Ninja Shurican is a relatively new Windows Phone game that has you playing the role of a ninja warrior who is traveling the underworld to battle demons and avoid countless dangers.
We were tipped on this endless runner game and decided to take it for a spin. Ninja Shurican is available for low memory Windows Phones, has three gaming modes and customizable weapons and ninja suits. The controls take a little time to get used to but nothing to cause you to run screaming from the room.
The main menu for Ninja Shurican greets you with the three gaming modes, options to mute the sound and music as well as options to buy new weapons or costumes for your ninja. You will earn devil points during game play that can be used to purchase these items.
The three gaming modes include:
- Levels: This mode includes 12 levels of play with plenty of demons and dangers to deal with.
- Challenge: This is a journey mode where you try to make it to the end of your path. Your score is how much progress you make in the journey with 100% being the ultimate goal.
- Endless: A survival mode where you simply try to survive the demons and dangers for as long as possible.
Game mechanics is the same with all three modes. The gaming screen layout has the fires of hell lining the top and bottom of the screen. Your ninja is hovering mid-screen and to begin play, just tap the screen.
Just be careful because when you do start game play your ninja will fall like a rock. You will need to tap the screen to keep you ninja floating as he travels across the screen. His forward progress is automatic with keeping him floating between the flames and avoiding dangers being your job. Much like you would do with Flappy Bird, Line Birds or similar styled games.
Your ninja is armed with a primary weapon (starts out as a sword) along with shuriken throwing stars. The primary weapon will deflect spinning saw blades, slay enemies and block fire balls. As you tap the screen to keep the ninja floating, the weapon will spin around the ninja.
If you double tap the screen, the ninja will hurl throwing stars. These come in handy to strike at your enemies from a distance and avoid having to rush around obstacles. While I like having the ability to throw shurikens I kept finding myself double tapping too quickly, which often sent my ninja into the flames. It takes a little practice to get used to the timing of the double taps and I'm not sure if a button would have been better to launch the throwing stars with. Having to double tap does add to the challenge of the game but can also add to the game's frustration.
Game play will test your skills of timing patience and reaction to get past dangers that include spinning saw blades, creatures that jump up from the fire and demons that shoot fireballs at your ninja. Ninja Shurican is definitely a game that requires your undivided attention. One stray look away from the game could result in having your ninja chopped to pieces or burnt to a crisp.
Overall Impression
Ninja Shurican made a nice first impression and after playing the game for a while, that impression hasn't faded much. Game play is fairly simple to pick up but challenging enough to keep you on your toes.
The tap/double tap timing does take a little time to get used to but not a deal breaker. My suggestion is play the first few levels in the Level Mode to get used to things before you jump into the other modes. The game lacks a help section but the Level mode does include a brief tutorial.
The only nit I have with the game is that the three gaming modes aren't very distinguishable. The three gaming modes are basically the same game, slightly plated up differently. I think if there was a little more variety with the modes, the game would have more appeal.
All in all though, I liked Ninja Shurican . If you are in search for an endless floater of a game it is worth a try. At last check, Ninja Shurican is rated at 5 stars in the Windows Phone Store, which may be about half a star to a full star too high. It's a good game but I just don't think it is a five star title.
Let us know what you think of Ninja Shurican in the comments below and remember to rate the game in the Windows Phone Store.
Download Ninja Shurican for Windows Phone (Free)
