[DS] Ninjas!?

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

Yes, Ninjas! Of course, I am referring to Ninja Town (http://ds.ign.com/objects/957/957851.html#aboutThisGame).

Saw the guys at PAX, which sparked my interest in the game. Anyone else looking forward to this title?


"A diverse group of fun-loving Ninjas populate the vibrant yet peaceful place known as Ninjatown. However, after the eruption of a nearby volcano, Ninjatown is attacked by hordes of sinister enemies lead by Mr. Demon, who, for reasons unknown, is bent on destruction. It is now time to use each of the Ninjas’ unique skills and powers – including the Mighty Wind of Ninja Dropping and Stealth Hugs – to fight off the evil and secure Ninjatown, one district at a time. The game is played from the top down, where the player uses the stylus to strategically place Ninjas to defend each area."


General Features:

-Based on the popular Shawnimals designer toys and plush – this is the first game to bridge the designer toy and videogame worlds

-The game is played from the top down, with the player using the stylus to place buildings and issue commands to ninjas on the battlefield

-Non-stop gameplay that combines town build and defend modes to keep the action flowing

-Each Ninja has specific powers and weapons that make them well suited to fight off certain enemies

-Ol' Master Ninja comes down from above to bust out special moves like Get off My Lawn which uses the Microphone to blow enemies around the map

-Each building is upgradeable to keep your fighting Ninjas one step ahead of the forces of evil

-Build support buildings to bolster your Ninja skills and help them fight off the enemy

-Totally unique art style and gameplay bring a fresh look and feel to the DS
Over 35 maps across 9 districts of Ninjatown to discover


http://dsmedia.ign.com/ds/image/article/916/916061/ninjatown-20081003113028828.jpg

[Kielaran]

I have been looking at this and Lock's Quest, anyone have an opinion of which I should get?

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

I hated Lock's Quest.

It had some great potential, but failed in delivering it.

If that helps you decide.

[mister slim]

I love the visual design for this. Such adorable little ninjas. It really works for making the enemies seem evil too. The enemies might as well be killing kittens.

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

Haha, true.

Were you at PAX? There was a pair of guys dressed up in massive costumes. One was a ninja, the other was a red enemy thing.

It was cool.

[Variable Gear]

I just got this. I have to run some errands in a bit, but after that I'm going to check it out.

[biosc1]

I have been looking at this and Lock's Quest, anyone have an opinion of which I should get?

I heard that this is better than Lock's Quest. I love tower defense type games, but Lock's Quest just frustrated me with it's controls. I will definitely be giving this a try, especially after listening to a show yesterday raving about the game :)

[Variable Gear]

I'm starting right now.

12:46 AM- Man, that opening animation is pretty nice... :)

12:52 AM- Apparently, it helps to have a few Ninja Consultants around during a time of crisis. Also, Mr. Mayor is kind of a space cadet. He wants to hand out cookies to the attacking Wee Devils! Wee Devils who have some to Ninjatown in order to "sample [their] world-famous Ninja-Cakes." Someone get this guy his formal mustache because he wants to greet the Wee Devils. Can you still find good help these days?

12:53 AM- Cowering in fear = Business as usual for the unquestioned leader of Ninjatown

12:57 AM- Here's the tutorial section. Camera movement is done with the D-pad, or by dragging the stylus along the screen, and you interact with the stylus. A rectangle on the minimap on the top screen represents the area shown on the touch screen. Alongside this minimap is a view of Ol' Master Ninja in a balloon, which is a nice touch.

1:00 AM- Surprise, I'm supposed to attack enemies before they get to the end of the map. Each one that gets through will reduce my heart count by one, and I lose when my heart count hits zero. For this mission I've got ten hearts to spare. This is going to be easy, especially since I played the Nintendo Channel demo!

1:05 AM- Surprise number two: I've gotta build huts (towers) to defend Ninjatown. Killing enemies nets cookies, which can be used to build or upgrade the various Ninja huts you've built.

1:07 AM- The first hut I'm able to build is a melee hut. I'm given the choice between a Wee Ninja hut and an Anti Ninja hut. Since the Wee Ninjas are a bit quicker on their feet, even though they don't hit as hard as the Anti Ninjas, I'm going with them.

1:11 AM- Each hut has a hut menu that displays when it is touched. This menu allows the user to change the rally point for their ninjas, have their ninjas return to the hut to regain health, and upgrade the hut, which gives Ninjas more vitality and strength.

1:18 AM- You can also sell old/poorly placed huts in order to generate a few cookies.

1:22 AM- Here comes the first wave. I was able to place an Anti Ninja Hut, and upgrade it once, before those pesky Wee Devils got all up in my shit. There's a very helpful button located in the bottom-right corner of the screen that immediately starts the next wave. Let's see how my Ninjas fare...

1:26 AM- Yeah, I mopped the floor with 'em. Admittedly, this opening section is pretty easy, but that doesn't reduce the amount of satisfaction one gets from hearing the gong sound effect that is played when an enemy is defeated. Time to invest the cookies I earned from that wave and begin wave two.

1:29 AM- Now that was a little closer than I'd like it to be. I should have upgraded that Anti Ninja Hut before I began that wave. Ah well, I was able to clear number two and build up a level-three Anti Ninja Hut in preparation for wave three. Next time I'll upgrade my Wee Ninjas.

1:38 AM- That is, I'll upgrade them when I have enough cookies. I was off by ten, so I couldn't upgrade my Wee Ninjas after the third wave. New enemy type for this wave as well, introducing the Chubby Devil. This guy has the same amount of HP as your average Wee Devil, except he hits much harder.

2:00 AM- Two Chubby Devils down! I'll upgrade my Wee Ninjas now, and skip to wave five.

2:01 AM- Fuck! One fucking Wee Devil got away. Dammit! Damn it to hell!

2:03 AM- Another one almost got away, but one of my Wee Ninjas tracked it down. I lucked out.

2:13 AM- The timely building of a Wee Ninja Hut a small distance from the enemy spawn point resulted in a 100% execution rate for wave number seven. One more to go. I don't want to lose any more cookies.

2:14 AM- Victory is mine! Here were my stats:

Mission One
Cookies Earned: 488
Time Taken: 5:04
Grade: B

I'll have to re-play mission one in order to raise my grade to an A, but I'll do that tomorrow. I'm off to greener pastures tonight, such as mission two. Here's hoping that I can get an A the first time around.

More thoughts might come tomorrow, but it will be a more traditional write-up instead of this "liveblog" style. As a Japanese developer might say, "look forward to it!"

[Purple Santa]

Interesting mini-review VG...thanks for the info though. I saw this on sale somewhere but didn't pick it up. Maybe next year in the bargain bin. To much right now with CT and Castlevania OoE...

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

To kick off December, I plan on writing up a review for this, as well as a first-impressions on another new game...

[Variable Gear]

I keep getting a D on the "Wi-Fi Gap" level and I can't finish "Downtown" at all.

Does anyone have any tips for either of these levels?

[Superman's Dead]

Wow. This looks right up my alley. I'll keep an eye out. Thanks guys!