If I need to talk about a game that "was a big part of your collection but nobody even kmows about it", Mini Ninjas is that title for me. I replayed this little gem over and over again and really enjoyed everything that this title got to offer.
It a mostly standard linear platformer with some actions put into it, but its also the combination of many fun things: the ability to get multiple characters, all with different playstyles; the wide collectibles and spells that enlarges your techniques in really creative way, the artstyle that creates both incredibly charming scenery but it's also able to create more stunning and sometimes creepy moments (the cemetery levels took me by surprise at the time). Not to mention that you can approach some sections as you want, either by going full on attack or trying to sneak through the enemy lines.... "it's like in metal gear or smt I dunno"

I remember spending ours on the cooler levels at midnight, trying to sneak on enemies either by taking control of the animals and turning into a rabbit, or just following the troops before backstabbing them.

Honestly it doesn't do anything stunning: it's just a simple idea with a simple but charming and solid execution. But honestly I respected that simplicity at the time, and still made me enjoy it.
It's not like the most revolutionary adventure around and it won't change your life, but it still a fun, overlooked little gem from the time it came out.

Mini Ninjas is one of the most endearing games I've ever played in my entire life, and I can't for the life of me explain why it has an average rating on 2.9 here. Such a fun and soothing experience, this game is.

Strolling around through these gorgeous environments, hearing the little steps of your character, listening to the winds and the calming music, before plunging yourself into battles that feel genuinely epic is a great experience, again, thanks to all the music. Honestly, the score and general sound design might be one of my favourite parts of Mini Ninjas. They do a lot of heavy lifting in elevating the fairly shallow combat and giving power to moments like crossing a raging river, or fighting a squad of goons in the mountains.

Another thing I liked about this game is just how hecking cute it is. All your ninjas have their own quirks both in control and in visuals (i especially liked the tiger boy), and all the animals are animated wonderfully. But cute is not all that Mini Ninjas has: some parts are genuinely creepy or intimidating. The bosses are real scary, especially as I was playing the game at 10 y/o. The cemetary level is still chilling and eerie, too. And in general, this game is full of emotions. Really worth checking it out.

Mini Ninjas is probably the most underrated game I've ever played. There's so much to love about this game from its fun gameplay, awesome levels, and gorgeous scenery. One of my childhood favorites and I love coming back to replay it every few years.

Gameplay:
Mini Ninjas has you exploring many massive levels to gather items, find collectibles, and fight enemies. The main objective in each level is to get from point A to point B, but it is never straightforward. The main challenges you'll face are the enemies and the terrain. The enemies can either be snuck around or fought head-on. The game gives you a sizable variety of tools to help occomplish this, sometimes crafted with the materials you can find by exploring. The terrain in each level can be treacherous. You'll be jumping and wallrunning over chasms or riding a boat down a dangerous waterfall. The gameplay can be incredibly thrilling, but also calming. Oftentimes in levels there are quiet moments that encourage you to slow down and take in the scenery. You can stop to craft, fish, look around, pick up materials. It's a gameplay loop that really makes Mini Ninjas an awesome experience.

Combat is a fairly big part of Mini Ninjas. The game gives you multiple characters to play as through the game, each with their own weapons and ultimate moves, but you'll mostly be playing as the main guy, Hiro. Hiro can find spells hidden around the levels to cast. Some are used for stealth but most are devastating attacks to use in combat. They help add some variety in the otherwise buttom-mashy battles. Speaking of variety, this game has a fair amount in its enemy types. You'll be fighting basic enemies in the beginning but over time more are introduced, often with unique methods of taking them down. They can really change the dynamic of the battles. The bosses are really good too, providing greats tests of skill. That being said, the combat can feel repetitive by the end.

Story:
Mini Ninja's story is simple but compelling. Hiro is tasked by his sensei to rescue the land from a powerful sorcerer who is raising a samurai army by capturing animals to turn into his mindless soldiers. The devastation this army has caused can be seen in each level you visit. The game really does make you feel like you are fighting back against some powerful force. The length of the journey also helps it all feel very epic.

Sound and visuals:
From what I remember, the sound design was solid so I don't have much to say there. However, the music is awesome. It can be atmospheric and beautiful, but also intense and foreboding. It's nothing I'd listen to outside of the game's context, but it is memorable.

The visuals in this game are stellar. The UI is really solid. The environments are large, varied, and downright gorgeous. The lighting is really nice. The character designs are charming and adorably stylized. Still not quite as smooth as other games from the era but still incredible nonetheless.

Conclusion:
Like I said in the beginning, there's a lot to love about Mini Ninjas. I've never played another other game with such a gigantic journey through equally gigantic environments. Though I don't actually know how easy it would be to get a hold of this game in 2022, I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for an action-adventure game that's brimming with atmosphere, full of places to explore, and packed with solid gameplay.

Overall Mini Ninjas is a really fun and cute game, but there are some major flaws that stops it from being what it should be.

-Gameplay is simple and really fun specially the special attacks. But there is a problem, there are too many things. Too many magics and too many characters, some of which I never even used/played as. The main character is so buffed you wouldn't need to play as any other except maybe the big one and the archer one. It would have been much better if the magics were spread evenly.

-Graphics are great. It is designed to be cute and cartoonish so it stands up fantastically. But again, there is a big problem. The snowy missions are HORRIBLE, and they are a big part of the game (about one third of it). You can't see anything, everything is SO white it hurts your eyes.

-The story is a simple "Evil Warlord and The Chosen One" story. I only have one question about it, why the fuck didn't the ninja master send the ninjas as a team and instead sent them one by one to get lost. Sound design and voice acting is great btw.

-Level design is mostly good, but sometimes it's confusing specially the snowy missions (because everything looks the same) and the paths that lead to the crow (the one who sells recipes).

So after the ps2 i went over to the xbox side of stuff with the OG xbox and the 360
It wasn't until earlier this year i was able to get a PS3 back and started playing through some of the titles i missed and one of those games, Mini Ninja's!

I was pleasantly surprised when i played Mini Ninja's, It was a fun, chill game with the first playthrough being on Hard mode (which was still quite easy)

So the gameplay is fun, It's smooth, the combat is nice and you can play as 6 different characters (once unlocked) and a different weapon on each character. You collect red orbs aswell which allow you to use that characters special move which can wipe out a group of enemies should you get a little overwhelmed.

I did however find sneaking up on enemies for stealth kills a bit of a pain with using the trigger to sneak and at some points it rolled even though the enemies were unaware of me.
The boss fights are okay, no hard at all and don't really rely on player skill until the final boss, the rest of them are main getting the boss to hit a certain area and then pressing the buttons it shows, the final boss is alot more fun.

This game also has collectables that you can find being Shrines, Plants, Caged animals, Coins and spells, most of these are usually hidden in plain sight and easy to find but for the spells you can use a magic power that will show you where that shrine is on the level and lead you there, all you have to do is find the white flower needed to activate it.

You can also use your spirit power to take the form of animals around you which not only shows you locations of plants with a bad aroma like someone farted on them before hand but you can also be a boar/bear which you can use to attack enemies but once you get hit you lose that form and have to reattach to it again.

I'll be honest i was paying attention to the story for the first couple levels but eventually i kinda didn't care and just kept playing because fighting the Ninja's was fun and i wanted to see if hard mode actually was a challenge or not.

I definitely would recommen this game though even if it is meant for a younger audience it's still a fun little slashing game and the platinum isn't difficult really either and it's only 12-15 hours too

Artstyle, humor, environments, shrines, sailing through lakes and rivers with a bowl, etc; all were enjoyable for me. This game has neat moments like when you try to fish that giant koi and it drags you around a flooded village. In these areas, the game feels solid and polished, so far so good.

However, I was expecting this to be a game big on stealth (ninjas and all that), but it isn't, at all. There's even a dedicated sneak button that I rarely used. So you have to fight aggressively if you want to actually have some fun with this game (and level up your character), since you will end up getting caught easily by all the samurai on the whole damn map at the same time anyways. Turning into animals is cute and all but samurai still spot you easily if you get even remotely close, and most animals are incredibly slow so not really an option for exploration as maps are huge.

And, there were too many spells and playable characters cluttering things up. You don't need to use any characters besides the main one and the hammer dude (for bear samurai). The game doesn't challenge you with any difficult or interesting enemies or scenarios to justify the huge amount of options.

Encountering the exact same squad of samurai for the 100th time gets old really really fast, no matter how many items or spells or characters or gimmicks you throw at it. I didn't enjoy any of that, I think most levels could've been scrapped entirely to have a more quick but focused progression. Some levels just drag on and on and on and it made me want to just drop the game and never play again a couple times. I didn't dislike boss encounters as I found the bosses themselves to be creative, however you beat all of them with quick time events except the last one (at least)

If they focused on maybe 2 characters only and polished up the enemies, stealth and mechanics (more types of samurai, all characters can use a few spells exclusive to each one, players are able to set up elaborate traps for samurai, catch them through tall weeds one by one, create mirages, turn dangerous wild animals against them, etc) it would've been a good game worth remembering.

As it stands, the game left me feeling lukewarm on some areas, and frustrated and disappointed in all others. I was expecting something much more special mechanic and stealth-wise when I catched a glimpse of this game on youtube years and years ago.

I get many people played it and loved it back in the day, but right now, I don't recommend it at all.

Coming back to Mini Ninjas years after I first played it back during the PS3 era, I'm greatly impressed at how well this game has held up. What makes it so appealing to me and what made me want to come back to Mini Ninjas is its gorgeous art style and atmospheric sound design.

What comes off as a chibi, children-catered ninja adventure game turns out to be a beautifully crafted and creative stealth experience that as I mentioned, was a blast to play through even as an adult. Many instances throughout the game are intense and eerie, while others are action packed or stealthy.

With loads of spells, weapons, items, and multiple characters, this game offers a wide variety of player freedom leading to endless outcomes and options to any obstacle standing in your way.

Mediocre game. The Wii has some really nice platformers, but once you've finished the acclaimed games you really start to scrape the bottom of the barrel. While this is an adequate platformer with an enchanting art style, the game mechanics and level design are the setback. You can play as six different characters by the end of the game, but only two of them are useful. The navigation system uses the D-pad of the Wii remote which is quite frustrating because you're constantly go through menus to select items. The amount of potions and spells you can get is overkill because the game is too easy. Throughout the game, you will upgrade to get more health, better attack combos, and more energy, but the enemies aren't scaled to the increased power. So, fighting enemies gets redundant. The levels are too big. I lost track of the times I'd follow a secret path only to not be rewarded at the end. The scenery and design made it enjoyable to play, but it's not one I'll be revisiting.

Best Parts:
• Finding shrines
• Stage before the final boss
• Snow levels

Replay? - No

Кто бы мог подумать, что студия, известная по играм про киллера, повстанцев и наёмников, неожиданно для всех вывалит на геймерский суд с виду непритязательную побрякушку про детей, возомнивших себя ниндзя в сказочном мире cтраны восходящего солнца? Говорят, не суди книгу по обложке. Но я уверен, что IO Interactive рассчитывали именно на обратное, сделав эту самую обложку как можно более вводящей в заблуждение, лишь бы их новое творение с куда более экспериментальным подходом не ставили в один ряд с ранее упомянутым послужным списком, тем самым взвалив на плечи проекта аутсайдера как можно меньше ответственности, при этом дав вполне себе в меру творческой свободы в рамках скромного бюджета.
Мини Ниндзя представляет из себя очень медитативную экшен-песочницу, где прежде чем пробежать очередной уровень сквозь чередующиеся кучки противнков, тебе куда интереснее будет познать все свои возможности посредством даже наименее полезных механик, как, например, возможность превратиться в курицу и снести яйцо. Игра крайне простая, но незамысловатой её явно не назовёшь, и над разветвлением гибкости мышления игрока постарались вполне славно. Приведу пару основных примеров. Что в твоих руках для нанесения урона? Атака по умолчанию, одна из многих атак за счёт маны, особая атака кокретно выбранного героя, атака расходными снарядами, атака в теле одержимого зверя и т. д. Что в твоих руках для восполнения здоровья? Можешь посвятить долю своего времени на поиски ресурсов, купить у продавца рецепт элексира и крафтить его за счёт необходимых ресурсов. Можешь найти хорошее место для рыбалки и полакомиться суши. Можешь найти и обобрать куст или дерево с лакомыми ягодами и фруктами. И такого вариативного добра здесь просто навалом.
Это яркий пример развеивания узколобого мышления, твердящего о заведомо примитивной сущности продукции, в первую очередь направленной на детскую аудиторию. Ни в коем случае малолетний потребитель не оправдывает халатное отношение великовозрастного творца развернуться на данном ему поприще, каким бы идейно ограниченным оно ни было. Суть игры можно уложить в одно предложение, но это не подразумевает по умолчанию заложенную в неё игровую импотенцию, обрамлённую в банальную кликер-бродилку. Напротив, энтузиазм игры прямо пропорционален тому, что вы сами вкладываете в её прохождение. Будь это скорая пробежка от начала до конца, освобождение каждой клетки со зверюшками от множественных надзирателей или и вовсе неспешное прохождение тише воды и ниже травы, с попутным поиском всего того, что не ровно лежит.
Но довольно с похвалой, Ведь Ioi не Ioi, не будь их игра хотя бы на пол ставки утомляющей мозготрёпкой. Учитывайте всё то, что я расписал прежде, но применяйте эти слова лишь к первой половине, ведь после неё весь мой энтузиазм сошёл на нет. Игра попросту излишне затянута, и тебе уже нет никакого дела не до зверюшек, не до самураев. ты просто хочешь домой. Дизайн каждой игры можно категоризировать на определённые времена года и природные условности, разделённые на несколько уровней. Но, ей Богу, совместив все эти категории однотипных уровней по одной целой секции, игра бы ничего не потеряла, ибо искусственно растянутое прохождение лишь притупляет все те впечатления, которые сама же дарует в свою первую пару часов. Не обошлось здесь и без технической инвалидности, ведь без стороннего вмешательства здесь начисто отсутствует музыка и тормозит игровой процесс, с чем сталкивались ещё на момент релиза.
Мои ощущения сравнимы с одноразовыми качелями, начиная от внезапного откровения в детской неожиданности, заканчивая усталым и разочарованным вердиктом об утраченном в никуда потенциале, c которым мало кто вообще знаком. Да, впрочем, и поделом ему.

Fun game with a lot of cool ideas and a great style. Swapping ninjas and using the powers is fun, so is wandering the open levels looking for shrines. Riding your hat down raging rivers, exploring snowy mountains, exploring temples and sneaking through the woods, there is a lot to like about this game. Unfortunately it does show it's age with some horrible boss fights, monster closets and some glitches. I could see a reboot making this game super good, it has a lot of good ideas and is worth checking out.

Despite never owning the game, I have fond memories of Mini Ninjas. In the summer of 2009, my brothers and I were dead broke, and spent our time playing demo after demo on the PS Store. The Mini Ninjas demo was surprisingly interesting - there were secrets, a well-controlled main character with lots of tools in his belt, systems of stealth and magic and multiple characters. For the longest time I considered it to be a potential hidden gem on my radar, but as I got older, I increasingly couldn't justify playing a older kid's game instead of whatever was newer, shinier, more interesting and complicated.

Enter 2022. I have acquired a Steam copy of Mini Ninjas for $2, and am bewildered to discover it was made by the B-Team at IO Interactive, known for making the best stealth games of the last 10 years. I relive the beginning stage - the same one that comprised the demo - and things felt as good as I remembered. It was simple, but fluid. I could imagine a younger version of myself, used to the clunky LEGO platformers and the like, being floored by the number of tools the player has to get through the semi-open stages. I feel as though I'm being set up for something wonderful off the beaten path...

But then the experience repeats. Again, and again. The same enemies, the same structures, the same environments to conquer appear and reappear, and I am inundated with more characters, more systems, more ninja tools, more powers and spells with nothing interesting to use them for. New enemy types are gradually revealed, but they have specific strategies required to defeat them that destroy the purpose of the vast toolkit. Bosses break up the monotony, but they are largely just quick-time events, totally divorced from all of the cool shit you're constantly being given. By the endgame, I have 5 party members, nearly 10 spells, and a half-dozen potions that I have never been required or even encouraged to try.

There really is something beating here. The environments are simple in structure but their openness and art direction are quite captivating. Traveling off of the beaten path is almost always rewarded. Stealthing through the landscape is a genuinely viable alternative to the vast majority of encounters. The samurai fortresses that punctuate the game's various acts are fairly complicated, with vertical geography and greater threats building tension the deeper you delve. Best of all, Hiro himself feels great to control, making his friends almost entirely redundant with his speed, spellcasting, and array of combat skills.

If the focus of development was on a more singular experience (akin to Tenchu, perhaps), where as much care was put into the challenges before the player as the systems that exist for their benefit, with even more routes to success and a greater need to dig deep into the bag of tricks, even if just for optional content, we're looking at a winner - one that could appeal to a wide range of players. What we got, however, is not that. Following Mini Ninjas, the team behind its development was absorbed into the main Hitman team as support staff, and to this day haven't been granted access to independent development again. It makes one wonder how things might have turned out had the opportunity been taken more seriously.