Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

There are plenty of iPhone games out there where you run nonstop from left to right and the only goal is to keep going at any cost, avoiding any obstacles in the way. These games are simplistic enough to provide an action game which can cope with the limited controls which the iPhone's touch-based interface allows for, while retaining enough challenge to keep it entertaining. Removing speed and direction of movement from the player's control can create a unique, fun, and fast-paced experience if done correctly. Unfortunately, Bloodshed Ninja misses the point entirely. It takes that simplistic gameplay style and tries to do a lot with it at once, without any of it feeling particularly well done. Combined with the ninja (main character) being extremely fragile, the result can be a very frustrating experience.

The controls themselves are easy enough to understand: touch the screen near your character to swing his (her?) sword and touch away from your character to jump. You are met with obstacles in the form of enemies and holes which you die instantly upon falling into and you have to run, jump, and slash your way to the end of the level. The problem with this system is that the game is far too unforgiving in the timing that it demands from the player. Swing your sword a split-second too early and it will miss the enemy, making your run right into them. Swing your sword a fraction of a second later and you will run into the enemy and miss them from the opposite side.

As far as I can tell, the hit box on your sword is far smaller than the size of the weapon would demand. This is the opposite problem enemy weapons face since I constantly felt like I was being hit by enemy arrows or fireballs when they were still a distance twice the size of them away from me, not to mention the annoyance that comes from enemies firing unavoidable projectiles at you when you're feet away from them. Jumping is similarly frustrating. Your speed and direction being set means that you have just as little control in the air as you do on the ground so your jump angle and distance is unchangeable. Since the level layout and enemy placement is randomized, it becomes a risk that you could (and often will) jump over an obstacle only to land directly on an enemy or in another hole. The combination of all this is a sometimes challenging, but mostly just frustrating experience.

I feel the gameplay is not nearly as polished as it should be and if it were, Bloodshed Ninja could be far more fun than it is. Unfortunately, the gameplay being so lackluster overshadows the fact that it looks extremely good for an iPhone game. The player and enemy character models are fairly basic sprites, but the environment, even if the game has a very small number of backgrounds, can look downright beautiful at times. The sound design is above average as well. Sword slashes and blood splatters make the noises you would expect them to and the music mixes rock and traditional Japanese style in a unique way that really evokes the feel the game seems to be going for. It seems that a lot of time was put into developing the aesthetics of the game. Unfortunately, the most elaborate and expensive fine china in the world doesn't have much effect when you're eating cat food.