Ninja Jaja Marukun and Ninpen Manmaru for SATURN
NINPEN MANMARU
You control a penguin in a 3D world. It reminds me a lot of Croc, I guess this is due to the insane kiddy feel. But the graphic engine is a lot worse than Croc's. The controls are a little iffy. Sometimes you'll get a little ticked off as you're trying to move Ninpen one way but the camera angle contorts and he goes the other way. You can control the camera angle with the L and R buttons, but the thing is, Ninpen will move too. It's really odd. But you get used to it.
The game has a bizarre cast of characters. There are a few enemies scattered throughout each level, but I would call them more "obstacles." You see, Ninpen, being the innocent little goober he is, has no forms of attacks. The enemies has really easy to avoid though. It's basically a game of racing, or waddling, to the exit before the designated 10:00 runs up.
The first few levels were very 'meh' to me. Then came a new looking level that peaked my interest. This was where the game picked up for me. One part of this level had you jumping high, way high in the sky on these tiny circular platforms suspended magically in the air. This part is certainly not for those scared of heights!
The one really cool moment though, I was standing there inbetween two brown hillsides. The sky overhead was cast with grey shadows. I zoomed and looked up from 1st person view. There I saw the upper parts of the hillsides, and the now looming... ENORMOUS thunderclouds all moving in succession... this was a great moment. Then I unzoomed and proceeded to play out the rest of the level.
Overall it's not a bad game. Not the greatest game but I liked it. It is rare though, but it seems to not command a high dollar. For shots go here:
http://www.sega-saturn.com/saturn/ninjapenguin.htm
Overall: 6/10
NINJA JAJA MARUKUN
I came into this one with high hopes. It's a 3D action adventure title with some platforming thrown in. It feels like a Mario 64 meets Tomb Raider. Unlike Ninpen Manmaru, our little Ninja friend definitely can hurt the enemies. He takes them out with ninja stars and sword slashes.
The enemies are quite bizarre. i.e. an umbrella with one leg. a green one-eyed basketball player who throws "basketball bombs." There are boss battles but these boss battles are too quick, easy and generally poorly done.
There's no arguing this game is "one of a kind" on Saturn, but something is just not clicking on all cylinders. It feels a little hollow. The levels are short, and all you have to do is get to the finish spot. You don't have to kill the enemies. It's up to you.
I came into this game expecting one of those "great Saturn smash surprises" but I gotta admit it's not all that great. It's still worth a look though, but it's purely for the diehards. The screen shots make it look a lot better than the gameplay experience IMHO. But who knows, you might like it a lot more than I did.
Like Ninpen, it too is rare (or very very uncommon) and doesn't seem to command too high a dollar.
http://www.markinjapan.com/detail.php?selected=1468
Overall: 6/10
Happy 10th Anniversary, JP Saturn!
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