Hey Friends !
If this little pretentious Michael Vendetta boasts of having invented the "bogossitude", the ninjas, they have long been the guarantors of the "coolness" to the Japanese. It's simple: these shadow killers have everything for them, and even more.
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 01One of the secret agents, they operate in the most complete anonymity and strike where we do not expect them. They are also trained in all combat techniques, knowing dozens of ways to "neutralize" a target. With such a history, their recovery by the world of video games is not a surprise. Most often, we find them in action games beat'em all trend (Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Hagane, The Ninja Warriors Again), but not only. They are also present in other genres, such as the platform (Super Ninja Kun, Ganbare Goemon), the RPG (Super Ninja Boy) ... Today, I'm going to make you discover another declension, more surprising, the myth ninja in video games, since Otoboke Ninja Colosseum attacks a cult series: the Bomberman!
APPLE + C?!? (CALOGERO, OUT OF THIS BODY!)
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 02Probably helped by the existence of the Multitap, the Super Famicom has hosted some "party games" very nice. We can of course quote the five Super Bomberman, real spearheads of the parties with more than 2 players, but also more exotic titles like Bakuto Dochers who, while being inspired, proposed a gameplay significantly different from that of the games of 'Hudson. With Otoboke Ninja Colosseum, from the outset, we do not have this problem. It's quite the opposite ! Once the console is on, we immediately feel a very big impression of deja vu. The cause is quite simple: we are almost dealing with a clone, as the principle of soft and its gameplay are almost the same as in any episode of Bomberman!
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 03Only the sets are original (you still have not push ...) and the small bombers have given way to young girls ninja. Failing to embark on the risky path of originality, and given its very good source of inspiration, the developer Mint was therefore with a solid fundamentals. Classic, Otoboke Ninja Colosseum offers two modes of play: a "VS Mode" (playable from one to four, with a Multitap) and an "Adventure" style mode (playable alone or in pairs). In the latter, one slips into the skin of a ninja girl launched in pursuit of a thief who has taken refuge in a strange cave. Follows a succession of stages that go up to spread over two, three or even four screens (on the end of the game). They are grouped within four "worlds" classics (snowy world, aquatic world ...), each of them being finished by a boss a little weird (tentacle beast, ghost, pseudo-Frankenstein ...).
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 04Best goal, nothing new under the sun! To succeed in an internship and move on to the next one, it will be necessary, in a given time, to eliminate all the present enemies, then to go towards the exit, symbolized here by a red orb which lights up once all the enemies occis. If at first, it is a relatively easy task that awaits the player (roughly, in the first world), things will be complicated a little later, with a timer more and more "just" and some simple puzzles to solve: stones and other obstacles will prevent the progression of the young heroine, teleporters will take him to different places of the current stage, etc. As desired by the genre, each stage will also present a large number of destructible elements and a handful of enemies who, here, will not fizzle against the ... shurikens of our ninja girl!
"OTOBOKE" HAS MORE THAN ONE SHURIKEN IN ITS BAG
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 05If so far, the parallel with the Bomberman was obvious, fortunately, Otoboke Ninja Colosseum departs anyway a little. Ninja forces, the guy will pose bombs a little special, bristling with spades, which, exploding, will release four shurikens that will head towards the four cardinal points. Unlike bombs in a Bomberman, these shurikens do not have a limited range: they split the air and stop only when they encounter an obstacle, whether it is an element (destructible or not), the edge of the stage, an enemy ... If some opponents ask for only one shuriken to disappear, others will ask for against several. And sometimes, to give the coup de grace to the most tough, our ninja will have to use his secret boot: his metal chain, ended by a ball of the same steel!
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 06It will prove very useful, especially to kill bosses, where its use will be mandatory. The procedure is always the same: neutralize the opponent with one or more shurikens, and while he is sounded, hit him with the help of the chain. More than a weapon, this famous chain will also serve as an accessory. Launched against a bomb that has just been put, it detonated. Once the chain is deployed, it can also be directed via the directional cross. With a little training, we can very well zigzag between different elements on the screen. Finally, it can even be used as a grappling hook to catch certain objects. If our budding ninja can push certain items and stones without flinching, the chain will be able to catch the same elements to bring them back to the character. It is this particular faculty that is put to use in the small passages "puzzle" of the game.
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 07The latest great originality to put to the credit of Otoboke Ninja Colosseum: the characters do not die directly. They have one life, whose capital is symbolized by little yellow smileys, at the bottom of the screen. After each contact with an enemy, they will lose one of these smileys, to finally be ejected from the stage and arrive on the screen of Game Over. The concept of "contact" with an enemy is important: it will happen quite often that the character is touched by his own shurikens, but in this case, he will be just stunned and immobilized for a short time, becoming at the same time a prey easy for enemies or other possible shurikens. When Game Over occurs, it is always possible for the player to continue or not the game, starting from the first stage of the current world. But passwords are also provided and allow to resume the game where it had been left to a specific course.
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 08Not offering such a bloated offer as at Hudson, Mint has also endowed his game with some items that will have effects on the character, his shurikens or his famous metal chain. The items "speed up" and "speed down" allow the little heroine to move very quickly or, more annoyingly, very slowly. The items "1up" give him a yellow smiley. The "shurikens" items allow more "shuriken bombs" to be laid simultaneously. The hourglasses (rarer) inflate the timer a few precious seconds ... There is even an item "invisible shurikens bombs" that can pose ... invisible bombs! That said, it's a real mess, especially in multiplayer games ... As for the chain, it will be affected by items to explode some blocks and rocks, or to push objects (and not just to shoot them) to the character ...).
PINCH OF CHIGNONS BETWEEN GIRLS
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 09The multiplayer matches are held in dedicated arenas where participants will first have to stun their opponent before ejecting it with the chain. You can play alone or with others (from two to four). The "missing" humans are replaced each time by the console. Tip: Do not rely too much on the Super Famicom to intelligently animate these virtual games, and play between humans. The AI is frankly disastrous, and there is no way to adjust its level. This is the big dark point of the "multi" mode of Otoboke Ninja Colosseum, which is not as accomplished and customizable as that of a Bomberman. We can at most choose the number of players, determine which ones will be controlled by the console, choose the number of rounds to win (from one to five) and, from a palette of four girls, which one will be run during the game. (this choice does not affect the gameplay).
Do not look for other characters: there are none ... In fact, each participant is assigned a different color: we can take the same person as another player, the color of the sprite is changed accordingly. The arenas are eight in number and, because of their specificities, they influence the unfolding of the parties. The first offers small indestructible statues that can serve as shields and can only be moved with the chain. The third is of Japanese inspiration, with statues of tanukis and roofs under which one can hide. The following are equally creative, with for example an exclusive use of invisible shuriken bombs (arena 6) or characters possessing from the outset all the power-up, without any obstacle (arena 7).
THE FINAL WORD
Otoboke Ninja Colosseum Super Famicom screenshot 11It must be acknowledged that Mint has some courage. The developer wants to compete with Hudson on his own ground, by taking over the general look "in game" and the mechanics of Bomberman. But Mint is also a little clever, and that, we discover it only after a few minutes of play: it injects in its title a small dose of originality, whether with the principle of shurikens or the retractable chain. Too bad to see that the content and, to a lesser extent, the technique do not follow. It is nice to rub the mirettes, Otoboke Ninja Colosseum is much less beautiful than a Super Bomberman 3 (released at about the same time), and his music can quickly become annoying. The handling is also less sharp, a notch below what Hudson has accustomed us in this type of game. The Adventure mode is not exciting, whether you are alone or with two. As for the "multi", it is too superficial to interest players accustomed to the many options offered by the competition ...
Final note
Technical -
A relative beauty: the animations are very basic and we feel that the decorations could have been more colorful. In short, the union minimum ...
Music -
If offering catchy music is an asset, make sure that they repeat themselves to the point of becoming annoying, it is rather a handicap ...
Gameplay -
The character is control rather easily, and after a period of adaptation, we are doing with the chain also. Unlike a Bomberman, the character can not turn in one direction without walking ...
Life time -
The solo / duo mode is not very long (4 worlds which, with the obtaining of passwords, are quickly crossed). The multiplayer mode is neither very provided (8 arenas only), nor very motivating ...
Innovation -
Come on, let's be good players and give him half the points: Mint uncomplicated copy the Bomberman, but he also breathes - a little - originality to his game ...
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@Elzed