Ninjatown? Didn’t that come out like two months ago? Erm, well, yes. This review is a little late. What can I say? Ninjatown is a game worth savoring. These ninjas may be all tiny and cute, but they are also responsible for the best strategy game to hit the DS in the past year. For all of the style oozing from this title, there is just as much substance.

Want to know more? Keep on reading, my stealthy little friends.

The first thing that any player is going to notice about Ninjatown is the artwork. Yes, this is probably true about every single game in the world, but ex-EGMer Shawn Smith’s distinctive ninjas are just dripping with saccharine style. These characters are so utterly cute that you want to puke, but you can’t deny that they have an irresistible charm. I don’t know what it is about tiny little ninjas, but I just want to cuddle them (and throw them at the throat of my foes).

These ninja may be adorable, but Ninjatown is not restricted to the toddler set. There’s more to the style than the mindless cuteness espoused by so many generic anime games. There is also this sense of self-awareness, a certain cleverness that really comes through in the writing. Whether it’s a pop-culture reference or a ninja who explains enemy tactics with pie charts and slides, the writing always left a smile on my face. You can’t help but love the dim-witted mayor and the previously mentioned presentation ninja. Yes, the storyline is not exactly what you would call mature, but I think adults will get more out of the dialogue than the younger generation.

I’ll admit, I was fooled by Ninjatown. At first glance, I expected something kind of kiddie; something that was all cute and no challenge. I was dead wrong. Ninjatown is definitely not a case of style over substance. The gameplay is pure, classic tower defense. What does that mean? You have some kind of central point - a wall, an important building, or an exit point on the map. Demons march in from at least one of the entrances and follow a road right up to this important spot. Your goal is to stop wave after wave of these demons before they break through your defenses.

It’s a simple formula that isn’t quite so simple in practice. You have a limited number of cookies (your standard resource) to build ninja huts out of, so placement is utterly critical. There are always at least two entrances, usually more, only making that placement harder. Not only do you have to put your ninjas in the right place, but you have to be prepared for multiple types of demons. Some are fast, but weak. Others are slower, but won’t go down without a fight. Some of these demons can even fly, rendering them immune to melee attacks.

Luckily, you too have multiple ninjas to fight with. Your basic ground units are the black and orange ninjas. Black ninjas are your generic unit: cheap to build and average in every stat. Orange ninjas do more damage, but they are slower than their black counterparts. The green ninja comes armed with a slingshot to deal with those air units. Others, like the white ninja have some sort of support function. The white ninjas have an unlimited supply of snowballs, which don’t do much in the way of damage, but they do slow enemies down. If you have a few extra cookies, you can spend them to upgrade your units or build support towers to boost certain traits.

Once you begin, waves of demons will strike. You’ll get a small break between waves, but don’t count on much breathing time. These peaceful seconds are your opportunity to build new huts or upgrade existing troops. As levels get more complicated, these breaks are never enough. To make things a tad bit easier, you’re given special powers and ninja tokens. These “god” powers have some small effect that can turn the entire tide of battle in your favor. Some of these abilities include a small time freeze, a gust of wind to blow down foes, and a laser that melts demons in its path. Of course, the use of these powers is strongly limited. A power gauge slowly fills as you defeat demons, and any use of these powers will deplete it. Ninja tokens give you similar powers, like emitting a cloud of gas that slows down enemy units. You can use a token at any time during any battle, but it’s a one time event. Use that token and it’s gone. Every time that you complete a battle, you’ll get the chance to win a new token.

The difficulty is definitely worth noting. The first few levels are definitely misleading. They are never exactly easy, but they lull you into a false sense of security before the game pulls the rug out from under you. I’ll repeat myself: this game gets hard. Hard, but never frustrating. You’ll realize exactly what your mistake was, and you’ll do just a little bit better the next time. Even when you get crushed, it’s hard not to immediately want to try again. Mastering Ninjatown requires careful unit positioning, perfect timing when building new huts, and meticulous spacing of your ninja powers. Even then, getting an “A” on some of the later levels requires, well, ninja-like prowess.

Ninjatown has all of the makings of a sleeper hit. It has a charming aesthetic and witty dialogue, backed up by addictive gameplay. It’ll never be a sales smash, but it would be a crime for any armchair general to ignore such a great portable strategy game. Even if you can’t stomach the saccharine little ninjas, try to look past the cutesy graphics and embrace one of the deepest tower defense games out there.

Positives: Deep addictive gameplay, well-written dialogue, clean visuals
Negatives: Difficulty may frustrate casual players

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