Published by Ratalaika Games for $5.99, Ninjori Echoes is a 2D puzzle platformer with a gimmick – the player needs to create and maintain shadow clones to activate switches, reach new heights, and to plan for combat. Gameplay is much more Braid as opposed to Ninja Spirit as a quick comparison.
Every stage is designed around the shadow cloning feature. Unfortunately, it gets complicated quickly as the player needs to know when and where to position each shadow. While the obvious choice is to place a clone on all switches, this isn’t case. Often times, a switch might open a pathway but then close another, sometimes off screen. The puzzles are never overly dastardly but some are much more tedious and mind bending than others.
Part of the problem comes from the rating system. In order to earn a perfect 3-star grade, the player needs to reach the goal, which is done by defeating every enemy within that stage, but also do it within a strict time limit. Since most stages range from a medium to higher challenge, there is little to no chance a stage can be cleared with three stars on the first attempt. This means it is best to just play the stage at a normal pace to figure out the answer, then tediously restart to duplicate the solution faster. This is a cheesy way to artificially increase replay value and doesn’t make the game more fun. At least the hub keeps track of the progress of each stage so the player can identify what needs to be done at a glance.
The 2D pixel presentation has been created with care and moves fluidly but the bubbling whoosh sound effect that triggers with each jump and cloning action gets maddening quickly since you’ll be hearing it more often than not. Plus, the cloning feature is finicky. Shifting through multiple clones, then having to delete some at will, is confusing at best since all the triggers and shoulder buttons do something different. The most annoying part comes from the action of each clone. When cloning yourself, the ninja always spawns with a front facing leap forward. Meaning, if not careful, you will spawn yourself right into an insta-death pit or enemy. Sure, stage design takes this into consideration, like sometimes it is necessary to spawn and bounce off the wall immediately, but it needlessly complicates everything. Why can’t the clone just spawn standing still, you know, where I want him to be?
Each stage also contains a secret collectable coin. Collect enough and new abilities can be unlocked from the frog shop in the hub world so there is some worthwhile reward in searching for each one. In time, the player will face boss battles and will unlock more alter egos. Just keep in mind, more clones equal more challenging puzzles. It might only take a few hours to clear all the stages but there were a couple of times I rage quit for days out of frustration; juggling switches to unlock specific doors in a specific order can be painstaking instead of fun sometimes. However, Achievement hunters might want to take note as all 1,000 gamerscore can be unlocked by only needing to complete about 1/3 of the quest.
Ninjori Echoes has its heart in the right place but the few rough patches and odd design choices ultimately hold back the fun factor. By no means is this a bad puzzle platformer but its overall approach and difficulty spikes confusingly throttles the entertainment value.
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
X/Twitter: @ZackGaz
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RATING
OUR SCORE - 6.5
6.5
SCORE
Ninjori Echoes is a puzzle platformer about cloning yourself to overcome environmental hazards but a few odd missteps result in frustrating moments that are not forgivable.