Binging on Ninja Jajamaru!

Video game mascots come and go, and one such mascot that a lot of people have never heard of is Ninja Jajamaru.  Clad in red, this ninja boy was kind of the mascot for the now defunct game company Jaleco.  He appeared in mostly 8-bit games, but they span the range of genres from 2-D platformers to even RPGs!  I’ve read that some of these games were even planned to be released in the US under different names, like Ninja Kid, but I don’t remember ever seeing them.  Some of these titles could be played with the Nintendo Virtual Console service later on.  And if you’ve ever played Retro Game Challenge on the Nintendo DS, the Robot Ninja HaggleMan games are a parody of Ninja Jajamaru.  And now there are a couple of collections of Ninja Jajamaru titles you can download on the PS4 and Switch (reviewed on PS4 here).  You can also buy physical copies of some of these games via this link.  So let’s take a look at these collections!

The first collection goes under the title “Ninja Jajamaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Bonus.”  It houses pretty much most of the main titles in the series, excluding the RPGs (which we’ll go over later).  You select each game via a menu, and before you start, you can view the controls, but it only shows you what buttons correspond to the buttons on the old controllers.  I wish they did a better job of explaining how to play some of these games, but we’ll talk about those problems with each title.  One cool thing about these menus is that you can also activate cheats, like infinite lives and health and such.  And for some of these games, those cheats are a godsend as many of these games are super hard due to wonky gameplay and controls.  My only big problem with the menus is that once I started a game, I couldn’t figure out how to go back to the menu to select another one.  I had to actually stop the game entirely and go back to it from the dashboard.  Anyway, let’s take a look at the games on this collection.

Ninja Jajamaru (NES, 1985)

The first game in the series was more like an arcade game, as early Famicom games tended to be.  You could move in a small, two screen wide 2D field as you shot ninja stars at Japanese monsters, and picked up their souls for points.  You could move up and down levels in the stage by hitting certain parts from below.  When you beat al the enemies, you would move onto the next level.  It really had that early Famicom ‘jank’ to it, but it still had a bit of charm anyway.

Ninja Jajamaru’s Big Adventure (NES, 1986)

Probably due to Super Mario Bros’ popularity, the next game was more of a 2-D platformer.  You could still shoot ninja stars at enemies, and sometimes you would shoot them upwards to defeat a boss.  It still had that early Famicom ‘jank,’ too.  The cheats you can activate on the menu screen really help here.

Ninja Jajamaru: The Great World Adventure (Game Boy, 1990)

This black and white Game Boy game is also a 2-D platformer.  You travel around stages based on world locations like Japan, Romania, and even America to defeat enemies you’d find there, like Dracula in Romania and such.  This is one of those games that I wish told you more how to play in the menu, as I had trouble figuring out how to switch weapons.  There is also a DX version included on this collection that has color graphics like the Game Boy Color.

Ninja Jajamaru: Operation Milky Way (NES, 1991)

You can really tell this one came out after Super Mario Bros. 3 because the graphics are very cartoony and have that same style.  You can pick from Ninja Jajamaru or Princess Sakura, but I think they both play the same.  The game is set in space as you travel to different planets, and it has a sillier tone, too.  You have to press down to stomp enemies from above, and you have a spin dash move to jump higher.   But I wish the game menus still told you better how to play because I have no idea what the power-ups and letters you collect do.  I would say the cheats are helpful here but what kills you the most in this one is falling into pits.  The wonky controls just kept me from coming back.  I hear this was one of the games they almost brought to the US, as it’s fully translated here.

Super Ninja-kid (SNES, 1994)

I’m really glad this one’s on the collection because I love Super Nintendo games.  I don’t know if this came out over here, but it’s fully translated in English.  It’s like a cross between Super Bonk and Legend of the Mystical Ninja.  You can throw ninja stars and get new weapons every time you beat a boss.  Two players can play at the same time, too.  This is another game where I wish they told you better how to play, because I had no idea you could pick up enemies and toss them, and you have to do that to defeat one of the bosses.  The cheats are especially welcome here, as this one is super hard!  I wouldn’t have been able to beat this one without them!

And those are all the games on this collection.  The press release says it also has a game that came out in 2020 called Ninja Jajamaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell, but I didn’t see it in the menus.  But there was a bit of confusion with the review codes I got.  OK now let’s look at the next game collection:

Ninja Jajamaru: The Lost RPGs

The next collection only has two games, but they’re a lot meatier and longer.  You still select them from a menu, and luckily here you can open the menu at any time to switch games, unlike the other collection.  The cheats here are really cool.  You can do things like make enemies drop more experience points and gold, and refill your energy at any time.  Anyway, here are the games.

Ninja Jajamaru: Ninja Skill Book (1989)

This game plays most like Dragon Quest, or Dragon Warrior as it was called back then.  Ninja Jajamaru must travel an overworld and defeat single enemies in random turn based encounters.  You can have other people in your party, like Sakura.  As you level up, you’ll learn ninja magic skills like healing and such.  I read this was one of the games they were really planning on releasing in the US back then, and even changed some of the graphics to appeal to a Western audience.  And it’s fully translated, too.  It’s a bit slow and obtuse, as 8-bit RPGs tended to be, but fans of classic games like this should enjoy it anyway.

Ninja Jajamaru: The Legend of the Golden Castle (1990)

Now this one I’ve never heard of.  You view the action from overhead like the last game, and visit towns and travel a Mario style overworld map.  But the stages are more action based like Zelda!  You use a yo-yo as an attack and must explore dungeon mazes for key items.  It’s kind of neat, but also a bit hard since hit detection feels a little off, and it’s no where near as good as the first Zelda game.  But I was glad to learn about it.  And those are all the games!  I’m really glad I got to review these, and if you like obscure classics, you’ll want to play them, too!

Kid Factor:

Both collections are rated E-10 with ESRB descriptors of Fantasy Violence and Mild Language.  You shoot ninja stars and other weapons at cartoony enemies that fall off the screen with googly eyes when defeated.  Aside from the word “hell,” I didn’t notice any bad language.  Reading skill is needed for the text, and younger gamers may find them too difficult.

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