Ninjabread Man

Ninjabread Man
North American boxart, Wii version
Developer(s)	Data Design Interactive
Publisher(s)	EU Data Design Interactive NA Conspiracy Entertainment
Engine	GODS engine, Havok, RenderWare
Platform(s)	Wii, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2 EU July 13, 2005 Microsoft Windows EU July 23, 2005 Wii EU September 21, 2007 AUS September 27, 2007 NA October 3, 2007
Genre(s)	Platformer
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 3+

Ninjabread Man is a platform video game from English developer/publisher Data Design Interactive. The game was an original new Zool game, but due to its poor quality, the Zool license was dropped.

The game was released on the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows in Europe in July 2005. A port for the Wii was released on September 21, 2007 in Europe, September 27 in Australia, and October 3 in North America. Ninjabread Man was published as part of Data Design Interactive's 'Popcorn Arcade' brand of Wii games.

Plot

According to the back of the box art, Candy Land is under attack by Hordes of snapping cupcakes, angry bees, and jelly monsters that have taken over the land. Ninjabread Man must stop the evil army of monster cakes.

Gameplay

The player flicks the nunchuk up to jump. Players can also do a double jump by Flicking the nunchuk up twice.

Ninjabread Man is an action-adventure platformer. There are three levels in the game, plus a tutorial level.^[1] In order to proceed to the next level, players must collect eight power rods to activate a teleporter.^[2] When the player completes a level and plays it again, a menu appears with a second mode available, ‘Score Pickups’. If the level is completed again in this mode, the player will unlock ‘Time Attack’ mode. Completion of this mode unlocks the ‘Hidden Pickups!’ alternative mode.^[2] Several comic attacks appear in the game, such as the Samurai Sword attack that reduces enemies to jam.

Reception

Ninjabread Man received unanimously negative reviews upon release. The PlayStation 2 version of the game has a 31% average rating on GameRankings,^[3] while the Wii version has an average of 17%.^[4] On Metacritic, the Wii version of the game has an average score of 20/100, based on 6 reviews.^[5] The PC version of the game was not reviewed by any major publication.^[6] Despite the negative reception of the first game, on January 23, 2008, a sequel titled Ninjabread Man II: Blades of Fury was announced.^[7]

IGN gave the Wii version a score of 1.5/10, saying: "Is Ninjabread Man actually a good game? No chance. It’s buggy, often completely broken, somehow manages to have frame issues in tiny levels, and is completely ruthless if (and when) younger players die."^[8] Thunderbolt gave it 1/10, citing the game's length and the unimaginative use of the character as key flaws, "Ninjabread Man could be a cool guy with a bad attitude, in a stark and ironic contrast to his surroundings. He could be the Jack Bauer of the bakery, but instead our hero is silent and lifeless."^[1]

Screwattack made it a SAGY nominee for "Worst Multiplatform Game of 2007", blaming the quality assurance testers for not pointing out the flaws.^{[citation needed]}

Sequel

Despite the negative reception of the first game, on January 23, 2008, a sequel titled Ninjabread Man II: Blades of Fury was announced.^[9] Not much information nor a release date has been issued. But it has been revealed that Data Design has created a website asking for the fans of the game to give ideas for the sequel.

See also

• Anubis II, another Data Design Interactive game criticized for being merely identical to Ninjabread Man.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Morton, Philip (6 January 2008). "Ninjabread Man Wii review". Thunderbolt. http://www.thunderboltgames.com/reviews/article/ninjabread-man-review-for-wii.html. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "IGN: Ninjabread Man". IGN. http://pc.ign.com/objects/889/889343.html. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
3. ^ Ninjabread Man Reviews
4. ^ Ninjabread Man Reviews
5. ^ Ninjabread Man (wii: 2007): Reviews
6. ^ Ninjabread Man
7. ^ Data Design Interactive » Highlights » Ninjabread Man – Blades of Fury
8. ^ Bozon, Mark (8 January 2008). "Ninjabread Man Review". IGN. http://wii.ign.com/articles/844/844327p1.html. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
9. ^ Data Design Interactive » Highlights » Ninjabread Man – Blades of Fury