Mini Ninjas

Mini Ninjas is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive, following a group of six ninjas who set out on a long and dangerous journey to save their land from an evil samurai warlord turning the animals into his personal minions and upsetting the balance of the world.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) As you may have guessed, the story is very basic, but it's aware of this, giving a simple story rather than a complex one.
 * 2) Though the game is made for children, it's not only for children as it could be fun and simple enough for adults as well with it's simple to learn gameplay, and mostly charming aesthetic and humor, which never feels like it's only for kids.
 * 3) Interesting graphical style which blends 3d models with an interesting painted style.
 * 4) Fun gameplay, allowing you to block and dodge enemy attacks as well as using disposable weapons like bombs and shurikens against enemies if the close combat proves too challenging. You can also find plants to craft your own bombs and potions that help in a wide variety of ways.
 * 5) Each of the characters have their own weapons and special moves as well as animations for climbing, rowing the boat (using your massive hat) and so on. You can also go stealthy to insta-kill any enemies.
 * 6) * Hiro, the main character and least experienced, uses a simple katana, but is also the only one who can use Kuji magic and cast spells. His special move allows him to mark and insta-kill enemies very quickly.
 * 7) * Futo is the biggest and slowest of the group, using a hammer to take down bigger and tougher enemies. His special move gives him a temporary boost to immunity and his attack power.
 * 8) * Suzume uses a flute which she can use to entrance enemies to dance and leave them open to insta-kill.
 * 9) * Shun uses a bow and arrow to take enemies out at a distance, his special move is a firework arrow that can take out multiple enemies at once.
 * 10) * Tora literally thinks he's a tiger and uses makeshift claws on his hands, his special move allows him to dash ahead fast and use a spinning claw attack to take out multiple enemies.
 * 11) * Kunoichi uses a spear which allows her to be on even ground with spear-wielding enemies and has a special move where she spins for an extended period of time and can take out any nearby enemies.
 * 12) Hiro, speaking of him, can also use a spell to take control of animals, even bears and boars to actually take out enemies.
 * 13) Levels are very non-linear, with plenty of different ways to explore and lots of collectibles to find, like Jizo statues, plants, and Kuji shrines to give Hiro new abilities. There's many different ways to explore an area like using your boat (again, your hat), climbing up places, going through secret areas, and climbing across ropes. This all helps to prolong the game, and still make it fun.
 * 14) You unlock a short for each of the character's personalities and backstories as you unlock them in the game.
 * 15) The way the enemies say "minininininini ninjas!" when they see you.
 * 16) The playable characters speak Japanese, which is a nice touch.
 * 17) Interesting soundtrack which is peaceful and intense when it needs to be.
 * 18) There's a sort of leveling up system, which increases as you defeat more enemies and gives you extra health, attack power, and Ki (for Kuji magic)

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The voice acting in English is pretty subpar by comparison, and some have pretty fake sounding Japanese accents.
 * 2) Most of the boss fights, while they can be fun, are mostly quick-time events. Also, you can only play as Hiro during them, which is a bit of a missed opportunity.
 * 3) The game is pretty easy, even on hard mode.
 * 4) Some of the humor can feel a little too childish, like the boss Windy Pants, take a guess how he fights you.
 * 5) While the animated series was decent, it somewhat doesn't appeal that much towards adults unlike this game and others.

Trivia

 * 1) Hiro is the only character who came to Ninja Mountain not as a baby, he was a young child who went there by himself.
 * 2) It's implied that Hiro and Suzume have a mutual crush on each other as Hiro has a portrait of her (and only her) in his house, and Suzume mentions Hiro in her idle animations at times.