Over the past six years, I’ve accumulated a list of times that I’ve been “the hero.” I’m not talking about donning a costume and big ass wrench to stop crime like Rainn Wilson in Super, but all of the times I stepped up to brush off scraped knees, scare away larger than life bugs, or chase off the monsters that my son thinks live under his bed. Most people don’t have the pleasure of making this statement until they are long into their life and their grown kids help them in one way or another, but I can say without a doubt that my little boy saved my ass numerous times during my time with Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors.

The game is an updated version of the 1994 SNES brawler of the same name, where you’ll take on the guise of one of three (with a few unlockable characters) robotic ninjas to take on some sort of military/mutant/mech army. Akin to the beat-‘em-ups of the ’90s, the title is light on story and heavy on action, putting you in the thick of it almost immediately as you take on some knife-wielding military gents who seem to think stabbing robots is effective, but I guess they didn’t think that through. Having never played the original game, I wasn’t expecting them to topple over after single hits, but it’s a thing. Just as I was thinking this game would be a cakewalk, I wandered into my first boss battle.

My first mistake was trying to figure out the boss’ unique patterns, which to be honest, there doesn’t seem to be much of a rhyme or reason for the attacks, resulting in me getting my ass handed to me. Repeatedly. I wanted to break my controller and figure out a way to burn a digital game in a fire at the size and scope of a dying sun. Unlike most games from the genre, you only have one life. Additionally, in most cases, there is only a single mid-mission checkpoint which is a decent ways away from the level’s boss (continuing negates any leaderboard stats, so if you’re into that, you’ll need to complete the game without dying).

The game is one of the most difficult brawlers I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing, opting for punishing arcade mechanics designed to eat your quarters as opposed to the typical inclusion of multiple difficulty settings that most home releases tuck away in their options. While the combat in itself is manageable, some of the environmental hazards take staggering amounts of health that will leave you hurting if you neglect to avoid them. Even if you manage to get lucky and get a fair amount of health drops, you’ll need to conserve as much health as possible for the uber-challenging boss encounters.

Just when I was about to tap out, my hero stepped into the frame in his Minecraft PJs to attempt to help me push forward through the insurmountable odds. I was left in awe as we not only managed to beat the first level I struggled for so long on but cleared the first level without so much as having to restart a checkpoint. This momentum continued well into the fifth stage, where we finally reached the same issues that I encountered on the first level. We boxed in the challenging bosses, tag-teaming them while trading combos, only stopping to deal with the minor enemies that would crawl out from the woodwork as small distractions. Playing the game cooperatively doesn’t differ from the single-player experience in any meaningful way, but beware – you’ll share a single health bar, so if one of the players takes damage, it’ll lay a hurting on you both. Despite this, cooperative play is a much more enjoyable experience that is only marred by the omission of online play as well as the ability to drop in or out of co-op at any time, requiring you to restart the game from scratch if player two wishes to join the fray.

The playable characters are a well-rounded group with their own strengths and weaknesses. The notably weaker female character that is nimble suffers in the range and DPS departments and was the only one I struggled using. Sadly, I still have yet to manage to unlock the additional fighters (or have any idea what the requirements to unlock them are). Each of the fighters offer a standard attack that can be modified by pressing one of the directional buttons in tandem or following a jump/dash ability. Regardless of whom you select, you’ll be able to charge up a special ability that will clear most of the low-level enemies in one swoop, or deal ridiculous amounts to the bosses, but again, this meter is shared if you’re venturing out in co-op play.

This definitely looks and feels the part as a retro game and nails the presentation in every way. Where most remasters/remakes opt to go for the 4:3 aspect ratio and incorporate some sort of box art (or the dreaded black bars I hate oh so much), this went the extra mile and presents the action in a 16:9 ratio and looks impressive from start to…wherever you can manage to get in the game. The controls are minimal, using primarily the directional buttons and a few of the face buttons, making this the single game I have successfully run and enjoyed for more than 30 seconds at a time using the new PlayStation Remote Play app from my smartphone, despite being limited to solo play.

Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors isn’t just a solid brawler that is a little on the difficult end (even at its worst, it’s another beat-‘em-up to add to your collection). For me, it’ll remain something more. Maybe it’s the nostalgia since my only fond memory of my father is the time we’d spend playing Double Dragon II or the Streets of Rage trilogy; or it could be the goofy look my son had on his face as he blurted out one-liners and offered up high fives at the end of each successful mission. Either way, this is easily one of the best father/son gaming experiences I’ve had and I hope he’ll grow up remembering it that way too.

9 out of 10

Pros

• Outstanding Visuals That Feel At Home on an HD Display
• Satisfying Co-Op Play
• Well Rounded Characters
• Works Well with Remote Play

Cons

• Overly Difficult with Little Options

The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors was developed by NATSUME ATARI Inc. in association with Tengo Project and published by Taito Corporation with ININ Games. It is available to purchase on NS and PS4. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors, check out the official Nintendo store page.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

 

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