Mini Ninjas

Mini Ninjas
Mini Ninjas cover art
Developer(s)	IO Interactive Magic Pockets Robosoft Technologies (Mac OS X)
Publisher(s)	Eidos Interactive Warner Bros.[1] Feral Interactive[2] (Mac OS X)
Distributor(s)	Square Enix, Valve Corporation
Designer(s)	Jeremy Petreman, Henrik Hansen
Composer(s)	Peter Svarre
Engine	Glacier Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Nintendo DS PlayStation 3 Wii Xbox 360 Mac OS X[3]
Release date(s)	NA 8 September 2009[4] EU 11 September 2009[4]
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E10+
Media/distribution	Optical disc, Download

Mini Ninjas is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released on 8 September 2009 in North America and 11 September 2009 for Europe, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360.^[5] A Mac OS X version of the game was released on July 8 2010 by Feral Interactive.^[2]

Story

Long ago, after the Evil Samurai Warlord was banished the first time, an era of peace and tranquility descended upon the empire for more than 300 years. The dark castles he had built were abandoned and slowly fell into ruin and the villagers across the countryside no longer lived in fear. As the years went by, the secret of the powerful Kuji magic was hidden away in ancient shrines, and the people of the villages and towns went back to their daily lives.

Then one day, something changed. Terrible storms began to brew over the mountain on the distant horizon. Floods and earthquakes began to appear in the flatlands. At Ninja Mountain, The Ninja Master could see that something was terribly wrong in the world. Mysterious figures were seen hunting and caging animals for unknown reasons. The truth was that the Evil Samurai Warlord had returned, using the forbidden Kuji magic to transform innocent animals into mindless samurai warriors to use to recapture his dark castles and take over the world. But, by using the Kuji magic for evil purposes, the Evil Samurai Warlord was once again upsetting the balance of nature, bring the wrath of the gods down upon the earth in the form of ravaging storms. The larger his armies grew, the worse the storms became.

The Ninja Master knew none of this yet... though he knew that something must be done and made it his unbreakable oath. He sent his best ninja to discover the truth of the storms, but no word returned from the ninja. One by one, he sent another, but again and again... nothing. Until he was left with only two left, Hiro and Futo. The Ninja Master was hesitant to send his last two, but he knew the fate of the world would lay in their hands.

Gameplay

The game is a third person action adventure set in feudal Japan. The environments and buildings for the game are based on some of Japan's most beautiful and well-known landscapes and structures such as rice fields, snowy mountain ranges, lush forests and canyon rivers.

The game features six playable Ninjas each with their own unique abilities and skills which can be switched between at any moment once they have been rescued. Magic can also be used along with the Ninjas weapons and skills. The magic spells range from fire ball attacks, camouflage and time manipulation.

Hiro fighting the evil Samurai

• Hiro is available from the start of the game and is the only of the Ninjas that can use magic and possess animals. His special move is a lock on attack that stops time and automatically attacks the enemies that have been selected.
• Futo is the second ninja in the game and is found on the first level. He carries a large wooden hammer which he uses to defeat his enemies. He also boasts great strength and is the only Ninja who can take on the Large Samurai. His special move is to roll into a ball and attack.
• Suzume is a female ninja, who trained under the Ninja Master with Hiro. She uses a flute as a weapon by using it like a blowgun, with normal darts or paralyzing darts. Suzume can also stun multiple enemies with her flute, and her melee combat skills with the flute are good. Suzume means "sparrow" in Japanese. She is the first ninja rescued by Hiro on his quest, and is apparently somewhat a love interest for him.
• Shun is the bow ninja of the game. He is the second ninja the player rescues, after Suzume. Shun is a living contradiction. He is the most tense of all the Ninjas but oddly, he still maintains the unique ninja skill of calming himself to utter silence when it requires it. Shun wears camoflauge. Shun is an archer and he never runs out of arrows. He uses a bow because he has never excelled at hand-to-hand contact. Shun's special attack enables him to tie a lit explosive to the shaft of one of his arrows. He can fire this projectile across long distances to damage, or sometimes just scare, his enemies with the explosion. Shun has been known to sit completely still for two days straight in order to hit a target perfectly. He is the only ninja who speaks, talking to himself in Japanese as he sneaks, leaps, and fires his arrows.
• Tora thinks he is a tiger. Ever since he was a small child, left on the steps of the Ninja Village, he has been infatuated with being one. This particular trait in Tora annoys the Tengu, and his trainers have gone to some lengths to weed it out of him with little success. Tora's favorite weapon is a pair of self-made tiger claws, which he uses to great effect. Tora can throw himself into a "tiger dash", propelling him forward at a great speeds when large distances need to be covered. At the end of his dash, he will pounce into a spinning claw attack. Tora is by far the most energetic of the Ninjas. He rarely sits still, unless it is to enjoy the sun, and he is furious in combat. Tora was featured among the top ten ninja characters for PlayStation consoles by PLAY in 2011.^[6]
• Kunoichi is the younger and less mature of the girl Ninjas. She looks up to Suzume as an older sister. She is very acrobatic and enjoys the rigorous training of a ninja. Kunoichi's weapon is a naginata, which she uses as a prop for her acrobatic moves. According to the Ninja Master the naginata was a perfect weapon for her as she "preferred to keep a distance". Kunoichi, anticipating the rush of enemies coming her way, will spin her spear above her head, drawing upon the magical energy infused within the weapon - then unleash a spinning helicopter attack on her foes. Because of this is may the best to use in crowds. Kunoichi is very quiet, does not reveal much about herself, and is a bit of a loner. She adores Hiro.

Development

Mini Ninjas was announced on January 19, 2009, along with the first official trailer.^[7] The game's origin lies in the developers' desires to make a game that they could "play with their kids".^[8]

Reception

Mini Ninjas has been critically well-received. As of April 2011, its average scores according to GameRankings are 80% (Wii), 61.90% (DS), 75.52% (PlayStation 3), 72.56% (Xbox 360) and 75.67% (PC).^[9]

IGN gave the PS3 version of the game an 8 out of 10 as a "family-friendly ninja affair", finding it "an extremely pleasant surprise".^[10] The Guardian awarded the game 4 out of 5 stars, concluding that the game's "constant charm renders it calming and even relaxing to play ... any parent watching Mini Ninjas being played will find it hard to resist the temptation to have a go over their own".^[11] Main criticisms of the game come from lack of co-op option and lack of replay value.

References

1. ^ Athab, Majed (2009-06-01). "Square Enix and Eidos dropping Warner Bros. publishing". Joystiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/01/square-enix-and-eidos-dropping-warner-bros-publishing/. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Feral Interactive: Mini Ninjas". http://www.feralinteractive.com/game/minininjas. 
3. ^ "Article". http://www.apple.com/games/articles/2010/07/minininjas/. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Mini Ninjas begin their adventure on 8th September in North America and 11th September in the UK". 2009-08-13. http://www.mcvuk.com/press-releases/50058/Mini-Ninjas. 
5. ^ Purchese, Rob (January 19, 2009). "Eidos unveils new Mini Ninjas game". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/io-interactive-ditches-hitmen-for-ninjas. Retrieved 2009-01-19. 
6. ^ Top ten ninjas on PlayStation | PLAY Magazine
7. ^ Robert Purchese (2009-01-19). "Eidos unveils new Mini Ninjas game News - - Page 1". Eurogamer.net. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/io-interactive-ditches-hitmen-for-ninjas. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
8. ^ Robert Purchese (2009-08-13). "IO's Mini Ninjas arrives September News - - Page 1". Eurogamer.net. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ios-mini-ninjas-arrives-september. Retrieved 2011-10-15. 
9. ^ Mini Ninjas for Wii - GameRankings
10. ^ IGN » Games » PlayStation 3 » Reviews
11. ^ Game review: | Technology | The Guardian

External links

• Official website
• Mini Ninjas at MobyGames
• Mini Ninjas at Feral Interactive