Ninja Jajamaru Kun Gold

*Review originally written 6/20/2000, Rewritten/edited on 9/19/2001

Ninja Jajamaru Kun Gold is a rather strange 3D action game that is played from a 3rd person perspective. It stars everyones favorite big headed ninja: Jajamaru! What's that? You haven't heard of him? Oh, well I guess that isn't much of a surprise since none of his games have made it out of Japan, and that my friends is a shame. Although, one word of warning for you "All-American" gamers, this game rivals Keio Yugektai and Goemon in the "Very Japanese" catagory. In other words it is filled with all sorts of insane Japanese imagery.

Jajamaru also stars in a game for Psx entitle Ninja Jajamaru Kun: Onigiri Ninpoucho. It was because of this game that I almost didn't purchase his Saturn outing and not for the reason you are thinking. I really enjoyed the Psx game. So why then, would I not rush out and buy the Saturn version? It's simple really, the back covers are identicle, leading me to belive it was merely a port and I wasn't about to rush out and spend $39 on a port of a game I already own and have beaten many times over. Well, the curiousity was too much and I ordered it anyway. To my surprise, while it held many similarites, it was not a port. All the CG FMV was the same but the gameplay and levels, as well as bonus levels, were different.

As stated above this game is played with a 3rd person viewpoint in a 3D world. You play as a ninja on a quest to kill the evil boss. You know, the usual. The point of levels is to simply reach the end in the alloted time. Doesn't take a brain surgeon to play this game. Pretty much the game is ver straightforward having you "follow the path" but at times you have multiple paths. No need to worry about getting lost because you have a handy litle arrow to point you to the exit ala Crazy Taxi. On your perilous journey you will face off against a multitude of enemies. These include, but are not limited to round balls that shoot moustaches and jumping parosols. Don't go running off just yet, you've got two ways of dispatching these pests: your trusty normal attack and the ever fun special attack. The normal attack consists of you throwing some rather large shurikens when attacking from long range or slashing them with your katana at close range. The special attack varies stage to stage, however, it's effect is always the same: it kills all on-screen enemies. Exciting, huh? As with bombs in shooters you have a limited number of special attacks, you can get more by collecting *GASP* a special attack scroll! Another scroll exists which grants you limited invulnerability.

There is a nice trick to the enemies that fire projectils at you, if you time a normal attack just right you can deflect it! You can usually kill an enemy with a couple well placed hits, however some enemies can be killed only with a special attack. Obviously bosses take more effort to kill than normal run of the mill enemies. Each time you kill an enemy it's soul departs it's body. Collecting the soul gives you bonus points, pretty cool, huh? Reaching a set score provides you with an extra life. While the enemies are a pushover the same cannot be said for the bosses. Normally this wouldn't be so bad but the bosses are not hard due to difficulty, the are hard due to the evil camera and the lack of a quick turn around feature. Often times a boss is behind you, hits you and leaves before you can turn around and by then he is behind you again. Some bosses must be stunned before they can be damaged, you stun them by jumping on them Mario style. This is complicated by the evil camera angles. To top it off, for some strange reason the game doesn't always give you credit for jumping on them which results in a lot of jumping and getting mad at the camera. Though, apart from the end boss the game remains quite easy so the added challenge is nice, even if it is of the "wrong" kind. Making the game slightly easier, before each boss the game usually gives you a potion which changes your color from red to green and allows you to be hit three times before losing a life rather than the standard one hit and your dead.

Don't get the idea that the game is straight action, there are some platforming parts added in for good measure. Thankfully, unlike most 3D games the jumping aspects are handled pretty well and camera angles never really come into play. I only had a little trouble on one jump in the whole game and even that was very minimal.2D fans, don't feel left out, this game even has a little something for us. The bonus levels in the game are actually levels from what I believe to be an old Ninja Jajamaru arcade game. It is of the simple but fun style. To tell you the truth, the bonus levels are my favorite part of the game.

For those of you who happen to own the Psx version I will do my best to explain the differences I noticed. The first thing you'll notice is the title screen. Gone is the majority of English and password option. Ninja Jajamaru kun for Saturn is almost completely in Japanese and features auto save rather than the out-dated password system. Another improvement with the Saturn version is the addition of a map ala Super Mario World. Before every level you are shown a map and you can choose which level to go to, you can even replay previous levels. The psx version played out more like Super Mario Bros. in that you went the the game level by level without the ability to replay previous levels. The stages are completely different in the Saturn version, it is like a whole new game. The graphics seem slightly better in the Saturn version. Plus the Psx version is completely missing the 2D bonus levels. So what is similar? The title and the FMV. The FMV is EXACTLY the same in both games, even though they are different games. Strange, huh?

The game controls great, response time is good. Overall, no problems with the control. The D-pad moves Jajamaru around(Forward, backward and strafing left and right) while the A Button performs your special attack. The B button performs your normal attack and the C button makes you jump. The L and R shoulders rotate you. In some stages L and R make Jajamaru slightly turn to the left or right while in others you completely face left or right. As expecting the game controls differently in the 2D bonus levels. The jumping can be a little floaty but otherwise it controls as well as the normal levels.

The graphics are pretty good. Nothing hinders the gameplay. It's on par with most Saturn 3D titles. Seeing as how the bonus levels are from an old arcade game it should be obvious to assume they don't look too well. FMV quality is average, a bit less than the psx version. Overall, graphics are nothing special.

I enjoyed the music and it really suits the mood of the game. It is sometimes repetitive but for the most part it is easy to listen to. Sound FX are the usual chings and booms. Don't expect authentic Ninja sounds here. For the most part the sound category is good but there is one small thing that annoys me to no end. During the loading sequence a short three second piece of music plays. This plays every time a level loads and can be quite nerve racking. Least they could've done was add more than one tune. You cannot ecscape it as it is also in the psx version.

Ninja Jajamaru Kun is about 95% import friendly. All the menus may be in Japanese but anyone who has played an import game before will easily be able to navigate them. A little trial and error and you are good to go. Import friendlieness is definitely not an issue when decideing on buying this game. It does not rely on story and you can basically just turn it on and play.

I'd love to say that it is oozing with replay value, but it's not. Once you beat it, thats it. On the plus side you can go back to the map and play your favorite stages again. There is nothing to earn, no secrets that I know of and apart from the final boss, the game is quite easy. However, there are quite a bit of stages to keep you busy. On the downside, some of them can be a tad short. Fun for the first time but don't expect much additional playtime.

Overall, I can recommend this game to those looking for a fun time but not much replay. Also, those who want a game that is "very Japanese" in nature, look no further than Ninja Jajamaru Kun. If you enjoyed the psx version, the Saturn version will not disappoint. It's a 3D Action/platformer that is low on challenge and replay but high on fun.

©2001 Ed Finnegan

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