Price: $0.99 Score: 8/10 Category: Games
Ninja Throw is somewhat unique in its concept; a puzzle game in which you have to throw a shuriken at a gong, and then you win. Of course, there’s all sorts of junk in the way of your shuriken and all sorts of ways to change its path, but its smooth visuals and emphasis on the timing of your release combined with the use of available items as opposed to just the manipulation of the environment found in similar puzzle games does set it apart from the crowd. Sadly, it suffers from a backlog of incredibly samey levels, particularly in the early stages of the game, which will quickly turn the average gamer from ‘GEE WHIZ THIS IS FUN’ to ‘didn’t I just do this a second ago?’
At its root, the premise is easy as breathing; point the shuriken where you want it to go and tap the ninja. He throws it. Of course, past the very first level, you’re going to have to aim the shuriken at certain items, such as wind spirits, which will blow it in a certain direction, or sensei, who will use their recently discovered psychic powers to either pull the shuriken toward them or push it away. This makes for some interesting levels, especially when you can place the wind spirits etc where you want to, and then when the game throws in stuff that moves up and down, making your timing just as important as your puzzle solving skills, it quickly becomes challenging.
Aesthetically the game is very pretty, and the art style is inkeeping with its subject matter; it’s very reminiscent of contemporary Japanese art, just… tiny and animated. The sound is nothing special, but nor is it annoying. The onlyl place in which the game falls down is in the similarity of some of its stages; you will literally get deja vu at least three times in the first two collections of levels, because a level immediately after the preceding will look, feel, and practically BE identical. Whilst this does give the game more playtime, and you a little more practice, it wasn’t necessary; and does sometimes make bashing through stages a chore. Definitely worth $0.99 if you’re a puzzle fan, or a ninja fan, or both, but otherwise, you might find it grows dull.