Customer Reviews

Mini Ninjas

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The title "Mini Ninjas" screamed "shovel ware" to me, but that turned out to be far from the truth. "Mini Ninjas" boasts fun game play and very good visual designs. There isn't a deep story -- just enough to get you started on your quest to rescue other ninjas to add to your roster, find spells to add to your arsenal, defeat bosses and complete the game.

Even though the game is available on multiple platforms, using the Wii remote to point during attacks makes the game feel native to the console. Waggle is used for a few fairly logical actions and kept to a minimum. The cartoon style of the game also lends itself to the console very well, with a variety of terrains in times of day. Plenty of little visual touches are apparent through out, from the way your ninjas move to the animals you can inhabit with your ninja power.

There is also a lot of "things" in the game: characters you can play, potions you can mix from objects you find along the way, weapons you can use, spells you can collect and stealth moves you can make. Unfortunately, I found that you can mostly get by in the game with just two of the characters, the health potion, none of the spells and none of the additional weapons. It seems like there's a lot of ideas in the game, but very little of them actually consequential to the game play. Access to your roster and items is also a little clunky, so that's another incentive to not bother with them.

Despite that shortcoming, I still thought the game was fun and visually pleasing. There is no blood in the game, so it's a good game to check out if you're looking for something well-made for the younger set.

I bought this for my kids -- who are ages 7 and 12 -- and I can't tear them away from it. I think it's such a refreshing break from the usual violence fest that's out there. I am a now aging gamer and I'm also enjoying it. It seems like the people that made it put a lot of effort at making it interesting for young and old, it has a bit of those layers in the story and dialog that pixar movies have sometimes. Well worth the money in my opinion.

I like this game, it's pretty fun, even for grown-ups. However, the game is not intended for grown-ups so it doesn't matter what I think.

My son is 4 1/2 and loves this game. He can follow the plot, somewhat. It's not that far over his head. It is hard to understand some of the narration, so I had to "translate" for him. But the story is very simple. So is the mission: beat baddies, till you get to the big baddie. He has not encountered the big baddie yet, so I can not comment on that part.

The minions, however, are pretty easy to beat, on easy level. If my son were older, I would definitely need to set it to a harder level. Anyway, beating a minion means turning him (back) into a cute animal. No blood or death.

My only complaint (this does not affect my rating) is that you have to save at certain checkpoints. The game does auto-save at times, but you can not save whenever you want. I do not much experience with console games...so if this is normal, ignore this part.

Over all, this is a rockin' game for kids who like action, but are too young for the gory stuff.

NOTE: If I had it to do over again, I would never have shown him the package. He said "this looks boring." Yea, a 4 year old said that. Once he started playing though, he had a whole new attitude.

My sister (who is a pretty hardcore gamer) bought the Wii version for my son (7), mostly because it was cute, and he likes ninjas. From the beginning I was impressed by the look and feel of the game. It's not the most elaborate or detailed world you'll ever see, but it's well designed and perfect for the audience. That the defeated foes don't die but rather turn into cute animals is both integral to the plot and a perfect solution for allowing combat in a young kids game. I started out mostly playing it just to stay ahead of my son so I could give advice if necessary (I was once a "gamer" but haven't had the time in quite a few years), but I found it a lot of fun as well. It's not the most challenging game I've ever played, but it's addicting nonetheless.

There are elements of the game play that took my son some time to get used to -- but he'd played the various Lego games (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman) and he picked it up quite quickly, and it was engrossing enough to get him to work through any of the places he was getting frustrated. My younger son (4) tried playing a few times as well, but he wasn't as willing to put in the effort. He had a lot of fun just watching, though.

I'd definitely recommend it (at least for its intended audience). My only caveats are that 1) while you can save your progress as you move through the levels, you can't really save your progress so that you don't have to restart at the beginning of level except when you finish the level... and some of the levels take longer to complete than I'd ideally have liked my son to be playing at a single stretch... and 2) the dialogue/narration is often too accented/muffled to really substitute for reading, so it was sometimes necessary that an adult was there watching to help out and read some of the longer pieces... though when that wasn't the case he was certainly able to muddle along without.

This game is AWESOME... It reminds me somewhat of the newer Zelda games, only cooler. Powers are awesome, look and feel are great. My single complaint is that once you start fighting actively (i.e. swinging at baddies), you can't redirect unless you stop swinging and turn. This linear thing is both a blessing and a curse, though, so it's more just my personal taste than anything else.

GET THIS GAME!!!!

This is a really great game. It's easy, but it never gets boring. The graphics are really cool. There are six playable characters. The main character learns NINJA MAGIC! There's a good mix of action and comedy. This is the PERFECT Wii game!!! I recommend this game to any Wii owner looking for a surprise. I am infinitely happy with this purchase!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't let the kiddie reviews fool you, this game is fun for all ages. Although I wouldn't suggest this game for the hard core gamer looking for a big challenge. I bought this game knowing it would be more of a laid back game that I might enjoy. I also love anything to do with ninjas, so what did I have to lose. This game actually surprised me because it was even better then I had expected. First of all what struck me was the graphics. Okay I know graphics don't make a game but it sure does make it even more pleasant to play. The detail and the realism of the environment was really drawn well and very pleasant to my eyes. The only thing I noticed, it didn't seem like there was much animation for trees and grass like if the wind were blowing through them. But everything was like looking at a beautifully put together work of art, so missing animations weren't really that noticeable. The next thing was the controls which aren't hard to learn at all, and your character moves very fluently with the nunchuk. When you come up on some things to interact with, a mini explanation pops up and shows you the button and Wii remote motion you need to use. Like for instance when you come up to a fruit tree it will show a mini explanation on how to shake the tree to get the fruit, or when you come to a part of a cliff it will tell you how to scale it or how to get across. Some explanations don't come up after the first area, but if you forget you have the option of pushing the 1 button on your remote to explain what to do again. The game play I really liked. The game has big beautiful areas which you will want to fully explore to find all the hidden treasures. Also there is a lot of check points saves along the way to save everything you pick up in between. I loved the main character Hiro spirit ability to enter any animal along the way. Like you can spirit into a bear and attack the enemy with it. Most animals don't have attacks like the bear but are pretty funny to play. At one point I spirited into a cat which was so hilarious because it would meow, and when I pressed one of the buttons on the remote it would go into a mad hissy fit which gave me a chuckle. A raccoon I spirited into had a similar effect except with it's own unique raccoon noise. This brings me to the next point to talk about, the audio and the music. The audio was very pleasant to my ears. The sword slashing, breaking of wooden barrels, to the sound of the waterfalls, and the unique animal noises, everything in the environmental audio was very well done. The character voices sounded great, which basically was made up of Japanese speakers speaking fluent english with a hint of there native tongue. However there did seem to be one small flaw in the character voices. When they were talking about something that went along with the story it seemed like sentences would sometimes pause or begin at the wrong time, like it was hurriedly read off a piece of paper. This didn't make me like the game any less. I liked the ninja masters voice the best, because he sounded like an authentic Japanese story teller. The music in this game went right along with the environment and sounded great. The replay value of this game is there in a big way too. If you go through an area and find that you are still missing some things after you beat the area, you have the option of going back through these beautiful areas at any time with everything you already collected, to try and find what you missed. All in all I am really enjoying this game. If you are a ninja fan and don't mind a game that's a little more on the easy side get this game. This game is also kid friendly with no blood and gore just some good clean fun. For me everything was 5 stars despite some very little flaws. And for the price it can't be beat.

I think it is a pretty cool game especially for younger kids. I bought it primarily from the reviews and after watching the preview movie. My 7-year old and 11-year old boys are both enjoying the game. You will need the nunchuk to play this game. The graphics are simple but pretty cool. The characters are funny and can sometimes be hilarious.

The story is unique and original. How about an evil villain who wants to dominate the world. OK, that was a joke. Anyway, it is about Hiro, the tiniest ninja who was sent to defend the world (after all the capable ninjas disappeared one after the other). The villain is capturing every animal who by his magic powers can turn them into his soldiers, and at the same time upsetting the natural balance of the world to his advantage.

As you progress you can collect items that can extend the number of hearts and your power. You can learn a lot of spells like assuming different animals. Some you can even used to attack the enemies like a bear. You can also used a bush for camouflage. You will meet along the way your friends who each has its own talent. After meeting them, then you can play their characters to be an archer, a burly guy (against bigger enemies), etc.

Overall, it is a beautiful game. Somewhat similar to Okami but targeted more for younger players.

My 11 year-olds birthday guit. Got it because of the price and reviews. What a treat! The 11 year old is having lots of fun and the 13 year old is just as happy. When I get a chance to play I have the same fun. It is fun to watch others play because of the great pictures. Some of the trees are so beautiful! So worth it!

Took a while to learn the camera controls, but this game is just fun. The characters are cute, the game is interesting, the game design is well thought out (you feel like you have free reign to walk through the worlds), the story moves along, and the background settings are easy on the eyes. I hope nintendo continues in this vein.