Ninja Striker! is a bit of what I would call a casual platformer. I hesitate to fully commit to that statement because it can be read as a lack of challenge – and that’s not the case here. But if game mechanics can be meant to make you feel something (they can, of course), then Ninja Striker! is meant to make you feel powerful. There are three buttons that make up your movement and attack options: A for jump, B for dash and X for homing attack. Each of the playable characters have a unique flavor for these actions: the default ninja can double jump and the dash is a 360-degree attack. Conversely, the robot ninja can hold jump for a thruster effect but the dash only attacks in the direction he’s facing. These generous movement and attack options mean that you can glide around the level homing in on bad guys as you see them to rack up combos while never touching the floor.

This makes level completions fairly straightforward but of course there are score bonuses. I was surprised to complete the first few levels and not get one star in any the initial tries. These score challenges are enough to keep me coming back but there’s also the clever boss fights and the delectable Mystical Ninja style OST.

Courtesy of Notable Releases curator group

Full Impressions[notablereleases.com]

A simple, cute retro platformer to spend some time with.