch out a large cloud of gas, stunning all enemies enveloped.

Content review posted: 09/26/09

Content review

Pros & Cons