Mini Ninjas

Overview

Mini Ninjas is a 2009 action-adventure game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive for Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment co-published it in North America. A Mac OS X version by Feral Interactive followed on July 8, 2010.

It is a linear third-person action-adventure game with six playable Mini Ninjas, each with their own abilities, weapons and skills. The main hero, Hiro, can cast spells such as fireball and lightning, camouflage and time manipulation, and he can possess animals for a short time. Spells use Ki, which enemies drop and potions refill. You can collect special weapons such as caltrops, shuriken, bombs and fishing rods, plus a multi-purpose ninja hat, potions and food.

The enemies are animals that the warlord Ashida has enchanted into samurai warriors. When one is defeated the curse breaks and it returns to animal form, and it can help you. Brown bears, warthogs and pandas each fight differently, and animals can sniff out ingredients and collectibles. You trade coins for weapons and recipes from the crow-like Tengu, who also give out quests.

The story is set in ancient Japan. Three centuries after a wise ninja master defeated Ashida, six orphans are trained on Ninja Mountain: Hiro, Futo, Suzume, Shun, Tora and Kunoichi. Ashida returns, and when the other four are captured, the ninja master sends Hiro and Futo after teaching Hiro to learn Kuji magic from hidden shrines.

The game was announced on January 19, 2009 with its first official trailer. IO Interactive wanted to make a game they could play with their kids, so it carries the lowest ESRB rating of any IO Interactive game, Everyone 10+. It came out in North America on September 8, 2009, and in the UK and other PAL territories on September 11.

Reviews were mixed or average on all platforms except the Wii version, which was rated generally favorable. Reviewers liked its charm and said it was relaxing to play, and some found it repetitive and short. A Kinect spin-off, Mini Ninjas Adventures, came out in 2012, and a mobile runner followed in 2013.

Official trailer

Mini Ninjas E3 Trailer, PlayStation. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Mini Ninjas (PS3) - Playthrough - (1080p, original console) - No Commentary, pewDmew. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Action-adventure

Developer

IO Interactive

Publisher

Eidos Interactive

Series

Mini Ninjas

Engine

Glacier

Composers

Peter Svarre

Designers

Ulrik Hauen-Limkilde, Thor Frølich, Thomas Løfgren

Producers

Jonas Lind, Luke Valentine

Directors

Jeremy C. Petreman

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Disc IDs

The serial printed on the disc and the case. It tells you which region a copy is from.

Trophies

Trophies36

Platinum possibleYes

Platinum

1

Gold

5

Silver

9

Bronze

21

Total

36

Points

1335

Platinum time

12 hours

100% time

12 hours

Difficulty

3 out of 10

Playthroughs for platinum

1

Playthroughs for 100%

1

Platinum without online

Yes

Online trophies

0

Boosting needed

No

DLC has trophies

No

Platinum includes DLC

No

100% includes DLC

No

DLC note

The PS3 game had no DLC.

Missable trophies

1

Chapter select fixes a miss

No

Separate trophy lists by region

No

Only in a language other than English

No

Region note

One list for every region.

Online-only version

No

Digital-only

No

Disc-only

No

Trophy list shared with other versions

No

Other versions

Only the PS3 version has trophies.

Players with the platinum

20.42%

Missable trophies

• Tengu Friend

Glitches and fixes

• Stop! Futo Time!

• Platinum Congratulations, you have unlocked all trophies Platinum 20.42% of players
• Off You Go Completed basic training Bronze 89.32% of players
• Found Futo Find Futo Bronze 94.95% of players
• Found Suzume Find and free Suzume Bronze 83.3% of players
• Found Shun Find and free Shun Bronze 68.5% of players
• Found Kunoichi Find and free Kunoichi Bronze 50.77% of players
• Found Tora Find and free Tora Bronze 56.62% of players
• Lost and Found Retrieve all five missing ninja Silver 50.66% of players
• Off the Richter Scale Defeat Boss Lumbering Fool Bronze 73.3% of players
• Smell You Later Defeat Boss Windy Pants Bronze 58.51% of players
• Tripped and Fell Defeat Boss Timid Swimmer Silver 51.68% of players
• Crash Landing Defeat Boss Screeching Owl Silver 47.98% of players
• Restore Balance Defeat the Evil Samurai Warlord Silver 41.61% of players
• Animal Friend Free all caged animals Gold 21.3% of players
• Tree Hugger Shake 15 trees Bronze 42.53% of players
• Sage of Philosophy Reach level cap Silver 42.81% of players
• Avalanche Defeat an enemy as a snowball Bronze 31.82% of players
• Smooth Sailing Flawless Great River Canyon rafting Bronze 25.17% of players
• Little Ninja Complete game on easy or medium difficulty Gold 41.6% of players
• Hard Little Ninja Complete game on hard difficulty Gold 23.47% of players
• Bow Before Me Defeat 50 enemies with the bow Bronze 53.73% of players
• Stop! Futo Time! Use Futo in combat on all levels Silver 23.12% of players
• Eat My Dust Travel far in full gallop Bronze 25.04% of players
• Pied Piper Incite 50 enemies to dance Bronze 35.76% of players
• Poker Defeat 30 spearmen with the spear Bronze 32.77% of players
• Don't Blame it on the Sunshine Bring sunshine to all the denizens of the graveyard Bronze 52.38% of players
• No Conjurer of Cheap Tricks Expend 1500 Ki using Kuji magic Bronze 74.45% of players
• Now You See Me ... Defeat 100 enemies with stealth attack Silver 22.54% of players
• Big Guy Defeat a large one Bronze 76.14% of players
• Boardom Defeat 10 enemies as the boar Bronze 35.42% of players
• Bear With Me Defeat 10 enemies as the bear Bronze 52.46% of players
• Silent Assas... Ninja Complete a level without being seen Gold 25.49% of players
• Botanist Collect one of each ingredient Silver 43.85% of players
• Completist Collect all Jizo statues Gold 22.21% of players
• Tengu Friend Complete all Wandering Tengu quests Silver 31.66% of players
• Sightseeing Visit all temples Bronze 29.97% of players

Space and patches

Space neededAbout 6.3 GB

Update patchNo patch

DLC

The PS3 game had no downloadable content.

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Online servers runningNo online features

Plays offlineYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Services

Service	Status
Online features	Does not exist

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	PS3	73	100
Metacritic	Xbox 360	73	100
Metacritic	Wii	79	100
Metacritic	Windows	74	100
Metacritic	Nintendo DS	61	100

Critics

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale	Grade
IGN	PS3	8	10
GameZone	PS3	8.1	10
Game Informer	PS3	7.5	10
GameSpot	PS3	7.5	10
GameCentral	PS3	6	10
PlayStation: The Official Magazine	PS3	3	5
Game Revolution	PS3			C+

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Jeremy C. Petreman
Producer	Jonas Lind
Producer	Luke Valentine
Designer	Ulrik Hauen-Limkilde
Designer	Thor Frølich
Designer	Thomas Løfgren
Artist	Henrik Hansen
Artist	Michael Helmuth Hansen
Artist	Søren Bech Jensen
Composer	Peter Svarre

Notes for collectors

• The ESRB gave it Everyone 10+, the lowest rating of any game from IO Interactive, the studio behind Hitman.
• Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment co-published the game in North America with Eidos Interactive.
• The PS3 trophy list has 36 trophies, with a Platinum and five Golds. Little Ninja and Hard Little Ninja are separate Golds for completing the game on easy or medium and on hard.
• Sony's patch server lists no update for either the US or the European disc.
• A Mac version by Feral Interactive came out on July 8, 2010.
• Tora was named one of the top ten ninja characters on PlayStation consoles by Play UK in 2010.

Credits

Publisher

Eidos Interactive

Developer

IO Interactive

Director

Jeremy C. Petreman

Released

2009-09-08

Age rating

ESRB E10+

Disc ID

BLUS30284

Region

US

Time to beat

about 7.5 hours