"Look! A ninja game! How original is that!"

I found this game a while ago on a cd of free games. I found this among the games, and decided to give it a whirl.

Story: 8/10
The story isn't any final fantasy, but it gets the job done. Every 2000 years, some unpronouncable demon lord has a chance to be resurrected. But he needs a human sacrifice to rise. Some other unpronouncable ninja master decides that your wife would be good, so he steals her while you're out. You are Red Lotus, the only pronouncable character in the game, and unless you want a divorce, you better get going!

Graphics: 7/10
When you look at the graphics in this game, the date 2003 doesn't jump to mind. More like early SNES! You can see all the pixels clearly, but at least you can tell everything apart. Some bosses look pretty cool, but that's it.

Music: 7/10
There's only 7 tracks in the game: The title, the training area, the intro, the level intro, the level, the boss, and the ending. They are pleasant, but can be annoying.

Sound: 6/10
The sounds are pretty repetitive. Red Lotus is constantly yelling as he throws his stars. However, his voice is interesting. When he dies, I swear he says, "Blarg. Syndicate!" Other than that, it's pretty mediocre.

Controls: 6/10
The controls can be rather confusing. Z throws bombs, which do not match this environment, X jumps, although rather jerkiful. C throws ninja stars, which are your weakest weapon, and S fires your mega ultra calligraphy bolts around the screen, pretty much vaporizing on contact. It's fun if you can get the hang of it!

Gameplay: 7/10
There are 4 levels in the game. Your objective is to jump around, killing ninjas, reaching the other side, and beating the boss. Pretty original, huh? The ninjas occasionally bring along bees. However, you can't judge a game because it's unoriginal, right? There is one annoying thing, though. Sometimes you fall right through a floor for no reason, and since you have 3 lives, no extras, it can get pretty frustrating. They could of put a few more things in, like explaining who the final boss is, but other than that, it can be fun.

Difficulty: medium-hard
The game can really be hard sometimes, but easy at others. The bosses can be really mean, and I swear the final boss is invincible, even though I've beaten him once. With only 3 lives, it can be pretty rough.

Replay value: low
The replay value drops to zero once/if you beat it, as there are no extras. The endings interesting, but you may never see it.

Rent or Buy?
Well, I got it for free, so I guess buy!

Conclusion:
In the end, we have an average game with not much point. It can be good for a little, but it gets boring after a while.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/06/05