DS #4158: Mini Ninjas (USA)

[pieman202]

Will the sequel be 'Mini Pirates'?

Hopefully, there won't be a sequel -- at least not one by Magic Pockets. The game is ass.

To be fair, though, the spirit-world parts, with the Japanese ink painting, are almost amazing. It's like two completely different games.

How did you get past painting bit, I completely stuck. Got as far as this cloud floating up and down and now I don't know what to do.

build a bridge and get over it... seriously x3

 

[GeekyGuy]

How did you get past painting bit, I completely stuck. Got as far as this cloud floating up and down and now I don't know what to do.

Yeah, these portions of the game are almost like March of the Minis. You use the brush to paint the structures, and then use the knife to reveal bridges and such. The idea, though, is to time drawing the bridge when your character won't run into the cloud. There are even some boss battles in the spirit world that are pretty cool; they're really easy, but very fun for their cleverness. I wish the whole game was just that.

 

[Djay187]

How did you get past painting bit, I completely stuck. Got as far as this cloud floating up and down and now I don't know what to do.

Yeah, these portions of the game are almost like March of the Minis. You use the brush to paint the structures, and then use the knife to reveal bridges and such. The idea, though, is to time drawing the bridge when your character won't run into the cloud. There are even some boss battles in the spirit world that are pretty cool; they're really easy, but very fun for their cleverness. I wish the whole game was just that.

Thanks for you're help, don't know how I didn't try that. Yeah I agree with you, shame the rest of it isn't like that and I was quite looking forward to this, oh well roll on next week.

 

[Stitch]

are there any savepoints or do you have to complete a chapter to save?

 

[Deleted member 158512]

Now I know why certain game critics use made up adjectives, such as "wonky" and "janky." This game is so disappointing thus far. The controls work most of the time, but often I'll be pushing diagonally downward, yet Hiro will continue to move upward onscreen. Wall running is very hit or miss, and the objectives aren't presented clearly. And the camera has occasionally completely obscured my view of Hiro while in battle, leaving me looking skyward. It also doesn't help that the game is fugly as can be.

Welcome to 3D platformers on the DS.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Welcome to 3D platformers on the DS.

Nah, man. There are some good ones. Crash of the Titans comes to mind, and SM64 is perfectly playable on DS. Hell, Prince of Persia was a good game, except for issues with input detection. But with Mini Ninjas you've got controls that are almost broken. It's not a question of system capability; it's merely shoddy work. It makes sense now that they didn't show any footage of the game before release. The shame of it is, there are some really good ideas here. Wall running and jumping, decent mix of combat and platforming, lots of variety in terms of environments. But the mechanics just blow -- no way around that unfortunately.

 

[Donato_Dobango]

Crash of the Titans is great, I'll agree there, and it surely doesn't get the attention it deserves, but they do cheat by limiting your field of motion. It's technically 3D but you are on a very set path.

I played this for a half hour or so last night in a movie theater waiting for 9 to come on, before the deluge of newer, bigger name games that hit yesterday, and I didn't mind it. The camera is messed up, but it does harken back to the N64 platformer days.

One of my favorite games on the N64 was the Mystical Ninja and that literally had one of the worst cameras ever in it, so this feels like just playing new quests in that game from my teenage years. It's not a "good" game and it certainly is not a game anyone should waste money on, but if you were a fan of Nintendo 64 platformers like Tonic Trouble, Mystical Ninja, Gex the Gecko, etc, you should like this as a fun game to keep around and play every now and again.

 

[chaapaaiguy]

Help! I'm stuck on the third spirit painting level, the one with the 2 bridges and the cog driven doors? I get as far as drawing the doors, the cog, and the 2 bridges but it won't let me draw the house/tower behind the cog, any ideas?

 

[shakirmoledina]

it doesn't seem too bad though needs dedication and patience before separation... try it as it does seem to be better than the rest of the games

 

[Amici]

looks nice...though I'm still waiting for the Mini Pirates game

 

[ibis_87]

I'm surprised by the amount of polish on the game. Nice graphics (not breathtaking, but nice), very nice DS-exclusive levels with stylus controls, nice cutscene, neat interface, good humour.... Very nice overall, the developers was obviously working for the money they demand for the game. On the par with other versions, IMHO.

 

[rangingcavalier]

how do you get past the first painting/cutting thing? i don't understand what they want me to do.