Surprises come in many shapes and sizes but we certainly were not expecting one to resemble a pint-sized Ninja. Having been waiting for months now for any news of IO Interactive’s bald assassin, we sure had our collective eyebrows raised, when instead of Agent 47, IO decided to spring a completely brand new game, Mini Ninjas at us. Shoving away the piano wire quickly in our back-pocket, we set down to see if this undoubtedly kid-friendly looking game would keep us distracted until IO Interactive decided to let the bar-coded assassin loose. And oh-boy, were we distracted or what!

Mini Ninjas is the story of Hiro, a cute but deadly little ninja on a quest to bring to end an ancient Evil Samurai Warlord that has reared his ugly head once again. As stormy clouds gather over the horizon, word spreads that the evil samurai is capturing and transforming cute little bunnies, foxes and other fluffy animals to build an army of mindless Samurai drones. Hiro’s Ninja Master sends his students to put a stop to this but none return. Finally, it is up to Hiro and his best-buddy, Futo to start on their quest to find the Evil Samurai Warlord and put a stop to his evilness.

As a true ninja, Hiro can sneak through the shadows, wall-run and take on bad-guys without breaking a sweat. But what makes him special over his missing buddies is that he alone can command the lost ancient art of Kuji magic. As you progress through the game, you can explore and discover hidden Kuji shrines where an offering of the Anemone flower will unlock the secret to a new Kuji spell. This spells vary from useful fireballs to great big meteor showers and howling cyclones. Your favorite ones can be quickly called up using a radial selection menu.

While Futo is besides you from the very beginning, you get to rescue many more of your friends along the way who then join you in your travels through the ancient land. Any of these characters can be called up any point in the game with a quick tap on the radial selection menu, whereupon your old warrior disappears in a puff of smoke and the new one takes his place. While Futo can take on the big hulking samurais with his might hammer, Suzume enchants them with her flute before making short work of them while Shun is great for taking out enemies far away with his trusty bow and arrow.

Though there is not much variety in their attacks, each one can be used for something special though eventually, you would be returning back to good ol’ Hiro just because he is the only one who can perform Kuji magic. Besides the usual attacks, every character has a special attack, which when triggered, can make them tag and insta-kill multiple enemies, bound across the plains like a cheetah on steroids or shoot rocket-tipped arrows that explode into myriad shades of red, blue and green, while taking out multiple samurai minions with them.

Being a kid-friendly game, no blood or guts are spilled as you slice through hordes of minions. Instead, the fallen samurais turn into animals with a puff of smoke. So the huge, hulking samurai you just bashed on the head will now be a cute little bear and the evil monk that summons more such samurais will bound away as a fox. You can also rescue many more animals by breaking their cages. You get glowing orbs of light that will replenish your health, increase your Kai to perform magic spells or allow special attacks. Any of the rescued animals can be possessed briefly as well.

For those who love exploring, the game offers many, many things to discover. You can collect tones of mushroom, special flowers and herbs which can be later mixed together to create health and Kai-restoring potions. Trees can be shaken to drop bee-hives or apples to get a health boost while on a particularly slow day, you can relax in a gentle stream while doing some fishing. While being a linear game, some truly amazing level design makes them feel like there is a whole world out there for you to discover, with multiple routes, shortcuts and hidden coves and alleys.

Graphically, the game goes easy on the system while dishing out breathtaking visuals by the dollops. A rich and vibrant color palate means that you would have to stop and admire the scenery in each of the varied levels. While not photo-realistic, a field of bright green grass swaying lightly in the breeze or a treacherous looking but nonetheless inviting stream, will all clamor for your attention. We had a field day ambushing a samurai patrol, the sun just setting on the horizon, the world tinted orange, setting up the mood for the whole scene.

IO should be applauded for blessing even the minions with quite a bit of character. The way they march, chatter between themselves in rapid Japanese or charge at you with their “Ninja-Ninja-Ninja” battle-cry, all positively oozing cuteness. Even their commanders will comically run a short distance away from the fight and try to shout directions at their troops. They actually look away from you and cower when you attack them. Even the boss fights are quite funny though sometimes, they tend to be a bit gross. All of them happen to be quick-time-event based so pretty easy to beat.

There are niggles but nothing game-breaking. Co-op is sorely missed considering you have a whole roster of characters that could have shone in a co-op session. Why did the developers shy away from this is something that boggles the mind. The extras menu has beautifully animated character introduction but they have been strangely left out from the main narrative. Our advice is to watch each one of them; the production quality is top-notch! Certain levels can prove to be a bit trying, but generous save points and a little more trying will get you through eventually.

IO Interactive has certainly lived up to their promise of developing a game that one can enjoy with his or her kids. Heck, you would probably be even a bit reluctant to share the controller with your kid; such is the charm of the game. Shame that IO Interactive lost out an opportunity to build what would have been an awesome multiplayer experience. We sincerely hope that the next installment, as hinted by the end cinematic in the game will fulfill this shortcoming as well. We surely will still be the kids at heart, waiting eagerly for Mini Ninjas.

9 / 10
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By N2H

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