I can’t be the only person who thinks that ninjas are pretty cool, right? With stealthy movements, cool outfits, and deadly weapons, it’s hard not to get lost watching them in action. Over the years, we’ve seen many video games use ninjas in the most incredible ways, such as Ninja Gaiden, SEGA’s Shinobi, and Sabotage Studio’s The Messenger. In 2024, yet another fantastic ninja action-platformer is here in the form of Ninja Slayer: Neo-Saitama in Flames.
Fiery Presentation
Based on the Ninja Slayer hit manga that sold 4.4 million copies, Ninja Slayer: Neo-Saitama in Flames seeks to attract action-platformer fans with its fascinating presentation. When entering the game, you are already met with amazing title screen art while shinobi-like music plays in the background. This really sets the mood for what to expect going into the game, as you will be killing many ninjas along your way. Title screens are a great way to not only capture gamers right off the bat, but to also quickly showcase the vibe of the game. I think the developers did a good job here of doing that.
One thing that really stands out about this game’s presentation is the retro green monitor aesthetic in the main menu and victory screens. It’s reminiscent of how older computers and monitors utilized green texts with slow-moving horizontal lines across the screen. It really feels like the developers wanted to bring out that ’90s/’80s vibe that so many people love. It makes sense to go for this approach, considering that a lot of the cool ninja franchises, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ninja Gaiden, and Shinobi, all got big in the ’80s. It’s something small, but I appreciate any attempt to add a unique flare to the game.
On the topic of presentation, can we talk about how cool the cutscenes are? The interesting thing about this game’s cutscenes is that while the character models don’t actually move, everything else around them does. The characters instead do poses in reaction to certain parts of the conversation. It’s very similar to how you read a manga panel, and it’s even more apparent due to how the character models look like they come straight out of the manga. This is a very innovative way of making cutscenes, and I’m all for it.
Ninja Slayer: Neo-Saitama in Flames Gameplay
After finishing the tutorial for Ninja Slayer: Neo-Saitama in Flames, you will be dropped into the menu screen, where you see a vast amount of selections. In these selections are different areas that consist of a stage and a boss. You can enter any of these stages at any time, similar to the Mega Man games.
In these stages, you have different types of enemies: enemies that shoot, use swords, punch hard, and much more. You also have enemies that have different health values. The game greatly rewards you for memorizing enemy attack patterns so that you can survive long enough in the stage to get health items. However, beware, as enemies of different types can sometimes appear in groups. You must strategize your approach well so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. As you clear stages, you will acquire skills and boost your stats, so utilizing these improvements will help you in battle. Some skills can help you maneuver around a stage, while others can clear away enemies in a path.
But, of course, this game can be challenging for some players. No need to worry, though, as a few things are in place to help ease the challenge. Just like in most platformer games, there are checkpoints in each stage. If you ever die at any point, you will respawn to the last checkpoint you passed by. However, you still must play solid in the game because some checkpoints can take very long to reach. If you are near death, you will enter a powerful state for a limited time called “Naraku Mode”. In this state, you will do powerful damage and will be immune to attacks. Just remember that you won’t be in Naraku Mode for long and will still return to your low health. Regardless, the game really pushes players to play smarter and use their resources wisely.
A Personal Gripe
A very important thing to utilize in this game is the left/right controls to turn your character both ways. Getting some hits on your opponent and then running away when an attack is coming is an important strategy for some enemies. However, quickly turning your character around during battle can be hard. This is mainly because you can only move around in the game using the joystick on a controller rather than the D-Pad. To be fair, I think keyboard users might have an easier time with this, but players who plan on using PlayStation or Xbox controllers cannot customize their controller settings to help with this. This leads to my only problem with this game, which is some of the accessibility.
Accessibility and a Lack of Key Features
Unfortunately, this game does not have any graphics settings for users to customize. The performance you will experience in this game is what you will have for the rest of your playtime. This is very concerning because, according to the game’s system requirements posted on the Steam page, this game recommends quite a few strong requirements out of your PC. I’m really hoping that the developers add a graphics settings option quickly after the game’s release. People use different kinds of computers, so this should be something the developers take into consideration.
However, there are some great things about the accessibility of this game. In the start menu, there is a controller guide that reminds you of the mechanics and controls. This has been so useful for me because I sometimes forget the controls and mechanics I have equipped.
Also worth mentioning that the game is available in multiple languages:
- Japanese
- Italian
- English
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Traditional Chinese
- Simplified Chinese
- Deutsch
- French
- Korean
Overall, I think there are accessibility options here, but some important features are missing.
Level Design and Replayability
The level design in this game is pretty standard. Aside from being a side-scrolling action platformer, a lot of the stages have areas where you can wall jump, go under platforms, throw kunai at explosive bombs, and much more. Additionally, you can accomplish secret activities in the stages. These are called “Secret Missions,” and the stage victory screen will tell you if you completed it. Overall, this adds so much replayability to the game because you can keep replaying stages to get perfect scores and find the secret activities.
I never really felt bored playing through these stages because getting new skills over time would always make things exciting. Some older stages even required you to unlock some skills in the future to get to the secret areas. I think that if you’re someone who loves ninjas and action-platformers, this is a great game for you.
A Fantastic Game Lacking Important Accessibility Options
Ninja Slayer: Neo-Saitama in Flames is a genuinely great game! Despite the lack of accessibility options, this game works well as an action-platformer. With vibrant presentation, addicting gameplay, and a lot of replayability, purchasing this game is absolutely worth it. All this game needs is to give us graphics settings, control customizations, and it will be absolute FLAMES!
