Ninja Reflex

It’s a great time to be a ninja. Not only does this stealthy character of myth have a new wave of Ninja Gaiden games coming to both next-gen and DS platforms – no, he’s got his own mini-game collection on the DS and Wii. And who doesn’t have a mini-game collection these days? Also, you might ask, how does a shadowy killer get reduced into a “casual” game called Ninja Reflex. Simple: It makes the money.

Ninja Reflex is a collection of quick, twitch based mini-games that test your stylus skills to the limit. There are only six mini-games, each with slight variations to make them seem like new. After completing the first level of games, you’ll be challenged to take a belt test, which is just a tough version of the games. This proceeds, making the mini-games harder until you get the top belt. Essentially, you are playing the same games over and over, with slight variations, until you finish.

“That’s what Ninjas do, catch flies.”

While generally the six mini-games are fun in bursts, they are very shallow. When you’re done with this game, you will be done for good. The first game is throwing stars at wooden targets. To throw, you touch the target and then swipe up on the touchscreen. It works, but the game itself is nothing more than touching moving targets. In another game, you’re catching fish out of pond. You track the various sized fish with your stylus and pull them out depending on the score you need.

The katana game is the most violent of the bunch, but was similarly the most disappointing. Opponents run up to you and attack either vertically or horizontally. You respond by swiping in the direction against their attack to block, and then swipe again to kill. Like the other games, the mechanic does its job, but it’s not great fun. In the nunchuko mini-game, you swipe on the touchscreen in rhythm with a pattern that is drawn out, swinging the nunchuck in rhythm. You then pull either the L or R to swing them, hitting the fruit that is being hurled at you from your Master.

Oddly enough, there is a Meditating mini-game. Actually, it’s really not a mini-game but rather an instructional “how-to” for meditation – it includes both a guided- and timer-based session. I myself appreciate the bold idea of including the meditation mode (maybe it will introduce a kid to a great practice), but at the same time I’m appreciating it, I’m also disappointed that this is what the developers did instead of making another actual mini-game.

While EA did short change this game on mini-games, Ninja Reflex is gushing with personality. The Master who guides you through the challenges is very funny and well written, and his character animation is top-notch. So much so that it’s a disappointment he wasn’t used more. I kept imagining a game with a fleshed out, light-hearted story and all the jokes in between – sadly, a sequel, I hope. Similarly, the art design and graphics are fantastic. All around, the game has great production values … just not enough substance.

Gameplay: 4.0
Not enough variety here to flesh out this game. Games like Nunchuko and Katana are competent, but not as much fun as you would expect.

Graphics: 9.5
Great use of lighting and textures on the DS. The animation of your Master is really good and the art design is “most impressive, young grasshopper.”

Sound: 9.0
Great voice acting and background music – if only there was more of it.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.0
There are some good ideas in this game, but ultimately it just a sparse collection of mini-games.

Multiplayer: 7.0
The games are better with friends, but not that much.

Overall: 6.0
This game is in the right direction with great style and production values, but ultimately the mini-games are too few and the game mechanics are severely under par – Your reflex should be to save your money.