Customer Reviews

Ninja Reflex

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

At its core the game is like any other reflex-based Wii game.
What sets it apart is it places it in the context of the Martial Arts.
At first glance one would assume then that this game is about hacking and slashing enemies. Actually it really isn't. It actually gives you the same kind of advice you would normally hear as part of real martial arts training. This is done through a video game sensei who spouts wisdom to you as you are playing the game (kind of like Mr Miyagi in Karate kid or Cain in Kung Fu).

The game motivates you to continue by allowing you to take tests after you have practiced enough of the core skills. And you earn belts when you pass each test.

There is also a guided meditation session which actually teaches you how to meditate. This is unheard of in a game today.

So in the end this game is actually quite educational.

At first I figured Ninja Reflex from Electronic Arts was going to be just another fighting game. In reality, Ninja Reflex is a PRE-fighting game. Afterall, you can't expect to go out and defeat the enemies as a measly white belt, can you? You are welcomed by your sensei into his dojo will you will learn to move as quiet as a cat and to strike as quickly as a cobra. Reflex is the key word in the title of the game. Making full use of the Wii's capabilities you'll will need to think quick and react quicker with your hands, wrists, and fingers as you master the various reflex games and rise in rank. You get yo pick your Ninja's name from a variety of first and last name combinations. The more belts you earn, the more combinations you unlock up to a max of 25,00 different name combinations!

There are six different reflex games: The Shuriken, Hashi, Koi, Katana, Hotaru, and Nunchaku. Each game requires different skills to pass the tests. As you progress through the game, more tests are added to each of these six games, getting more and more difficult along the way. You have to collect five out of six possible jewels in order to attempt the Belt Test. Here, you have three challenges to face. Your Sensei will grade your performance once you are done with all three. If you pass, you gain the next belt color ranking. If you fail, you are forced to go back and re-earn the jewels in order to try again.

You'll use one of the Ninja's most notorious weapons in Shuriken. You must lock onto a target and then make a flicking motion to throw your Shuriken. You lose a point if you hit a Geisha.

In Hashi, you must use your chopsticks to catch flies and put them into a spinning bowl. As the game gets harder, the master will tell you which color of fly to go after and the flies move faster and faster.

Koi, finds you having to grab fish from a Koi pond. There are three different sizes of fish to grab. The big fish are slow and easy to catch but are only worth one point. The smallest fish are worth three points but move very fast. You have to grab them right at the split second that they break the water's surface and be careful not to scare the other fish.

In Katana, you use your Wii controller as if you were holding a sword. When an enemy Samurai swings down at you twist your controller horizontally to block his sword and then a quick flick to kill him. If he swings from the side, twist vertically instead. The enemies come very quickly and in larger numbers as your skill grows.

Hotaru is truly a measure of reaction as you must quickly must press the A button on the remote as soon as you see a firefly. Your time is measured in fractions of seconds so be quick!

Finally there is the Nunchaku game. Start by making a sideways figure eight with the Wii reomote, swinging your nunchaku in a smooth pattern. Get ready because the Sensei is about to start throwing everything but the kitchen sink at you and you have to smash it out of the air.

Ninja Reflex isn't a very graphic or sound intensive game. Both are solid but there's nothing exceptional about either. Ninja Refelx's payoff is the game play. You'll work your arm, wrist, and hand unlike any other game. The one weakness is the repetitiveness of the games. Yes they give you different challenges to catching flies and throwing Shuriken, BUT, it's still catching flies and throwing Shuriken over and over. It's a fun diversion game and it's a great party with its multi-player capability but it's nothing that will immerse a single player for a long time.

I bought this game for the kids and they love it! Grandpa came over to visit and was watching them play it, after a while he wanted to try it so the kids showed him how to use the Wii controller and away they went. Now grandpa and the kids are constantly doing flying kicks around the house and throwing ninja stars at the furniture...I have a house full of ninjas!!

This is one of the most awesome fun games I have ever played. Me and my friends have always been interested in Ninjas but now we can become one! Move up the belts and increase your ninja speed! You can even pick your ninja name with presets in ex (Patient, Skillful, Speedy) then (Wolf, Dreamer, Grasshopper) I thought that was really cool this is definatly something you should buy and will have fun with for a long time

I love the idea of this game & why I was dying to try it. The Sensei acting is well done, the graphics are top notch & beautiful to look at. The feel is totally elegant Asian, no hint of corniness. The set-up is mini-game style. You get to pick a 2 word pre-choice pick of several words that sound like a good ninja name.
There are 6 types of games: throwing deadly stars to moving targets, catching koi, clicking when you see fireflies, catching flies w/chopsticks, using nunchucks against objects thrown at you & swordplay in the woods against moving human enemies. Each of these types has 6 sub types of games that are very similar that you have to unlock as you earn your belts/higher level. After completing the unlocked games under each type of game, you take your belt test to move on to the next level. When you pass, you unlock another game iof each of the 6 types of games. You also unlock 10 new words & can change your name at any time. Should you give up during the test or fail, you will have to repeat all the games that the belt test involved.
You view everything like a first person shooter which really makes you feel you are there. (The secret to immersing people into games.) Like all the reviews from various websites, we all love everything about it... except the lack of different types/weapons of games & the similarity of the different sub styles of those. Everything uses the wii remote like as if you were doing it for real, great accurate use & creative use of it. Even the nunchucks respond well enough for smooth play. Ehen catching flies, when you have one, it vibrates & the speaker makes a buzing noise. Many reviewers of game sites, etc. had issues w/swordplay & thought it was broken. SUCCESSFUL KATANA/SWORDPLY CONTROLS EXPLAINED: The secret is just to move the remote to left or right or up to block the attack only AFTER the enemy starts his attack & you know which side to block. Too soon & you will miss, flailing about will also make you fail since you will probably go in the wrong direction first & you only get one shot to do it the correct side & w/speed. The only issue is the throwing stars, you have to point & lock on a target, then throw, but that is becasue of the limitations of the wii remote, not the game.
The first levels are VERY easy but it progressively gets harder of course, asking for more points in shorter time, by the 5th of the 10th level, average adult will really have to pay attention & might not succeed the first time.
The only thing this game needs is MORE games, maybe there will be a number 2!

Screenshots, video gameplay & reviews: youtube, gamefly, IGN & many other sites.

This is your only option in the WII platform of a martial arts game without violence. That's why I've to give 4 stars but Nintendo have done better jobs in the past (NES system). What I liked:

1 - You have to make Nunchaku movements to make it works (good use of WII mote)
2- You can learn 3 basic movements of the Katana (good use of WII mote)
3 - Fishing is a peaceful activity and the comment about the educational thing of meditation is true.
You don't learn any fighting skill without weapons and the comments posted about mini games are true. For kids is good, for a more mature people don't pay to much.

We'll start with what you get.

First off, this is not a fighting or action game. There are no missions or storyline, it's essentially like ninja training... wii style. The story, if any is to become a black belt by completing the basic mini games with certain restrictions or goals.

This game comes with 6 different mini games.

Shuriken throwing - Nice control system, fun overall
Katana fighting - Not as cool as it sounds, but decent.
Nunchuck training - Not as cool as it sounds, it's okay.
Firefly catching - Pretty fun in multiplayer.
Fly catching (With chopsticks) - Fun at first
Fishing (With bare hands) - Probably the worst of the games.

Good Stuff:
The games are all decent to fun. The controls are pretty good not awkward at all, although you will probably just flail around the first couple times while you figure out what to do.


Bad Stuff:
First off single player is fun for only about 10 minutes, really there's not much to work up to, there's no storyline, there's no real progression. You unlock events that require you to do the exact same thing you were doing, but with a different restriction. You catch flies. The you catch a faster fly. Then a fly that is super fast, etc.

Secondly, there are only 6 mini games. You can pretty much play everything this game has to offer in about 20 minutes. It is way too short to be bought at anything over 10 dollars. The games are fun with other friends to compete with, but Wii Sports or Wii Play is overall more casual gamer friendly.

Overall, if I had bought this game for over 10 dollars I would be very disappointed. I bought it for 5.99 at Best Buy, so I believe I got my money's worth. If you're looking for a fun Wii Sports type game with a ninja twist, here you go. If you're looking for a real game with substance, progression, storyline? Look somewhere else.

This is a decent game for what it is, though I found it to be not challenging enough and ultimately quite boring. I suppose it's my own fault, I wasn't sure exactly what the game was about. I was hoping there would be more fighting, instead a lot of stuff is done for you. As I said, it is a decent game and the mutli-player mode is a little bit more amusing, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

The Katana as well as the Nunchaku section is difficult to control and I suspect that if I didn't do anything it would still work the same way. These are the only two where there is any fighting, if you could call it that. Shuriken is boring and again hard to control. It is about target practice. Hashi is ok, it's a little bit too easy though. The objective in Hashi is catching flies. Koi is more difficult and the funnest. This is catching fish. Hotaru is definitely the most boring. All you do is look out for fireflies. If you're expecting it, I guess it could be fun. But as I said, I was hoping for more interaction, fighting, or at least better controls.

Love this game. My six year old daughter is having a great time earning her belts. Lots of fun for the rest of the family too!!!

I enjoy the martial arts, and I thought this game had a decent approach - learn martial arts skills without violence. It's not a very good game though.

The game is basically broken up into 6 minigames, with slight restrictions based on what particular form of a game you're playing. For instance, in the first Koi game, you catch as many fish as you can. in the second, you need to catch one particular fish. In the third, you catch fish as they swim across the screen. So on and so forth. For every belt rank, you need to recomplete each of these games at a slightly harder difficulty level, and then again during your belt test. All of these are incredibly easy (with the exception of the Katana games, which I find are very unresponsive to the wiimote), even for me, a really out-of-practice video gamer. I ended up as a blue belt (about 2/3 of the way to black belt) in less than an hour.

It has some interesting options, like the naming system, and the meditation system which expects you to actually go along with what Sensei is saying via guided meditation, or just a simple soothing music background while you go it alone. It's completely optional, but it is a pretty unique feature.

Overall, once you spend about 2 hours, you'll start to wonder when you'll find something new. Unfortunately, you'll have almost the entire thing unlocked in about 45 minutes. That really puts a damper on the gameplay.