Ninjatown

Nintendo exclusive

A diverse group of fun-loving Ninjas populate the vibrant yet peaceful place known as Ninjatown. However, after the eruption of a nearby volcano, Ninjatown is attacked by hordes of sinister enemies lead by Mr. Demon, who, for reasons unknown, is bent on destruction. It is now time to use each of the Ninjas' unique skills and powers - including the Mighty Wind of Ninja Dropping and Stealth Hugs - to fight off the evil and secure Ninjatown, one district at a time. The game is played from the top down, where the player uses the stylus to strategically place Ninjas to defend each area.

Released: 28 November 2008
Platforms: Nintendo DS
Genres: Ninja Real-time strategy Strategy
Developers: Venan Entertainment
Publishers: SouthPeak Games
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E PEGI 7

About

Ninjatown is a tower defense strategy video game on the Nintendo DS that was released in 2008.

Keywords

martial arts
tower defense
ninja
management
boss fight
demon invasion
bow and arrow
upgradeable weapons
transforming boss
touch controls
downloadable content
regenerating health

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Ninjatown is a tower defense strategy game, in which the player steps into the shoes of Ol’ Master Ninja, tasked with defending Ninjatown from waves of enemies trying to make their way through the town. To stop them, the player constructs ninja huts along their path, from which ninjas will emerge to engage the enemy. The ninjas that live in these huts range from orange-clad anti-ninjas to snowball throwing white ninjas. A total of eight ninja types can be built, each being unlocked before certain levels.

Building each hut costs shuriken-shaped cookies, the currency of Ninjatown, and as enemies are defeated, more cookies are earned. The player can then invest these cookies into building and upgrading huts to deal with the ever-increasing waves of enemies.

Story

Ninjatown is a peaceful place populated by ninjas. But after a volcanic eruption, Ninjatown gets invaded by enemies led by Mr. Demon, who is bent on destruction.

Ninjatown is based on characters created by toy designer, artist and former Electronic Gaming Monthly editor Shawn Smith. Smith is the artist behind the Shawnimals line of toys. Ninjatown is a spin-off of one of his Shawnimal characters, the Wee Ninja.

Development

Ninjatown was Venan's first game to be built for the Nintendo DS and its developers, already accustomed to the variable limitations of the mobile phones they made games for, faced unfamiliarity with the hardware and were also surprised by the larger capacity of its Game Card. It was conceived to be a tower defense game from its very inception in 2007 when Jeremy Pope from Cashmere Productions pitched the idea to Venan, confident in its potential for a DS game. The development team worked closely with Shawn Smith to design gameplay roles for the ninjas he created.

Ninjatown was released across Atlantic regions in the fall of 2008. It debuted in North America a few days before Halloween, with a European release following one month later.

Reception

Ninjatown received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.

The game was a nominee for Best Nintendo DS Game by GameTrailers in their 2008 video game awards. It was also a nominee for Best Strategy Game for the Nintendo DS by IGN.