8bit Ninja: Pixelated 2D fruit dodging fun!
The world of fruits and ninjas have descended upon us again. At first it was Halfbrick’s offering Fruit Ninja where you had to cut and smash open as many fruit as possible without dropping them or setting off any bombs. Now DogByte Games have brought us a different take on fresh produce and masked warriors. Read on below to find out what we thought about it.
Gameplay: Rather than destroying fruit like in Fruit Ninja, your aim is to avoid them. The game is set in what I can only guess as feudal Japan, where a little ninja participates in the 200th ninja tournament. As he steps up to perform in front of an eagerly anticipating crowd, the little warrior takes one swift chop on the wooden plank in the hope to woo the on lookers. Disappointingly the plank fails to break and the disgruntled crowds starts hurtling fruit at our disgraced hero. I’m guessing fruit was more affordable back in feudal Japan!
The game plays similarly to the old classic Pang (or Buster Brothers) with a few difference such as you cannot fire your weapon at will and the aim of the game is to survive as long as possible. Fruits of various sizes start raining from the sky and you have to make sure you avoid them with the simple left right touch screen controls. As time goes on the frequency of the fruits falling increases and the stage gets more perilous as you try harder and harder to avoid a face full of mushed fruit. You do get some help in the way of items however with which you have 3 inventory slots to stock them. Once stocked the items randomly fall from the sky during play. You start off with just the blade item which spins above your head once collected destroys any fruit that touches it. In addition to the items your little ninja can also level up adding RPG elements to the game. As your level increases, the duration of your special move increases as well as the frequency you can use it, very important for you to survive the later stages. Further items can be unlocked with the in game currency and shop.
The in game currency is in the form of coins and eggs. They are both picked up from smashed fruit, however it is very rare for eggs to be obtained this way. As you progress, levelling up the main character and collecting more coins and eggs, you can unlock more ninjas and locations. Each ninja has their special ability and different locations have additional XP bonuses. If you are one to like levelling up and the action genre, then 8bit Ninja should be right up your street. Although it provides you with lots of choice in how you want to power up your items and doesn’t necessarily change way the game plays as many the items are quite similar, it nonetheless fools you into to thinking there is. Not necessarily a bad thing as it keeps us gamers interested.
Looks wise, 8bit Ninja is quirky and cute. Even though, the developers haven’t produced anything groundbreaking, the overall presentation is solid with a matching audio to boot. I would have liked to be able to change location a little sooner as I felt the eggs were a little too difficult to collect in order to unlock the extra locations. The controls are defaulted to be touch screen however you have the option to use your phone’s accelerometer. Either has its slight nuances as the touch controls felt a little too sensitive and was difficult to move small distances whilst the tilt controls was a challenge to get to top speed.
Rating: 4/5 All in all, DogByte Games has produced a fun and entertaining number which should have you addicted in no time. Its rewarding levelling up and in game shop will have you scratching your head as to which power ups to focus on. 8bit Ninja is a freemium game with premium perks, with a simple few clicks you have no reason not to give it a try.
8bit Ninja Promotional Youtube Video
8bit Ninja Tips from Android Games Review:
- Try out both control schemes, touch or tilt, before you invest any significant time levelling up. You may find that the tilt controls are better suited for yourself.
- In order to maximise your coin collection rate, power up the treasure item. It will mean you will be able to unlock and power up many other items faster in the long run. This obviously depends on whether you want to unlock and power up other items to begin with.
- Don’t be greedy with collecting coins, they do not disappear so do not sacrifice yourself just to get that extra coin, it’s not time efficient.
8bit Ninja QR Code
(Click on the image or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto Google Play)
Developers: DogByte Games
