And now for something completely different: A good TOSE/Bandai game
Between Game Boy Work (World) and NES Works, I've tackled quite a few games developed by the mystery humans at TOSE and the heartless suits at Bandai, and they have universally been pretty bad. Likewise for games from Bandai-affiliated publishers like Banpresto and Bandai Shinsei (which transmuted into Yutaka before our very eyes!). They're all based on licenses, and they're all bereft of those little grace notes we expect in our video games. You know, like "fun factor" and "play value".
Well, there are no such things as absolutes in this world, as we see with Ninja Kid. It's a TOSE/Bandai joint based on a license, yes, but it's shockingly decent.
As in, I genuinely enjoyed the time I spent capturing footage for this one! I didn't think such a thing was possible, but here we are. After the miserable bitterness of M.U.S.C.L.E. and Chubby Cherub (and Tag Team Wrestling, though that was someone else's fault), this game proved to be a refreshing sorbet of completely tolerable design choices and competent programming. Is it a classic for the ages? No, but even in the year 2017, you could play it and not feel like someone was trying to destroy your zest for life. Sometimes, you gotta take victory where you can find it.
