Developer: NatsumeAtari
Publisher: ININ Games
Genre: Arcade, Fighting
Release: Oct. 16, 2019
Price: $19.99
There is no other period in time best defined by the ninja as the 1980s. I go as far as to wager ninjas were more popular in the ’80s than they were back in ancient Japan. What other time in history could your average middle-aged white dude save the world from the teachings of ancient Japanese shinobi.
The ninja craze was everywhere during the decade. Movies, television shows, cartoons, and more important for this review –video games. Back in 1987, a game was released to arcades that took to world by storm. It took everything that was the 1980’s and smashed it all into one glorious beat ’em up.
That game was The Ninja Warriors. It featured three robot ninja who were sent on a mission to eliminate the President of the United States who has declared martial law and placed the world on the edge of collapse. It was a fantastic beat ’em up that offered more depth than most of its contemporaries.
This time around the game has been built from the ground up
Almost a decade later the game was remastered for the Super Nintendo in what might be one of the first remastered works in video game history. That game went on to do well and showed that robot ninja are pretty sweet in any decade. Fast forward to 2019 and those ninja warriors are back once again for yet another remake.
This time around the game has been built from the ground up and runs much smoother and takes advantage of modern hardware. Along with the fancy new look, the game features two new ninja warriors to take through the games eight stages. Each warrior is unique and plays much different than another. The big hulk ninja is lumbering, slow, and can’t jump, but has massive power and a powered dash move.
Another has range with his blade arms but lacks the ability to easily throw an opponent making big enemies a challenge. The third main ninja warrior is well rounded but requires you to get in close to do damage.
It’s all fantastic and works even better with a friend in multiplayer
It’s all about what your preferred playstyle is. The two new additions are a lot of fun and the most enjoyable to use because they seemed designed with more modern gaming ideas. Not sure why the new ninja girl robot has DD boobs but this is a game based in the ’80s.
Gameplay consists of three buttons that offer a surprising amount of depth. Each ninja has an attack and jump and you can spam the attack to initiate a combo. Incorporate a jump or throw to extend the combo for even more damage.
As you play your special meter rises which lets you pull off a screen-clearing attack. But you can hold the up button which sets your warrior into their special stance where you can use a powered-up move that uses only a part of your special meter. You can also do this while in the air giving you quite a number of options in combat.
It’s all fantastic and works even better with a friend in multiplayer. Getting two players on the screen changes the game as you’ll be able to string some crazy combos back between the pair. This only makes sense as its an arcade game and meant to be played with friends.
On top of that we also get a new time trial mode the opens up after you beat a stage the first time through. This should help give the fairly short game some longevity for those into speed-running.
As a digital release, the $20 is a fair price for the quality product you are getting. As a fan of the series I can easily recommend this one but with things like the Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle that features seven classic beat ’em ups it’s hard to pick one game over seven for the same price.
That said, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a solid game that won’t let you down even if it doesn’t move the genre forward.
“The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a great remake of a classic arcade title”
Final Score: 3.5/5
*A review copy was provided for this piece*
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