Mini Ninjas

by Square Enix

Product Features

• First E-rated game by renowned storyline and character-driven developer, IO Interactive, makers of Hitman and Kane & Lynch.
• Epic adventure appealing to all ages. No killing. When an enemy is defeated it is transformed into its original innocent animal form, restoring balance.
• Beautiful, distinct, highly appealing and original art style.
• A motley crew of 6 playable characters: Hiro, Futo, Suzume, Tora, Shun & Kunoichi.
• Play as Mini Ninjas with cool ninja weapons, moves and powerful spells.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0023CC0M4
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches ; 4.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: September 8, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,491 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #53 in Video Games > PlayStation 3 > Action > Fighting

Product Description

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3

Amazon.com Product Description

A single player action/adventure game, Mini Ninjas puts a new spin on the video game favorite, ninja action genre. A kid-friendly game featuring no killing and an engrossing storyline, which players explore via six playable ninja characters, players take on the role of Hiro and the fellow members of his improbable ninja clan as they face an ancient evil that has returned to impose itself on the world. Each ninja utilizes authentic ninja weapons and moves, and possesses his/her own individual skill set, including mysterious "kuji magic" abilities. Authentic ninja weapons & moves. View larger. Kuji magic abilities. View larger. Huge boss battle. View larger. Story In Mini Ninjas the main character is the small ninja, Hiro. Although he has shown great promise, Hiro is the last ninja that anyone would expect to save the world, yet that is exactly what he is called to do when an evil samurai warlord hatches a plan bent on total world domination. In this plan the evil lord attempts to recapture the dominion he held prior to previously being cast out by creating an army of samurai slaves out of innocent animals. In the process of doing this he also upsets the natural balance of the the world, causing catastrophic storms. This the mini ninjas can not stand for. Armed with authentic ninja weapons and powerful spells, Hiro must rescue the fellow ninjas of his clan who the warlord has captured and then lead them on an exciting journey to battle the magical army of twisted Samurai. Gameplay In Mini Ninjas players have their choice of six playable ninja characters, although as the game begins you will be limited to the main character, Hiro, and his comrade, the slow, but strong un-ninja like Futo. As part of the revealing of the storyline, players are tasked with searching out Hiro's fellow ninjas, who at the beginning of the game were sent out to investigate troubles in the land, but never returned. They were captured by the evil warlord. As Hiro and Futo set each of these free, they in turn become playable characters. Each of the six playable characters has unique abilities, and utilizes a variety of ninja-specific weapons, items and moves, as well as "Kuji Magic," which each--especially Hiro--can use to help them against enemies. These uses include classic mana-like blasts, but also more surprising and powerful forms such as the ability to take animal form in time of need. A New Kind of Ninja Mini Ninjas is an action adventure game with a fresh take on the ninja fascination that has long been part of video games culture. Designed to be kid-friendly, although the game utilzes realistic ninja weapons and moves, there is no actual killing. Because the evil ninjas and other enemies that players face are actually animals captured by the evil warlord, when they are defeated they revert back to their original animal forms, correcting the imbalance that the plans of the samurai warlord have caused, and ensuring game suitability for all ages of players. Key Game Features 6 playable Mini Ninjas, each with his own unique strengths and abilities. Authentic ninja weapons and moves. Kuji magic spells that help you control animals, enemies and the powers of nature. Versatile ninja hats that can be used as vehicles and shields. Huge boss battles. No killing – when an enemy is defeated, it’s transformed into its original animal form. Beautiful, distinctive and original art-stylization.

Product Description

You are the last Ninja that anyone would expect to save the world. Yet that is exactly what you’re called to do when an Evil Samurai Warlord hatches a plan bent on total domination. Use your special Ninja training to battle a magical army of twisted Samurai, ride the rapids of the Great Central River, walk into the very heart of the Lost Volcano, and finally confront the Samurai Warlord in his Evil Fortress of Doom. Play as Hiro and other Mini Ninjas, combining your ninja skills, weapons & kuji magic powers in an epic & challenging adventure to restore harmony to the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly Different, October 11, 2009

By 

Prospero "Christoph" (Southwest USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mini Ninjas (Video Game)

Over the last 10 years, the video gaming industry has tended toward releasing ever more gussied up versions of Doom. Typical selling points have been realistic gore and hardware pushing eye candy. Mini Ninjas is a great break from that world!

The back story in Mini Ninjas is a simple one. You are among the last of the ninjas left and you must find out what has happened to the others. It is a bit predictable, right down to an "evil master", but the simplicity actually helps. The world of Mini Ninjas is basically Kung Fu Panda meets Lord of the Rings. You travel through a fantasy land filled with forests, rivers, mountains and valleys, but also peasants, villages, dojos, and temples. There is a bit of mild humor as well as a tad bit of stereo typing ancient East Asian (Japanese) culture, but not so much as to offend. The graphics are well done and in a 3d animation style reminiscent of Pixar. The story and play evolve just enough to keep a general player interested without creating confusion. In a move of genius, the IO Interactive managed to temper any violence in the game with back story - enemies a player defeats do not "die", but rather revert back to their innocent animal selves right in front of the player. This greatly broadens the age group the game is appropriate for and may also be appealing to the older gamer who is simply looking for some clean fun. There are trophies and optional side quests - some rather difficult. The control configuration is easy to pick up and intuitive if you are playing on a console you are familiar with.

That said, there are a few blemishes. The MSRP for PS3 and Xbox is a tad higher than deserved, however, the street price (~10 USD less at the time of writing) is justified. This is also not a game for speed players. It's possible to race through the levels (mostly) and ignore the game play. If you are that kind of player, you will be bored inside of 15 minutes. Maybe most detrimental blemish is that this is a single player ONLY game. That's a shame really, since the game begs for two person play.

Last word is that Mini Ninjas is a great representation of its genre and can be enjoyed by everyone from ages 8 to 80 - despite the ESRB 10+ rating. This is a solid 4 Star game.

Review is based on 5 hours of play (multiple sessions) on a PS3, but there is no reason for the Wii or Xbox to play differently. In fact, this game fits the Wii platform perfectly.

NOTE: When it comes to video games, don't just trust the reviews. Video games are expensive and trade-in values are typically low. Most top end games have Free Demos available for download for your computer or console - Try Before You Buy.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essentially Perfect, May 22, 2010

By 

Kuvak - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mini Ninjas (Video Game)

I admit I was at first turned-off by the somewhat childish cartoon graphic style this game employs, but thankfully I was interested enough to download the demo of this game, and after playing it only a few minutes, I knew I had to buy it. After having bought it and played it through, I can not find anything significantly wrong with this game, so I'm going to call it essentially perfect.

Pros:
It has a perfect control scheme, which I don't really see anyone else talk about, but which I consider very important, so let me describe it briefly:
Left stick controls your character, as in many other games
Right stick controls the camera, which I really like, and has option to invert, which is even better
Square is normal attack
Triangle is special attack
X is jump
Circle is sprint which consumes energy to run fast
L1 brings up a quick character selection menu
Holding L2 makes the character sneak
R1 brings up a quick item/spell menu, that selects which item/spell is activated by pressing...
R2 activates selected item/spell (can include shuriken, spells, potions, bombs)
R3 toggles the hat-boat item

I've been playing games since 1980 on the Commodore Vic-20, and my favorite games of the past have been Mario and Maximo games, but this game is easily as good as those games, in my opinion. It has a perfectly balanced play control scheme, well balanced difficulty that is fun, but not too hard to frustrate the player, with the default game difficulty being perfect for non-gamers, and the Hard mode preferred for players with more experience under their belts (though even that mode isn't too hard).

The most similar game this should be compared to is the Ninja Gaiden games, but this game has two significant differences with those games:
1) This game is much easier, so no experienced gamers banging their heads against the wall trying to kill frustratingly hard bosses.
2) This game is far more innocent in presentation, with no real killing involved, and defeating opponents merely "frees" animals, with no blood or guts or brutality or anything normally considered offensive to some. This makes the game much more enjoyable to children and those with an appreciation for good, clean fun.

One other game I'd like to compare this to is God of War, which has some very noticeable contrasts as well:
1) As with Ninja Gaiden, God of War games are a whole lot more violent and potentially offensive (with nudity and lots of brutality) content than Mini Ninjas.
2) God of War has a large number of complex moves available that make it hard to master, but you can't do some very basic things, like move your camera! Mini Ninjas has a very good control scheme (as described above) and most importantly, does not define itself by a near-endless supply of the same many-hits-to-kill enemies separated by a few head-bangingly hard hand-eye-coordination test puzzles, but rather distinguishes itself by brilliant level design and player experience [one mild exception to this is a rather annoying single level where you control a snowball going down a mountain, but it's not enough of a problem to take much away from the rest of the game]. I just enjoyed playing this game about 1000x more than playing God of War.

Cons:
No game is truly perfect, so, yes, there are a few minor gripes I have with this game, which I would change if I could:
1) I really dislike Quick-Time events (time-limited button-press prompts), and I wish the designers had stayed clear of them.
2) This game is so perfect for being family-friendly, that it would have been really, really nice to allow for a two-player co-op option like the Lego series of games are making popular now, which would let older gamers play with their own kids.
3) This game could have done just fine without the downhill snowball level...

Conclusion:
I have been waiting for a game like this to come out on the PS3 for years, and it is a delightful departure from the Assassin's Creed, Ninja Gaiden, and God of War type of game that is currently filling the landscape of A+ titles. Finally a perfectly balanced action game for players that don't necessarily want to be frustrated endlessly or to push the envelope of what is socially acceptable behavior.

But don't take my word for it, by any means, just download the demo and judge for yourself. But definitely don't pass by at least playing the demo on this game, it is a masterpiece and should not be missed!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They're Lovin' it, June 2, 2010

By 

J. PIERCE - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mini Ninjas (Video Game)

Bought this game for the kids & hubby after they rented it for a few days. They are all enjoying it. My 5 yr old likes it so much he kept asking to play it but with limited screen time it took him a little while to work his way through the game. I don't personally play but I watch and I also think the way the Samari say Mini Nijas is funny. :) Enjoyable game. Not too complicated but hard enough to teach a lesson to the kids to keep trying something even if they aren't good at it.

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