Appletell reviews Mini Ninjas for Mac OS X

Genre: Third-person action/adventure
Format: DVD
Developer: IO Interactive
Mac Port: Robosoft Technologies
Mac Publisher: Feral Interactive
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.8, 1.8GHz Intel-based processor, 1GB RAM, 5GB free disk space, 128MB VRAM, DVD drive
Review Computer: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo aluminum MacBook, 2GB DDR3 memory, NVidia GeForce 9400M graphics
Network Feature: No
Processor Compatibility: Intel only (compatible with Mac mini and MacBooks with GeForce 9400M graphic cards or better)
Price: $39.99
ESRB Rating: E 10+
Availability: Out now

At this point, I’m not even sure I bother to review Feral Games. They’ve got such an outstanding record of selecting titles to bring our way that you have to figure any release is going to get a 4 or 5. Mini Ninjas does, in fact, get one of those two. Feel free to scroll down to find out what, but I’m going to tell you why, anyway.

Mini Ninjas instantly reminded me of the LEGO series of games, but it’s able to distinguish itself in numerous positive ways. Mainly, the lack of franchised characters allowed developer IO Interactive to be a bit more creative with the overall approach. Because you’re not familiar with the story of Futo, Suzume, Shun, Tora and Kunoichi, you have no expectations of what villains are just ahead and in what settings you’ll fight them. I know familiarity can be comforting, but I find it boring in video games.

The story is classic Hong Kong action cinema fare. An evil samurai is bent on taking over the world. Ninjas sent to fight him have disappeared, so it’s now up to the young Hiro and his friend Futo to find the missing ninjas and ultimately defeat the warlord in his Fortress of Doom. Sounds awesome, right? It kind of is. This is all handled in a light-hearted manner fit for the younger crowd. Yes, you’re killing people with arrows, spears, hammers and tiger claws, but look at these kids! They can’t be any older than eight! They’re so cute in their little ninja costumes that I constantly wanted to give them a “fun size” Zagnut bar.

Another separation from the LEGO games is that these worlds are far less linear. Sure, the story drives you in one particular direction, but you can take your time getting there, exploring as much as possible to find shortcuts to help you avoid combat, shrines to learn new spells, enemy encampments to allow for more butt kicking and leveling up, and so on. The variety here allows you play the game how you like to play it and to take as much time as you want.

As you find your ninja friends, you’ll add them to your party so you can take advantage of their skills at any point. With either the keyboard/mouse combo or a game pad (which I recommend), you’ll control only one ninja at at time, switch between them as you see fit. This adds some variety to the fighting, as each ninja has his/her own combat style and weapons, but I rarely bothered to use anyone other than Hiro. His “Power Attack” seemed the most effective, and although it’s fun to at least try out the others (Suzume plays the flute!), you’ll likely find one ninja you prefer and stick with him/her throughout.

With all these power attacks and spells, you’d think there’s a lot to learn regarding controls. That’s not necessarily so, because I found that just hitting the attack button repeatedly works against most enemies. Hide in the grass (oddly, you don’t gain experience points for going the stealth route), use your power attacks and purchase/found weapons items, master your ninja skills if you like, but it’s really not necessary.

It therefor wasn’t the gameplay that drove through Mini Ninjas, but rather the sense of exploration. It doesn’t hurt that the game’s unique art style creates a lush, colorful world that’s fun to investigate. Here, we have a perfect example of how a game’s art direction is much more important than the number of polygons it’s pushing. There’s not a point in Mini Ninjas where you’ll feel the designers were slacking off. It’s gorgeous at all points, and the traditional Asian music is not only appropriate for the game, but for the individual scenes, as well. It never feels tacked on, but instead accents where are you and what you’re doing throughout, adding a sense of urgency or calm as appropriate. Very well done.

The only problem Mac users will face with Mini Ninjas is the price. At most, this game should come in at $29.99. To make matters worse, it’s currently $9.99 for the PC, and you can find it new and used for consoles and handhelds for anywhere from $14.99 to about $29.99. I continue to applaud Feral for bringing us older games such as this, but if they’re going to charge a premium price, they’ve got to find a way to justify it. They didn’t with Mini Ninjas.

Still, the game is fun. Mini Ninjas will mainly appeal to younger gamers, but there’s enough in here to keep older players such as myself entertained throughout. If my kids had a couple more years behind them, I’m certain I would be content to just sit back enjoy the graphics and soundtrack as I watch them play it. Until then, they’ll just have to watch me play it…and that works for me, too.

Appletell Rating:

Buy Mini Ninjas