Lots of games make you feel like a badass. Saints Row IV let me run up buildings, Megaton Rainfall let me fly around like Superman, entirely impervious to damage and with abilities that could (accidentally, oops!) knock down entire cities, and Skyrim made me so powerful I could literally shout enemies to death and absorb the souls of dragons! On the other end of the spectrum are games like Save the Ninja Clan, games where everything wants you dead and a single touch does the trick. Lasers, enemies, saws, water, other-colored liquids, homing rockets and even bosses will annihilate you repeatedly throughout these 33 levels, and if your controller (or entire Switch console in my case) survives the trip then you’ll have saved two whole ninjas from your clan and taken out your foe!
As a whole, the game reminded me of Saving Private Ryan. The game may have nothing to do with WWII, but much like the movie it felt a bit crazy throwing dozens of ninjas – hundreds, even – at saving each single ninja at the end of each world. It’s worth mentioning that I’ve never played Super Meat Boy and find myself driven insane by games like Dark Souls, so while I do enjoy games that present a challenge I’m not well versed with brutally hard games. Save the Ninja Clan, without a shadow of a doubt, is one of those games. It becomes even more brutally difficult when you go after the collectible in each level, or ramp up the game’s speed in the options and try to speedrun each level for better ratings! That difficulty ends up hysterical when you finally finish a level though: you’re presented with a replay that shows your successful run as well as every failed attempt all at once.
Save the Ninja Clan is broken up into three worlds, and each world is made up of ten levels and a boss level. Aside from the boss level, each level can be done in any order you wish, but since each level builds on the previous with skills and obstacles it’s definitely recommended to do them in order at least the first time. Levels are mostly quite short, but as you progress further and further in the game it becomes more and more frustrating to get almost all the way through a level and then die. Personally I was only able to get about halfway through world two, but I ended up watching a series of YouTube videos to see what the rest of the game was like. Not only were the levels ridiculously difficult, it was hysterical to watch DirpyDirt work his way through them. In fact, for anyone with any interest in the game and who doesn’t care about spoilers for the game, I HIGHLY recommend checking the videos out.
What I really liked about Save the Ninja Clan was that there are lots of secrets. Around half of the levels have a hidden glitch that you can utilize to alternatively complete the level and infuriate the Game Manager. These are cool little puzzles and can be quite hilarious. Many of these are easier than completing the level the proper way, but at least one is actually much harder. They can even lead to a secret ending!
I try not to mention price when discussing a game; in the end something is either fun or it isn’t, regardless of whether it’s $20 or $2. Save the Ninja Clan is an exception – the game is only a buck on Steam, $3 on PS4/PS Vita and Xbox One and only $5 on Switch. For that price, this really is quite a solid game, even if it is brutally difficult. I never felt like I died a cheap death due to bad controls or design, though, and for people who like punishment this’ll be right up your alley!
Save the Ninja Clan is available for Switch (reviewed), PS4, PS Vita, Xbox One, and Steam (Windows, Mac, Linux)
I received a free copy of this game in exchange for my honest opinion.