99 Ninjas
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| 99 Ninjas

We’re all a bit obsessed with ninjas, aren't we? There must be something in the mix of stealthy intrigue, extreme athleticism and deadly skills that gets our juices flowing.

Of course, all three of these attributes make ninjas quite appealing to game developers, too. After all, sneaking, jumping and fighting make up pretty much every action game of the past twenty years.

99 Ninjas has plenty of jumping (it being a 2D platformer) and more than a little fighting, but not a lot of sneaky subtlety. What’s more, of the two ninja-like elements it features, it only really pulls off the athleticism with any great success.

Our lead character Kanji is a swift mover, running and bounding about at near-Sonic speeds (well, Sonic when he’s out for a leisurely jog). Even more impressively, he has access to a grappling hook, activated by hitting jump (Up or ‘2’) again when in mid-air.

Practised use of this allows you to swing huge distances, using your momentum to fling yourself up to higher levels. Added to your ability to cling on to vertical surfaces and vault off, you find yourself perfectly equipped for the larger, more expansive levels in the game.

It could even be argued that movement is too quick and fluid for simple mobile controls, but we’ll give it the benefit of the doubt as the K800’s thumbstick isn’t generally best suited to fast-paced platformers.

Sadly, the simple joy of swooping through the game’s environments is spoiled whenever you encounter enemies. You’d think that you’d be able to cut a swathe through the ‘Ninjroids’ (robot ninjas) with your arsenal of shuriken, magic and a powerful sword, but some dodgy collision detection and a frustrating lack of visual feedback leads to you being stopped in your tracks time and time again.

It’s similarly frustrating when you encounter the umbrella and bubble stages. These items have you floating down and up respectively, requiring you to dodge left and right to avoid spikes.

Again, some unpredictable collision detection, punishing level design and insufficient check-pointing lead to plenty of annoying restarts, interrupting the flow of the game further.

It’s a shame, because Glu has nailed the basics of moving through the levels, and the cheeky sense of humour (you fight the armies of Shan-Pu, for example) and stylish visuals are thoroughly charming. Hopefully we’re all set for a sequel that focuses more on the more acrobatic side of ninja life.

99 Ninjas

This smooth mover is stopped in its tracks by glitchy combat and some irritating level design, but there’s enough charm and quality for platform fans to consider a purchase
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Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.