Gameplay Impressions
Gameplay impressionsMini Ninjas isn't a particularly challenging game - you can generally get away with button-mashing your way through the levels. However, the colourful environments, cutesy characters, humorous dialogue and wealth of visually arresting ninja moves do manage to prevent things from getting too repetitive. In fact, though the gameplay is fairly shallow, exploring the beautiful locations of Japan and enjoying the animations of these tiny ninjas and their foes, while taking in the enchanting art style and production, is overall a pleasurable experience that should stimulate any young senses.
With six different characters to play as the gameplay in Mini Ninjas is set up nicely for co-op play, but it's a feature that is sadly missing. Nevertheless, the creativity injected into the array of Ninjas moves and tricks, such as being able to turn your hat into a makeshift boat, or transform a Samurai into a fluffy animal when you kill them, are all part of its charm and make it an enjoyable, accessible and pleasant game that is a far cry from IO Interactive's last title, the brutally violent Kane & Lynch Dead Men. Despite the story in Mini Ninjas failing to capture the imagination, there's plenty of fun to be had out of searching for hidden canyons and coves across some wonderfully designed locations. With Japanese bells tinkling away in the background, there has been times when we've been playing Mini Ninjas that have brought back fond memories of being captivated by the brilliant Zelda game, Ocarina of Time.
For all its charm though, Mini Ninjas doesn't provide enough challenge, and the style-over-substance approach won't fool anyone who's played their fair share of adventure games, whether they're young or old. The lack of a combo-based system or ever-evolving skill set means that the gameplay is accessible, but rarely relies on more than just pressing the 'Y' button to block and the 'X' button to attack.
Though the potential of the Mini Ninjas hasn't been fully realised this time around (we are looking forward to a sequel), its bright, visual charms, captivating audio and enjoyable exploration, should be enough to keep the kids happy for a fair few hours. Ninjas are supposed to be killing machines, but you'll just want to pick and cuddle these little dudes.
Final Score : 7/10
