Mini Ninjas
Encyclopedia
Mini Ninjas is a 2009
action-adventure
video game developed by IO Interactive
and published by Eidos Interactive
. It was released on 8 September 2009 in North America and 11 September 2009 for Europe, for Microsoft Windows
, Nintendo DS
, PlayStation 3
, Wii
and Xbox 360
. A Mac OS X
version of the game was released on July 8 2010 by Feral Interactive
.
Then one day, something changed. Terrible storms began to brew over the mountain on the distant horizon. Floods and earthquakes began to appear in the flatlands. At Ninja Mountain, The Ninja Master could see that something was terribly wrong in the world. Mysterious figures were seen hunting and caging animals for unknown reasons. The truth was that the Evil Samurai Warlord had returned, using the forbidden Kuji magic to transform innocent animals into mindless samurai warriors to use to recapture his dark castles and take over the world. But, by using the Kuji magic for evil purposes, the Evil Samurai Warlord was once again upsetting the balance of nature, bring the wrath of the gods down upon the earth in the form of ravaging storms. The larger his armies grew, the worse the storms became.
The Ninja Master knew none of this yet... though he knew that something must be done and made it his unbreakable oath. He sent his best ninja to discover the truth of the storms, but no word returned from the ninja. One by one, he sent another, but again and again... nothing. Until he was left with only two left, Hiro and Futo. The Ninja Master was hesitant to send his last two, but he knew the fate of the world would lay in their hands.
The game features six playable Ninjas each with their own unique abilities and skills which can be switched between at any moment once they have been rescued. Magic can also be used along with the Ninjas weapons and skills. The magic spells range from fire ball attacks, camouflage and time manipulation.
IGN
gave the PS3 version of the game an 8 out of 10 as a "family-friendly ninja affair", finding it "an extremely pleasant surprise". The Guardian
awarded the game 4 out of 5 stars, concluding that the game's "constant charm renders it calming and even relaxing to play ... any parent watching Mini Ninjas being played will find it hard to resist the temptation to have a go over their own". Main criticisms of the game come from lack of co-op
option and lack of replay value.
2009 in video gaming
The year 2009 saw the release of many video games, including several sequels.-Events:-Scheduled releases:List of games scheduled for release in 2009 in North America....
action-adventure
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video game developed by IO Interactive
IO Interactive
IO Interactive is a Danish video game development company currently owned by Square Enix. The company was founded in September 1998 by the Reto-Moto development group. To date their most popular franchise is the critically acclaimed Hitman series...
and published by Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
. It was released on 8 September 2009 in North America and 11 September 2009 for Europe, for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. A Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
version of the game was released on July 8 2010 by Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive
Feral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
.
Story
Long ago, after the Evil Samurai Warlord was banished the first time, an era of peace and tranquility descended upon the empire for more than 300 years. The dark castles he had built were abandoned and slowly fell into ruin and the villagers across the countryside no longer lived in fear. As the years went by, the secret of the powerful Kuji magic was hidden away in ancient shrines, and the people of the villages and towns went back to their daily lives.Then one day, something changed. Terrible storms began to brew over the mountain on the distant horizon. Floods and earthquakes began to appear in the flatlands. At Ninja Mountain, The Ninja Master could see that something was terribly wrong in the world. Mysterious figures were seen hunting and caging animals for unknown reasons. The truth was that the Evil Samurai Warlord had returned, using the forbidden Kuji magic to transform innocent animals into mindless samurai warriors to use to recapture his dark castles and take over the world. But, by using the Kuji magic for evil purposes, the Evil Samurai Warlord was once again upsetting the balance of nature, bring the wrath of the gods down upon the earth in the form of ravaging storms. The larger his armies grew, the worse the storms became.
The Ninja Master knew none of this yet... though he knew that something must be done and made it his unbreakable oath. He sent his best ninja to discover the truth of the storms, but no word returned from the ninja. One by one, he sent another, but again and again... nothing. Until he was left with only two left, Hiro and Futo. The Ninja Master was hesitant to send his last two, but he knew the fate of the world would lay in their hands.
Gameplay
The game is a third person action adventure set in feudal Japan. The environments and buildings for the game are based on some of Japan's most beautiful and well-known landscapes and structures such as rice fields, snowy mountain ranges, lush forests and canyon rivers.The game features six playable Ninjas each with their own unique abilities and skills which can be switched between at any moment once they have been rescued. Magic can also be used along with the Ninjas weapons and skills. The magic spells range from fire ball attacks, camouflage and time manipulation.
- Hiro is available from the start of the game and is the only of the Ninjas that can use magic and possess animals. His special move is a lock on attack that stops time and automatically attacks the enemies that have been selected.
- Futo is the second ninja in the game and is found on the first level. He carries a large wooden hammer which he uses to defeat his enemies. He also boasts great strength and is the only Ninja who can take on the Large Samurai. His special move is to roll into a ball and attack.
- Suzume is a female ninja, who trained under the Ninja Master with Hiro. She uses a fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
as a weapon by using it like a blowgunBlowgun"Blowpipe" and "blow tube" redirect here. For other uses of the terms, see GlassblowingA blowgun is a simple weapon consisting of a small tube for firing light projectiles, or darts....
, with normal darts or paralyzing darts. Suzume can also stun multiple enemies with her flute, and her melee combat skills with the flute are good. Suzume means "sparrow" in Japanese. She is the first ninja rescued by Hiro on his quest, and is apparently somewhat a love interest for him. - Shun is the bow ninja of the game. He is the second ninja the player rescues, after Suzume. Shun is a living contradiction. He is the most tense of all the Ninjas but oddly, he still maintains the unique ninja skill of calming himself to utter silence when it requires it. Shun wears camoflauge. Shun is an archer and he never runs out of arrows. He uses a bow because he has never excelled at hand-to-hand contact. Shun's special attack enables him to tie a lit explosive to the shaft of one of his arrows. He can fire this projectile across long distances to damage, or sometimes just scare, his enemies with the explosion. Shun has been known to sit completely still for two days straight in order to hit a target perfectly. He is the only ninja who speaks, talking to himself in Japanese as he sneaks, leaps, and fires his arrows.
- Tora thinks he is a tiger. Ever since he was a small child, left on the steps of the Ninja Village, he has been infatuated with being one. This particular trait in Tora annoys the Tengu, and his trainers have gone to some lengths to weed it out of him with little success. Tora's favorite weapon is a pair of self-made tiger claws, which he uses to great effect. Tora can throw himself into a "tiger dash", propelling him forward at a great speeds when large distances need to be covered. At the end of his dash, he will pounce into a spinning claw attack. Tora is by far the most energetic of the Ninjas. He rarely sits still, unless it is to enjoy the sun, and he is furious in combat. Tora was featured among the top ten ninja characters for PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
consoles by PLAY in 2011. - Kunoichi is the younger and less mature of the girl Ninjas. She looks up to Suzume as an older sister. She is very acrobatic and enjoys the rigorous training of a ninja. KunoichiKunoichiis the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
's weapon is a naginataNaginataThe naginata is one of several varieties of traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a pole weapon. Naginata were originally used by the samurai class in feudal Japan, and naginata were also used by ashigaru and sōhei .-Description:A naginata consists of a wooden shaft with a curved...
, which she uses as a prop for her acrobatic moves. According to the Ninja Master the naginata was a perfect weapon for her as she "preferred to keep a distance". Kunoichi, anticipating the rush of enemies coming her way, will spin her spear above her head, drawing upon the magical energy infused within the weapon - then unleash a spinning helicopter attack on her foes. Because of this is may the best to use in crowds. Kunoichi is very quiet, does not reveal much about herself, and is a bit of a loner. She adores Hiro.
Development
Mini Ninjas was announced on January 19, 2009, along with the first official trailer. The game's origin lies in the developers' desires to make a game that they could "play with their kids".Reception
Mini Ninjas has been critically well-received. As of April 2011, its average scores according to GameRankings are 80% (Wii), 61.90% (DS), 75.52% (PlayStation 3), 72.56% (Xbox 360) and 75.67% (PC).IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the PS3 version of the game an 8 out of 10 as a "family-friendly ninja affair", finding it "an extremely pleasant surprise". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
awarded the game 4 out of 5 stars, concluding that the game's "constant charm renders it calming and even relaxing to play ... any parent watching Mini Ninjas being played will find it hard to resist the temptation to have a go over their own". Main criticisms of the game come from lack of co-op
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
option and lack of replay value.
External links
- http://www.feralinteractive.com/game/minininjasMini Ninjas at Feral InteractiveFeral InteractiveFeral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
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