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This thread has been linked to the game 'Mini Ninjas'.
I didn't really know what to expect from Mini Ninjas and I must admit this was added to my Boomerang Games rental list purely because I thought it sounded cute. It's rare a game involving fighting can also be described as cute, but this is exactly what this offering from Eidos Interactive gives us.
You play as Hiro the ninja, who starts off in his village (oh yes we've heard this one before...) and goes off to training. His training teacher tells him he's a natural with 'Kuji magic' and sends him out into the evil samurai filled world to ultimately kill the dreaded Evil Samurai Warlord, who we meet in various cut scenes. Along the way Hiro encounters some bosses with rather amusing names... such as the boss who fires fart clouds at you and is aptly named Boss Windy Pants or how about killing Boss Timid Swimmer? The names scream out childish and indeed this game caters well for children, but I think it's a great game for all ages as there's something strangely satisfying about leading Hiro through this strange and dangerous world, fighting off hoards of samurai warriors.
A part of the game reminds me a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog games. Every time you kill an enemy in the game an animal appears varying from frogs to rabbits and even bears and boars, and throughout the game you have to free animals from wooden cages usually situated in the enemies' camps and bases. Part of Hiro's 'Kuji magic' allows him to cast a spell and put his soul into one of the animals, meaning he can sneak up on lesser intelligent enemies. This brings me to another point. No Ninja is good unless he is stealthy and is this game you can make young Hiro stealth around in long grass or hide in bushes allowing him to make quick stealth attacks on enemies. If you choose you can even just stealth past enemies if you get bored of fighting them.
Fighting enemies can become a bit boring if all you use is your sword, however each kill can be strangely satisfying. There is however a selection of spells you can cast instead, sending powerful fire bolts or shock bolts to kill your enemies, or you can even more bombs to throw at them, adding a bit of variety to your kills. Most enemies love to engage in fights however I do notice some of them tend to try and run away once they realise it's a fight they can't win.... but they don't make it far from Hiro!
The levels aren't too challenging and quite linear, however there is often space to run off and explore, which is often recommended as you will find various shrines Hiro needs to find to gain new spells. However this isn't too difficult as Hiro has a spell he can cast where small glowing butterflies will lead the way to the nearest shrine, and if you are close then glowing fireflies also show you're near a shrine.
As you play through the levels rescuing animals and fighting bosses, you also have to rescue Hiro's friends which come up at various points in the storyline. Once you have found each friend you can choose to play as that character if you wish. This proves essential in some parts as for example, there are some big guy enemies you have to fight at some points in the game but these can only be defeated by using Hiro's friend Futo, who is a biggish man with a big hammer!
There's also various flowers for you to collect along with recipes, you use the flowers to make various items such as healing potions and shields which protect you from arrows. You can climb trees or scrounge in bushes for fruit to build up health, or you can use your hat as a boat and go fishing or canyon riding. There are also small statues to collect on each level though what significance they bring I'm not sure, but if you're an xbox achievement hunter you may be interested in finding all of these on each level.
The graphics are actually quite good and though it's a cartoony game, I was quite impressed with various parts of the game. Some of the environment starts to look very similar in places which can get a bit boring, but the game moves along quick enough as it's not an overly challenging game.
The experienced gamer will most likely complete this game quickly, as I did, however it was a fun little game which I did enjoy playing. It's not a game I would pick up and play through again however, I think whilst it's amusing and has its little quirks, it's not enough to have me play it a second time. The game also doesn't feature any multiplayer or xbox live options, meaning this game's probably better for renting (as I did), or buying cheap and trading it in again.
You play as Hiro the ninja, who starts off in his village (oh yes we've heard this one before...) and goes off to training. His training teacher tells him he's a natural with 'Kuji magic' and sends him out into the evil samurai filled world to ultimately kill the dreaded Evil Samurai Warlord, who we meet in various cut scenes. Along the way Hiro encounters some bosses with rather amusing names... such as the boss who fires fart clouds at you and is aptly named Boss Windy Pants or how about killing Boss Timid Swimmer? The names scream out childish and indeed this game caters well for children, but I think it's a great game for all ages as there's something strangely satisfying about leading Hiro through this strange and dangerous world, fighting off hoards of samurai warriors.
A part of the game reminds me a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog games. Every time you kill an enemy in the game an animal appears varying from frogs to rabbits and even bears and boars, and throughout the game you have to free animals from wooden cages usually situated in the enemies' camps and bases. Part of Hiro's 'Kuji magic' allows him to cast a spell and put his soul into one of the animals, meaning he can sneak up on lesser intelligent enemies. This brings me to another point. No Ninja is good unless he is stealthy and is this game you can make young Hiro stealth around in long grass or hide in bushes allowing him to make quick stealth attacks on enemies. If you choose you can even just stealth past enemies if you get bored of fighting them.
Fighting enemies can become a bit boring if all you use is your sword, however each kill can be strangely satisfying. There is however a selection of spells you can cast instead, sending powerful fire bolts or shock bolts to kill your enemies, or you can even more bombs to throw at them, adding a bit of variety to your kills. Most enemies love to engage in fights however I do notice some of them tend to try and run away once they realise it's a fight they can't win.... but they don't make it far from Hiro!
The levels aren't too challenging and quite linear, however there is often space to run off and explore, which is often recommended as you will find various shrines Hiro needs to find to gain new spells. However this isn't too difficult as Hiro has a spell he can cast where small glowing butterflies will lead the way to the nearest shrine, and if you are close then glowing fireflies also show you're near a shrine.
As you play through the levels rescuing animals and fighting bosses, you also have to rescue Hiro's friends which come up at various points in the storyline. Once you have found each friend you can choose to play as that character if you wish. This proves essential in some parts as for example, there are some big guy enemies you have to fight at some points in the game but these can only be defeated by using Hiro's friend Futo, who is a biggish man with a big hammer!
There's also various flowers for you to collect along with recipes, you use the flowers to make various items such as healing potions and shields which protect you from arrows. You can climb trees or scrounge in bushes for fruit to build up health, or you can use your hat as a boat and go fishing or canyon riding. There are also small statues to collect on each level though what significance they bring I'm not sure, but if you're an xbox achievement hunter you may be interested in finding all of these on each level.
The graphics are actually quite good and though it's a cartoony game, I was quite impressed with various parts of the game. Some of the environment starts to look very similar in places which can get a bit boring, but the game moves along quick enough as it's not an overly challenging game.
The experienced gamer will most likely complete this game quickly, as I did, however it was a fun little game which I did enjoy playing. It's not a game I would pick up and play through again however, I think whilst it's amusing and has its little quirks, it's not enough to have me play it a second time. The game also doesn't feature any multiplayer or xbox live options, meaning this game's probably better for renting (as I did), or buying cheap and trading it in again.
I enjoyed Mini Ninjas, and I plan on getting to 100% on trophies at some point in the near future. Big guys don't *require* Futo, spell Meteor Shower can kill them too, but Futo's much easier.
Mini Pirates vs Mini Ninjas?
Mini stuff. Ninjas. Mini Ninjas. What more could you ask for? Sounds good.
I didn't really know what to expect from Mini Ninjas and I must admit this was added to my Boomerang Games rental list purely because I thought it sounded cute. It's rare a game involving fighting can also be described as cute, but this is exactly what this offering from Eidos Interactive gives us.
You play as Hiro the ninja, who starts off in his village (oh yes we've heard this one before...) and goes off to training. His training teacher tells him he's a natural with 'Kuji magic' and sends him out into the evil samurai filled world to ultimately kill the dreaded Evil Samurai Warlord, who we meet in various cut scenes. Along the way Hiro encounters some bosses with rather amusing names... such as the boss who fires fart clouds at you and is aptly named Boss Windy Pants or how about killing Boss Timid Swimmer? The names scream out childish and indeed this game caters well for children, but I think it's a great game for all ages as there's something strangely satisfying about leading Hiro through this strange and dangerous world, fighting off hoards of samurai warriors.
A part of the game reminds me a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog games. Every time you kill an enemy in the game an animal appears varying from frogs to rabbits and even bears and boars, and throughout the game you have to free animals from wooden cages usually situated in the enemies' camps and bases. Part of Hiro's 'Kuji magic' allows him to cast a spell and put his soul into one of the animals, meaning he can sneak up on lesser intelligent enemies. This brings me to another point. No Ninja is good unless he is stealthy and is this game you can make young Hiro stealth around in long grass or hide in bushes allowing him to make quick stealth attacks on enemies. If you choose you can even just stealth past enemies if you get bored of fighting them.
Fighting enemies can become a bit boring if all you use is your sword, however each kill can be strangely satisfying. There is however a selection of spells you can cast instead, sending powerful fire bolts or shock bolts to kill your enemies, or you can even more bombs to throw at them, adding a bit of variety to your kills. Most enemies love to engage in fights however I do notice some of them tend to try and run away once they realise it's a fight they can't win.... but they don't make it far from Hiro!
The levels aren't too challenging and quite linear, however there is often space to run off and explore, which is often recommended as you will find various shrines Hiro needs to find to gain new spells. However this isn't too difficult as Hiro has a spell he can cast where small glowing butterflies will lead the way to the nearest shrine, and if you are close then glowing fireflies also show you're near a shrine.
As you play through the levels rescuing animals and fighting bosses, you also have to rescue Hiro's friends which come up at various points in the storyline. Once you have found each friend you can choose to play as that character if you wish. This proves essential in some parts as for example, there are some big guy enemies you have to fight at some points in the game but these can only be defeated by using Hiro's friend Futo, who is a biggish man with a big hammer!
There's also various flowers for you to collect along with recipes, you use the flowers to make various items such as healing potions and shields which protect you from arrows. You can climb trees or scrounge in bushes for fruit to build up health, or you can use your hat as a boat and go fishing or canyon riding. There are also small statues to collect on each level though what significance they bring I'm not sure, but if you're an xbox achievement hunter you may be interested in finding all of these on each level.
The graphics are actually quite good and though it's a cartoony game, I was quite impressed with various parts of the game. Some of the environment starts to look very similar in places which can get a bit boring, but the game moves along quick enough as it's not an overly challenging game.
The experienced gamer will most likely complete this game quickly, as I did, however it was a fun little game which I did enjoy playing. It's not a game I would pick up and play through again however, I think whilst it's amusing and has its little quirks, it's not enough to have me play it a second time. The game also doesn't feature any multiplayer or xbox live options, meaning this game's probably better for renting (as I did), or buying cheap and trading it in again.
You play as Hiro the ninja, who starts off in his village (oh yes we've heard this one before...) and goes off to training. His training teacher tells him he's a natural with 'Kuji magic' and sends him out into the evil samurai filled world to ultimately kill the dreaded Evil Samurai Warlord, who we meet in various cut scenes. Along the way Hiro encounters some bosses with rather amusing names... such as the boss who fires fart clouds at you and is aptly named Boss Windy Pants or how about killing Boss Timid Swimmer? The names scream out childish and indeed this game caters well for children, but I think it's a great game for all ages as there's something strangely satisfying about leading Hiro through this strange and dangerous world, fighting off hoards of samurai warriors.
A part of the game reminds me a lot of Sonic the Hedgehog games. Every time you kill an enemy in the game an animal appears varying from frogs to rabbits and even bears and boars, and throughout the game you have to free animals from wooden cages usually situated in the enemies' camps and bases. Part of Hiro's 'Kuji magic' allows him to cast a spell and put his soul into one of the animals, meaning he can sneak up on lesser intelligent enemies. This brings me to another point. No Ninja is good unless he is stealthy and is this game you can make young Hiro stealth around in long grass or hide in bushes allowing him to make quick stealth attacks on enemies. If you choose you can even just stealth past enemies if you get bored of fighting them.
Fighting enemies can become a bit boring if all you use is your sword, however each kill can be strangely satisfying. There is however a selection of spells you can cast instead, sending powerful fire bolts or shock bolts to kill your enemies, or you can even more bombs to throw at them, adding a bit of variety to your kills. Most enemies love to engage in fights however I do notice some of them tend to try and run away once they realise it's a fight they can't win.... but they don't make it far from Hiro!
The levels aren't too challenging and quite linear, however there is often space to run off and explore, which is often recommended as you will find various shrines Hiro needs to find to gain new spells. However this isn't too difficult as Hiro has a spell he can cast where small glowing butterflies will lead the way to the nearest shrine, and if you are close then glowing fireflies also show you're near a shrine.
As you play through the levels rescuing animals and fighting bosses, you also have to rescue Hiro's friends which come up at various points in the storyline. Once you have found each friend you can choose to play as that character if you wish. This proves essential in some parts as for example, there are some big guy enemies you have to fight at some points in the game but these can only be defeated by using Hiro's friend Futo, who is a biggish man with a big hammer!
There's also various flowers for you to collect along with recipes, you use the flowers to make various items such as healing potions and shields which protect you from arrows. You can climb trees or scrounge in bushes for fruit to build up health, or you can use your hat as a boat and go fishing or canyon riding. There are also small statues to collect on each level though what significance they bring I'm not sure, but if you're an xbox achievement hunter you may be interested in finding all of these on each level.
The graphics are actually quite good and though it's a cartoony game, I was quite impressed with various parts of the game. Some of the environment starts to look very similar in places which can get a bit boring, but the game moves along quick enough as it's not an overly challenging game.
The experienced gamer will most likely complete this game quickly, as I did, however it was a fun little game which I did enjoy playing. It's not a game I would pick up and play through again however, I think whilst it's amusing and has its little quirks, it's not enough to have me play it a second time. The game also doesn't feature any multiplayer or xbox live options, meaning this game's probably better for renting (as I did), or buying cheap and trading it in again.