Think about it, is there anything cooler than a Ninja, they are a master in disguise, are amazing in combat and they have all sorts of weapons that they can use like a boss. I think many of us at some part of our life dreamed of being a kick ass Ninja. Unfortunately, there are not many ninjas left in the world and you can try to learn a martial art but it would take years of training to even have the slightest resemblance to a ninja. So we probably have to give up on our dream of being a ninja…
But there is still hope, there is something like video games, where you can be whatever you want for example a ninja. Ninja Shodown is a game where you can play as a ninja but is it good enough to make us feel like a ninja?
Ninja Shodown is a retro-looking 2D hack and slash platform game. They make it easy: a game where you are a ninja and kill other Ninjas, it is pretty basic but definitely fun. You can attack with your sword throw shurikens and use special weapons like bazookas and bombs when you acquire them. You fight other ninjas before the time runs out and when you are done it starts all over again but with tougher and more ninjas. The arcade mode is pretty hard and there is no option to adjust the difficulty of the game. Only an option to turn off all the blood and gore for the sensitive gamers. It is fun for a while but after a while you have seen it all and it gets boring very quick when you play alone.
The fun of Shodown is playing it with up to 4 players. You can play the arcade mode together to make it a little bit easier but it could also end friendships because you must have good team work in order to succeed. If you hate each other after playing the arcade mode you can play versus. In this mode you all have 10 lives, get hit once and you immediately lose one and respawn at a new location. This is a lot of fun and has some similarities to Super Smash Brothers. Which kind of fills a void for me because I need a Smash on the Switch right now. The Versus is a lot of fun but there is no option to play against AI so you always need a friend to play.
Verdict:
I liked the game the first 10 minutes but I have to admit it got boring very soon when I played alone. There will be people who enjoy playing this game for hours but it is nothing for me. Luckily the multiplayer options are amazing and make Ninja Shodown a perfect party game if you travel with your friends and you want to kill some time. In conclusion: I did not feel like a ninja after playing this game.
