Since Team Fortress 2 popularized the cartoonish look, many games have followed suit, most noticeably Battlefield Heroes and a few indie titles. Another game has joined the club, the not-so-serious Mini Ninjas, which, for a developer like IO Interactive, is certainly new grounds. IO is mostly known for the Hitman franchise, so few might be skeptical in how the developer handles a title meant for a far younger audience. Rest assured, the young audience will probably love Mini Ninjas, while the mature one will find aspects of the game enjoyable as well.

The story of Mini Ninjas is set in ancient Japan, where a Ninja Master sends out his students to investigate an Evil Samurai Overlord, but the students get captured. The Master sends his last two students, Hiro and Futo, who set off after the Evil Samurai Lord, who has used his powers to turn ordinary animals into his henchmen. The story is very similar to classic Samurai and Ninja movies, and especially Samurai Jack, if you ever crossed the cartoon series.

The gameplay in Mini Ninjas is straight forward; you control Hiro, a ninja, in a third person view. The combat consists of mostly hack and slash, and resembles a lot like Zelda: The Wind Waker, however, it’s a lot less simple when you get down to it. As you progress and free your fellow ninja students, you unlock the ability to play as them, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but you’re always best of playing as Hiro, as he seems the strongest of them all (doh!). You’ll jug through the levels basically mashing one button (your primary attack) and taking out your enemies — there’s isn’t any blood in Mini Ninjas, as your slain enemies will simply disappear in a cloud of smoke, again, just like in Wind Waker — perfect for the younger audience.

The other ninjas have other types of attacks, but when you can simply slash your enemies easily, there’s no point in trying the other ninjas. The developer could have offered a bigger incentive by making the other ninjas the prime ones for attacking certain enemies, thereby adding more variety to the gameplay. But as it stands, the gameplay is quite repetitive, fun at first, but still repetitive in the long run. While the levels are large and open, and offer plenty of stuff to collect, these items (like fruits), aren’t necessary to the game, but they do offer a bit of variety, where you can mix potions from different fruits and plants. Again, there’s no real point unless they can really help you through the campaign.

The visuals of the game are cute and well done that they’ll satisfy even the most hardcore gamers, whose used to gushing blood in Gears of War. The soundtrack is particularly wonderful (as with all soundtracks in IO Interactive games), and contributes to the theme of ancient Japan. Difficulty wise, experienced players won’t have any issues striding through the game, as it’s clearly intended for a younger audience. A few issues bog down the game, mostly related to the camera, but it’s not too frustrating to ruin the gameplay. While the game can be considered shallow, it’s still enjoyable and fun for the most part, and young gamers will definitely be pleased.

The Good:
Charming visuals
Easy gameplay
Wonderful soundtrack

The Bad:
Repetitive gameplay
Not enough content
Camera issues

Overall score: 7/10