Ninja Five-0

cool

Reviewed by waste420 on September 18, 2007  |  report this review

from Konami and Hudson feels just like a leap back to the good ol' arcade days where Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden and Rolling Thunder were king of the action pack. The developers have obviously been schooled in those arcade games, as their own creation in the form of Ninja Five-O builds off those classic games and their unique gameplay ideas, while at the same time offering a very unique and contemporary gaming experience on the Game Boy Advance.

Features

Six missions
Three difficulty setting, one unlockable
More than 20 levels
Time Trial mode
Cartridge save for high scores/time trial times
Only for Game Boy Advance
Ninja Five-O (known as Ninja Cop in some circles) puts players in the role of a Ninja-gone-detective, Joe Osugi. His task is to stop a terrorist group that has been influenced by the evil forces of the Mad Masks, items that were previously locked away by the distant forefathers of the Ninja. As Joe, players don't do a whole lot of detective work; it's just part of the game's storyline. Instead, players put Joe Osugi's ninja skills to use to take out the terrorist threat and rescue hostages, eventually attempting to fall the leaders that have been put under the influence of the Mad Masks.
Bionic Commando is clearly the game's main inspiration, as many of the level challenges require players to make use of Joe's grappling hook; players will have to swing from platform to platform to get around the areas. But what's more, players will have to pump, swing, and leap up to get the Ninja up to higher platforms; this technique is very different than Bionic Commando, which allowed players to simply pull up to the higher ledge with the grapple arm. In Ninja Five-O, this required grapple-swing technique adds so much to the level designs, and it looks so damn cool when you pull it off like it's second nature.

But Bionic Commando is only part of the game's inspiration. Hudson also rightfully lifted gameplay ideas from Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer, easily some of the most recognizable ninja action games ever released. In Ninja Five-O, players have an unlimited number of shuriken stars that they can lob at terrorist enemies, and these projectile attacks can be upgraded by picking up lightning bolt icons. There are only three levels of shuriken power-ups, which is a little annoying since you don't get anything extra when you're all maxed out and you pick up another power-up...except for points. Players also have to make use of Joe's sword attack to take out enemies up close...and after getting used to the controls, you'll probably find yourself using the sword attack more than the shuriken stars. It's much more effective to charge into an enemy with the sword slashing, especially since there are enemies that hide behind hostages as human shields; it's very easy to accidentally take out a hostage with a star, which is a no-no when you're trying save them. Players can also latch onto ledges as well as slide attack, which comes in