Ninja Usagimaru: The Gem of Blessings

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

The first game in the Ninja Usagimaru series, The Gem of Blessings is a Puzzle-Platformer released on Nintendo 3DS in 2015. In this game, players must push, pull, lift and throw blocks to have them land on monsters and create a safe path for both the players and kidnapped maidens they need to rescue and bring back to a shrine.

The core gameplay design and puzzle design here are fantastic, with some really fiendish levels that will have you thinking. Unfortunately, the difficulty curve is kinda’ messed up, with the puzzles being difficult pretty much right from the start. A part of this is due to the game not informing you how to do some basic necessary moves, like duck-jumping. Another part of this is due to the game’s control issues – your character seems sluggish to start moving when you press in a direction, and then often goes too far. When this game’s levels require a very specific solution, this can mean having to restart the entire level because the game messed up and had you overshooting on your movement.

The presentation here is charming, at the very least, featuring detailed 2D pixel art visuals backed by a traditional Japanese-inspired acoustic soundtrack. While there’s nothing technically impressive going on here, this game does a good job highlighting its theme.

Overall, I think The Gem of Blessings has some excellent qualities, but it’s brought down by a slew of frustrations, with sharp difficulty spikes and frustrating controls. As a result, I think this is a game that may be enjoyed by the more patient fans of the genre, but most are probably better off looking elsewhere.

tl;dr – The Ninja Usagimaru: The Gem of Blessings is a Puzzle-Platformer where players take on the role of a samurai saving village girls from malevolent spirits. This game has excellent puzzle design, but is brought down by its difficulty spikes and poor controls. Overall, the game still has its positive qualities, but only more patient fans of the genre will likely enjoy it.

Grade: C

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