Ninja Issen (忍者一閃)

AWESOME OST. (as good as video on store page) Great pixel art and style. Smooth. Balanced (not too punishing, not too easy) I thought the full price might have been a bit high but it's perfect where it stands. Some hitboxes seem larger or last longer than they look, but most are done well. edit: Forgot to mention the camera isn't the best for placement but it's more cinematic.

Ninja Issen is a stylish, fast-paced action platformer developed by ASTEROID-J and published by CFK Co., Ltd., and it immediately distinguishes itself through its striking retro-futuristic identity. Set in a world that blends traditional shinobi mysticism with neon-lit cyberpunk machinery, the game follows a lone ninja thrust into a violent technological uprising. Instead of relying on lengthy exposition, the story unfolds through atmosphere—ominous stage design, looming mechanical threats, and fleeting character interactions that hint at a fractured society struggling to reconcile ancient warrior ideals with cold industrial logic. It’s the kind of narrative setup that doesn’t overwhelm players with lore, but provides enough thematic tension to give each level meaning and mood. The gameplay focuses primarily on high-speed traversal and skill-based combat, echoing classic 16-bit action platformers while adding modern responsiveness and polish. Movement feels slick and empowering—wall running, double jumps, air dashes, and quick evasive maneuvers allow players to maintain momentum, and mastering that mobility becomes just as important as learning enemy attack patterns. Combat is a b…

Sadly I cannot recommend this Ninja game at all. It's an 8-Bit style retro game which is heavily based of the old classics from the Nes/Master System era. Whilst the comic sections are nice I found the rest of the game very lacking in style, polish, substance or fun. It's an OK game but in all honesty I could recommend so many other better ninja games than this one. A full review can be seen here : https://youtu.be/gZX8qLMeguk?si=EphaZqWwZw-Sko-l

Fun little action platformer (similar to some classics of the genre), with some nice ideas, but on the easier side. The game is very forgiving , has a lot of checkpoints and isn't punishing at all. While the overall art and spritework is nice, I have some issues with it in several levels. Sometimes there is to much on sceen, it's not clear what background, forground and what are projectiles. Also the bosses while most are very easy because you can just spam your specials, design wise most need better telegraphing. Like that you can design more interesting fights. And the camera... while it received an update with the latest patch, there still a bunch of blind jumps. I like the game for what it is. If you get it cheap and can live with some of the issues, you can have fun for 2-3 hours (+ hard mode, time trails for individuell levels etc). Bonus: The game still recieves updates, almost 2 years after the release. Support your indie dev.

This game needs an art director really bad, it's hard to tell what's a wall and what's background. The mechanics feel really stiff and have no juice. The screen scrolling is messed up and results in a lot of needless damage and deaths just because you can't see anything. That said, there's 60% of a great game here. I wish they'd make it 100% but I don't think that's going to happen.

Clunky controls, poor iconography, poor level design