Ninja Strike: Dangerous Dash is a continuous runner just like what you’d find on a mobile device. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where this game started.  But thanks to Natsume, now you can download it on your Wii U.  Play as a ninja and run as far as you can while defeating and avoiding enemies, as well as nabbing treasure, coins, and power-ups.

Gameplay is like any 2-D platformer, except you are constantly running and can’t stop. You must press up to jump over pits and enemies, and you can press it in the air again to double jump, then hold down the up button to glide.  Once you upgrade your sword once, you’ll be able to swing it with the A button to defeat enemies, too.  The game is over if you get hit by an enemy or fall into a pit.

As you play, you’ll find power-ups to grab that’ll help you out. One will make you fly forward for a short while, mowing down anything in your path.  Another doubles the value of coins you collect, and another draws the coins toward you like a magnet.  When you defeat enemies with your sword, sometimes they’ll drop treasures, too.  Defeat enough enemies with your sword or by stomping on them, and a meter will fill.  When it is full, you’ll be able to enter Spacetime Magic where you can defeat Living Walls for tons of coins and treasures for a limited time.

At the end of each game, you’ll be able to use the coins you’ve collected to upgrade your ninjas’ skills, like their sword and how long power-ups last. By collecting certain treasures or gathering enough coins, you’ll be able to unlock new ninjas, too, but I didn’t notice any difference between them.  You’ll have to upgrade their skills separately, too.  While Ninja Strike is pretty much like any other runner game, it seems more entertaining than most, and the ninja themes were implemented pretty well.  It’s a little boring at first until you get some upgrades, but it’s not bad for a continuous runner.

Kid Factor:

Ninja Strike: Dangerous Dash is rate E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence. While you can slash enemies with your sword or stomp on them, they just fly off the screen when defeated.  Your characters just fall over when hit.  So I’d be OK with any kid playing this, but reading skill is helpful for some of the menus.  Kids who are really into ninjas would enjoy this.

Tags: Game Reviews