Mini-Ninjas is a cute but fun combat title from developer IO Interactive, who are best known for their Hitman series of games. Despite hitmen and ninjas being somewhat related, this one is a decidedly different adventure, though.
Clad in a vibrant and charming art style, the game follows the Hiro and his sidekick Futo. The duo embark on a journey, trying to find their four missing ninja friends putting an end to the evil samurai warlord’s plans of taking over the world. The narrative (however brief) is funny and entertaining, the cinematics are beautifully made and the graphics are just plain adorable.
While the game proceeds in a linear manner, the design of each level allows for plenty of exploration, making it feel less structured than it normally would have been. There are always a variety of ways to get from one point to another, along with several options of waging battles.
Each character will have various attacks, as well as special moves that are unique to their weapons and personalities. You can unlock spells, use various objects within the world and purchase new weapons to bring plenty of variety to the stealth-attack combat ninjas are usually more inclined to do. Do note that most “effective” fighting techniques you will find are limited and, as such, can feel repetitive as the game furthers on.
AI is pretty good, with your enemies attacking in swarms and fighting more stealthily as they thin out. The graphics style sometimes makes it hard to notice enemies, which, I guess, plays into the fact that they’re covert “mini-ninjas”. Controls are awesome and silku smooth, flowing like butter from one to the other, although the camera view can be a pain in the ass (you’ll need to adjust it regularly).
Overall, Mini-Ninjas is a fun game with plenty of promise. Sure, this first title has some drawbacks. Once those are ironed out, though, I have no doubt this can turn into a franchise and an excellent one at that.
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