The Ninja Warriors was released way back in 1987 as an arcade cabinet game by Taito. This arcade game made its way to the Super Famicom as The Ninja Warriors Again in 1994 and now we have the third version of the game available on Nintendo Switch as The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors.
First and foremost, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a beat-em-up game. Players will take on the role of a robotic ninja warrior and will be thrust into the heat of battle immediately. Players will only be able to move left or right and have a range of attacks that they can pull off. Enemies will spawn from either the left or right side of the screen and will throw everything they have at you as they try to destroy you.
The gameplay in The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is fairly simple. Players can punch, kick, jump, and use special abilities to defeat enemies. Additionally, players can also pick up objects in the environment and throw them at enemies. Gameplay involves players selecting one of three characters, Ninja, Kunoichi or Kamaitachi. Ninja is a hulking mass of a robot that’s slow but extremely powerful. Kunoichi is fast-paced and rather balanced as a playable character while Kamaitachi is weaker but extremely agile.
Depending on the warrior you picked, the game can play a lot differently. This is due to each character’s unique abilities and attacks. For instance, Ninja, being a hulking mass of a character, is able to deal a lot of damage to larger robot enemies. Kunoichi can jump quite high and has the ability to use swords and daggers. Additionally, 2 more hidden characters can be unlocked by finishing the game.
With the gameplay being fairly straightforward and simplistic, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is over far too quickly. There are only 8 levels on offer and playing through the entire game won’t take you all that long either. While the game is slightly challenging at times, players will be able to get through it quite easily thanks to the fact that there’s unlimited continues available should you die. Dying also lets you pick another character and start the stage over so you can apply a different strategy in progressing further.
Some of the levels are quite challenging though and require you to apply some defensive tactics such as waiting until your energy gauge is full to unleash a powerful fullscreen explosive attack. With that said, the level design in the game is great and never does it feel cheap or annoying even though there are hordes of enemies to defeat. The fact that the game is so short also helps because if it were any longer, fatigue from the repetition would probably set in a lot faster.
Graphically, the game has crisp visuals and the updated artstyle for the Nintendo Switch looks great. The soundtrack is filled with adrenaline-pumping synth tracks and the sounds of attacks landing and enemies being thrown never gets old.
Overall, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a great addition to anyone’s Switch library. It’s a classic throwback to when games were just taking off in the late 80s and early 90s and retro fans will love it. The only major gripe we have with this title is the fact that it’s so expensive right now on the Nintendo Switch online store at £16.99 for only eight levels. While the game is great, you may want to consider waiting to pick it up on a sale.
