Ninja JaJaMaru-kun

released on Nov 15, 1985
by Jaleco

The game stars the brother of Ninja-kun (from Ninja-Kid). Princess Sakura has been kidnapped by Damazu-Dayuu, and because Ninja-Kun is away on a journey, the task falls to young JaJaMaru-kun.

In the game, the player starts with three lives and can only run, jump and throw shurikens. The game is divided into stages, each with four floors and eight enemies. Sakura-Hime and Damazu are placed, unreachable, at the top of the screen. Enemies use various projectiles, one of which will cause the player to lose a life. If JaJaMaru-kun lands on top of an enemy, it will simply be temporarily stunned and vice versa. Once an enemy is defeated and offscreen, a spirit will appear and ascend to the top of the screen. It can be collected before it has disappeared to receive points, which vary depending on the enemy. Sakura will sometimes drop petals that the player can collect, and Damazu will sometimes run around, dropping bombs. To advance to the next stage, the player must defeat all eight enemies by using shurikens.

Some bricks yield items. They include:

A cart that temporarily makes JaJaMaru-kun invincible and faster. Projectiles and enemies will also be destroyed if touched.
A bottled substance that makes JaJaMaru temporarily invincible and able to walk through enemies.
A red ball that increases speed.
Bombs (which must be avoided).
Coins that yield various amounts of points.
An extra life.

If all three types of power-ups are collected, Gamapa-kun, a giant frog, will be summoned, which is completely invincible and able to eat all enemies. If three of Sakura's petals are collected, the player will go to a bonus stage in which JaJaMaru-kun is on the bottom and Damazu at the top. Damazu drops bombs, and the player throws shurikens upward. If the player manages to hit Damazu, bonus points are awarded. If the JaJaMaru-kun is hit by a bomb, he goes on to the next stage.


Reviews View More

Played on Nintendo Switch.
A cute little game that I really enjoyed for my short playtime of it. The fluidity of the jumps work quite well since it's programmed for you to always make the gaps (within reason), which provides a more relaxing and less frustrating experience when compared to the other NES games on NSO.
This game does border on being too easy to the point where I just didn't see a point in continuing after a certain point since it felt like I mastered the game very quickly. Very simple, but it works for a short session every now and then.
I'm giving it 3 stars, but it is bordering on 2.5.

It’s okay. I like the vibe but not the gameplay

Cute little game! Checked it out through the NSO library. Can be a little bullshitty with the AI suddenly getting pissed off and spamming projectiles, and sometimes doing nothing at all.
After a while levels just repeat so, as soon as you see the pink Tofu guy show up, you can pretty much consider it beaten.
I'll have the main theme stuck in my had for a while lmao

Sem muito design variado, Ninja Jajamarukun é um action plataformer simplório e bem sólido no gênero arcade.
A temática é bem trabalhada, mas a variedade de level design é mínima, com bastante repetição da mesma mecânica.

Semplicemente un gioco imbarazzante, stupido e con un concept identico a quello del primo Donkey Kong. Non ha un finale, non si sente il senso di progressione e, a parer mio, funziona meglio come anti stress o gioco del cazzo da fare mentre si parla con qualcuno (quindi con 0 impegno).