The game I played most this week: Mystical Ninja

Puzzle: Mystical Ninja

It's really interesting how no one today seems capable of releasing a fighting game that does a really good job of replicating those combat games from the 80s. It really shouldn't be that complicated after all, since those games were really about nothing more than running, punching, and kicking.

They were about as repetitive and mindless as you could get, even back at the time, but they were still fun. Most modern attempts to recreate these games, however, fall prey to the Pocket PC's input capabilities and lack of ergonomics. As such, these games tend to be limited to having one basic attack, so they end up being frustrating and not much fun. 

Such is the case with Mystical Ninja, which is yet another example of the spirit being willing, but the execution being weak. The game does have good atmosphere behind it and even some dialogue to move the action along. Graphics aren't too bad either, although they don't display quite right on my Axim.

I think it has something to do with the fact that it's displaying lower-resolution graphics and a VGA screen: the visuals don't scale properly, and they're cramped at the top of the screen. This also makes the text that displays at the beginning of the game to blur as it's rolling through. 

While this obvious glitch is annoying but tolerable, the game play is where Mystical Ninja really stumbles. Basically, you get just one attack (although bonuses are available that will make you more powerful). Hard to describe, but it's sort of a power-move that makes you move quickly toward your enemies and knocking them out. Not a bad gimmick, but that's pretty much all you get. Anyone who's watched a kung fu movie knows that martial arts have dozens, if not hundreds, or moves.

Sure, movies aren't that realistic, but neither are video games, and a ninja, mystical or no, with only one basic move just doesn't hold water. Another aggravating factor is that your guy doesn't move all that quickly, either, which is a problem once the enemies start piling up (remember that this is the old style of fighting game, where just sort congregate around your character in a herd).  

The combination of all these issues makes the game a little hard to get into. A fighting game like this needs a character who can at least punch and kick. After that, it would be even better if he (or she, for that matter), could also have some control over the direction of the attacks (high kicks, low kicks, etc.)  Such control would allow for some strategy and would make the game seem more of a contest of skill instead of throwing the same basic attacks over and over again, hoping you'll hit something.

We don't really need all the fancy power-ups and combos... at this stage, we just need a game that focuses on the basics and delivers. I know we're talking about a fairly limited platform in terms of arcade gaming, but I'm positive better results can be achieved that where we are now. 

I don't mean to be too hard on Mystical Ninja--it's not the worst fighting game out there. However, despite its good graphics and reasonable attempt at having a plot, it suffers from the same basic problems as other arcade games.

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Allen Gall's The Week in Games  Copyright © 2007 by Thaddeus Computing Inc.