Return of the Ninja
Reviewer: Piccolo
System: Game Boy Color
Developer: Natsume
Year of Release: 2001
Genre: Espionage/Action
Number of Players: 1
Save: Yes (Password)
ESRB Rating: E

Remember Ninja Gaiden? Remember Metal Gear? For those who weren't around in the NES' heyday, they were two games that define the action and spy genres, respectivley. The Ninja Gaiden series forced the player to enter a zen-like state of katana slashing and jumping pits. Should the player survive the level and boss, they were treated to a cinema scene. Metal Gear started you out with nothing but your fists and some useless ciggaretes, and made you sneak around a large militairy complex until you were a one man army. Both of these games share one trait: They were hard. Frustratingly so.

Natsume decided to go back to their roots when they made Return of the Ninja. However, they are aware today's audience wanted something deeper than am attempted ressurection of the "ninja" genre, and replaced the jump-and-slash with sneak-and-kill. Sounds fun on paper doesn't it?

I had been anticipating this game for some time. Screenshots looked similar to the classic Ninja Gaiden series, and the silent assasin aspect appealed to me. The $20 retail price tag, cheap for a new Game Boy Color game, locked this purchase for me. Perhaps it was this self-hype that left me a dissapointing impression when I played it.

The graphics and music in this game are above average. The tunes are not as dramatic or high-energy as Ninja Gaiden, but an asian theme is evident. One feature about the music I like is that when you are sighted by an enemy, the next area has a faster paced theme. The in-game graphics are okay and decently animated. For example, the enemy samurai carefully patrol the area by scooting from foot to foot. When they spot you, they quickly draw their blade and slash fast, but leave their arm out in a post-attack manner. Very Japanese. Despite this attention to in-game detail, the cinema scenes were really dissapointing. They mostly consist of high color stills with minimal animation. I never found myself looking forward to them.

Natsume's american staff did a good localization. The text is easily understandable, and all names are true to the original Japanese. Even a few item names are kept Japanese. While the translation was good, the story is barely worth mentioning - some rival ninja clan plots to reign over all they see. Nothing you haven't heard before in countless ninja stories. There are no plot twists or character interaction to speak of. I suppose this keeps the relationship platonic between the male and female ninja you can play as, which is a refreshing change.

Does this game present a new type of challenge, or simply a poorly executed one? You will find that being spotted is a common event -- some enemies, paticularly black ravens, blend in to the backround perfectly save for their eye, a single-pixel detail. And should this raven be disturbed, it will caw and fly away, alerting human guards. It is "realistic" challenge like this which makes this game seem overly hard. You can find icons thorughout the game's levels that represent ninja skills, such as climbing on the ceiling. Once you slog through all the stages and collect them all, you're pretty powerful. However, when you die, you lose them all, leaving you to start over by putting in a long password or by scrounging for them again if you didn't write it down correctly. A low life meter coupled with rare power ups make for a very sharp challenge curve. For half the game you'll feel like some poor bum trying to invade fort knox rather than the mythical ninja who is invisible to the senses.

In closing, this game's style of challenge really doesn't suit me. By the final stage, I had gotten in the proper mindset, found the hidden life meter power ups (that the manual doesn't even mention) and after a few tries through the level made it to the final boss, whom I beat on my first encounter. I'm not sure if most gamers would have the paitence to sit through this game. If your local game rental store has this, or if you know someone who does, then by all means give this newest effort a try. Perhaps you were of the NES generation as well, and you will recall fond memories of the flood of ninja games from the good old days. Sadly, these memories will probably be quickly replaced with frustration.