Little Ninja Brothers
System: NES
Release Date: December 1990
Developer: Culture Brain
Publisher: Culture Brain
Genre: Adventure
Set off across Chinaland to save it from evil in Little Ninja Brothers! The Yoma Clan has kidnapped the Emperor of Chinaland and it’s up to Jack and Ryu to save the day. Trek across the land killing countless numbers of enemies and collecting seven bells to put an end to the evil. Either alone or with a partner, you can embark on this quest.
Little Ninja Brothers is actually the sequel to Kung Fu Heroes and once you get to your first battle, you’ll realize it. I didn’t much care for the former and you have to take part in countless numbers of battles in your adventure. Seriously, sometimes it’s nearly every step you take. These battles are set on a static screen based on the terrain you’re on. A screen pops up showing you the enemies and their experience level. You can choose to fight or try to run, which forces you to fight if it fails.
You have to kill a number of constantly spawning enemies. You really have three choices. Punch them with the A Button, jump at them with a flipping kick by holding a direction while pressing the B Button, or using a consumable Dragon Kick by pressing the B Button and then immediately a direction. Most of your fighting will be jumping onto enemies with the flipping kick. Trying to punch will often be difficult because of finicky hit boxes. I can’t count how many times I took hits because mine weren’t recognized.
There are RPG elements to this game, but I prefer to categorize it as an adventure. You have experience points, levels, money, towns, and shops. There are quests that you must complete and even some turn based battles. The turn based battles are terrible, with your enemy dodging constantly. I found this with the first battle against the Evil Queen. I ended up having to skip it, upgrade my equipment in the next town, and level up a bunch before I could win. It’s imperative that you use the Call command on your first turn to pull Ryu into the battle.
In the end, I found this game to be incredibly repetitive and frustrating. The number of times I would get stunlocked and killed was far too frequent. I had to continuously stock up on Sweet Buns to replenish my health. To open up the menu, you have to press the A and B Buttons simultaneously, which can be a major pain in the butt. I collected five of the bells and got incredibly tired of the battles. After six hours, I called it quits, I need these long games to give me some variety to make them worth it.
Graphics: 2.0
Nothing looks really good, nor really bad. I’ll call it average.
Sound: 2.5
I like the music, but it does get incredibly repetitive.
Gameplay: 2.0
There’s more to it than what I wrote about, but it’s just not that interesting in the grand scheme of things.
Difficulty: 1.5
There’s a lot of BS present, and if you die it’s half your money and you’re resurrected at the last town you visited the convenience store.
Fun Factor: 1.0
The battles are too repetitive and way too prevalent. Greater experience rewards would have made for a more interesting game.
Overall Rating: 1.8
Little Ninja Brothers earns a C. I can’t say I enjoyed it or that I recommend it. I’m near the end and maybe I’ll go back some day, but it’s not likely.