Ninjatown Review (DS)

It’s got Ninjas in it!!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Simple ideas often breed the best games and there are few ideas as simple as the tower defense style of game!

The basic idea of any tower defense game is to … Wait for it … Defend some kind of tower against waves of baddies. This usually involves placing defensive structures in strategic places around your fortifications and watching as they hopefully obliterate the enemy.

An addictive game that ticks just the right boxes to become a bit of a cult classic!

Well Ninja Town is no different, except now rather than placing gun turrets around a fort, you must distribute Ninja producing huts around your Town in an attempt to defend it against hoards of evil monsters attacking from the woods.

Each turn starts with a little bit of story which tends to involve and ancient Ninja master talking to a Ninja advisor on how best to defend the Town. The master has become a little forgetful in his old age, so he does not tell you much to start with!

To get you going you have two types of Ninja you can produce. The Wee Ninjas (in black) and the Anti Ninjas (in orange). Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Anti Ninjas cannot walk far from their huts but can deal out a serious beating when engaging their foe. Wee Ninja, on the other hand can stray further but do less damage.

You have a certain amount of building points at the start of the round, used wisely these will see you through the first wave of trouble. After the first wave, you are able to either upgrade existing units or build more – if there are free plots for new huts.

As you get further into the game you are given new and more powerful Ninja to choose, like Sniper Ninjas. These little chaps can use their Wasabi Pea Shooters to take out flying monsters. Other Ninjas include the caffeine freak Business Ninjas (faster than normal), Forest Ninjas who can attack ground and air, Lava Ninjas who can chuck fireballs and Mountain Ninjas, who are just hard as nails!

Not only are there different Ninjas available as you progress, but the Ninja Master will remember special abilities that he has, such as the ability to blow the enemy back a few steps (achieved by blowing into the mic!)

NinjatownThe graphics are cute and cartoony, but fit the feel of the game perfectly! It does not need to look like much as you will be far more interested in the strategy than the look! Controls are balanced perfectly, with the bottom screen acting as your building area and the top screen showing a map with info on it about how far away the next wave is. Most of the Ninjas movement is automatic, with you just needing to set up rally points to get them in the right place.

Although you do not take direct control of your Ninjas, the game play is frantic and addictive, with you just praying you can get everything built in the right order and in time for the next wave of attacks. Forget the snipers and you will be overrun by flying monsters; forget the Business Ninjas and the caffeine fueled monsters will just run through you.

My only complaint is that the overall game is a bit short. There are 18 stages to play through, each taking between 5 and 15 minutes. Once they are over you will be aching for more. You can try each stage again to try and get a perfect score, but for some, like me that is just not enough!

An addictive game that ticks just the right boxes to become a bit of a cult classic!

The Good: Great strategy, fast paced, perfect for the DS
The Bad: A bit short 🙁


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Gold Y AwardGold Y Award
4.5 4.5 / 5

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