I played Taito’s The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors by Inin Games on a Switch, but ultimately I came to realize it’s so much more. As a reboot of an old arcade title, this new entry feels like it could fit into the same cabinet. I never personally played the original game, but regardless of what specific arcade games you played, this game captures that essence. The game doesn’t really do a good job of explaining itself, but to be fair, it doesn’t have to. You fight robots and swordfighters with an occasional boss thrown in, and that’s all it has to be. Of course, the best thing is that I don’t have to wait for my turn to play.
The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up, so the controls can be as complicated as you want them to be. You have a joystick to move left and right, as well as a button for dashing/jumping and one for attacking. Each of these can be combined to form different attacks and combos. The control scheme feels very Street Fighter-esque. Emulating the two button layout of a simple arcade machine comes with its drawbacks, though. In order to block, you must first attack and keep the button held. I’ll admit there might not ever be a situation where it would be beneficial to not attack before blocking, but giving me a separate control, perhaps mapped to a bumper, would have allowed me to incorporate it into my preferred moveset much more. Given that blocking is clearly secondary, the game rewards rushdown tactics. Enemies flinch when they’re hurt, so the best way to progress is by continuing to wail on your opponents. The game is not too hard, but I definitely didn’t make it through without dying a few times. My only wish is that there were more opportunities to use my abilities. It sometimes felt like a specific move would be strictly worse than some other move, so I only ever used half of my moveset. Walking up to an enemy and just grabbing and throwing them was always better than jumping and spinning, for example. Even though both were really cool, I couldn’t find myself doing the second because of how ineffective it was. The moves I did use were still fun, but I wish there were more viable options.
In terms of the art style, you can expect a throwback to the classics. The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors does a good job of capturing the essence of the original game and its era. The animations are choppy, but in an endearing way. The sprites are visibly pixelated, but are still clear in getting across what they’re supposed to represent. The explosions and people getting tossed around are everything you’d expect from a game like this. It all just feels right.
I think my biggest complaint about this game is twofold. Firstly, it’s very short. With only 8 stages, the game is able to be completed in maybe 2-3 hours. Of course there is a hard mode, but that brings me to my second complaint, which is that it gets repetitive. Like I mentioned earlier, while there are lots of moves, a good portion of them are not viable for actual combat and are more just for showing off if you happen to get an opening. The rest of the game I mostly spent using only two or three moves. I’m sure this would be difficult to balance, but I think it’d make the combat more fun if the player had more options.
Overall, while nothing too innovative, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors satisfied that urge I didn’t know I had to destroy things in an old 2D fighting game. If you’re someone who likes those kinds of games or think you might be, I’d recommend picking up this game for a few run throughs. Maybe after beating the game, you can try to beat it without dying. That way, you can appreciate just how many quarters you’re saving by not having to go to the arcade anymore.
Check Out The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors Trailer:
The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors releases today in North America for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
For more information, please visit: http://ninjasaviors.inin.games/
Nintendo Switch Review
I am an aspiring game designer looking to explore the philosophy behind game creation. Some of my favorite games include Overwatch, Super Smash Bros, Portal, and Beat Saber.
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