Mexican Ninja [Review]
The idea of Mexican culture meeting Japanese culture is a promising notion, especially in a beat 'em up. That said, Mexican Ninja’s novel premise never quite reaches its full potential. It's a frustrating situation though as I'm not sure if I failed the game, or the game failed me.
Imagine yourself in a near-future city awash in neon. The Mexican underworld and the Japanese underworld have merged into one, and it's up to you, the quintessential Mexican Ninja to bring down the organization. It plays as a beat ‘em up roguelike with progression, as smashing through the levels nets you coins that can be used for various upgrades. The Mexican Ninja has multiple tools at his disposal, such as the magical jutsu powers, various attacks, and many different combos. There is even a parry system as well. Sadly the game never quite gelled for me for a multitude of reasons.
The first problem I ran into was the repetition inherent in the design. I was able to get to the second area, but dying places you back at the start of the game. And you will die. Therefore you'll have to replay the first area repeatedly to move on. I never got further. At the time of this writing, I knew the first area like the back of my hand. But nothing changes during retries and fighting the same enemies on the same stages over and over quickly became tedious.
I also never felt like I quite grasped the nuances of combat. I'm not sure if the game failed to explain a core concept, if I just needed more time spent upgrading my character, or if this was a surprisingly difficult experience. The biggest hurdle is the incredibly precise window for performing a parry. The attack animation fails to communicate the window as well, making for a frustrating time.
That said, even if I had gotten the hang of combat, I still have my doubts the game would have resonated with me. Mexican Ninja is a cookie-cutter beat 'em up that lacks any unique qualities that would help it stand out in a crowded genre. Every concept here has been done elsewhere, and been done better.
Topping off this frustrating experience is the juvenile writing. I can enjoy crude humor, but the toilet jokes and sexual innuendo found here are immature and grating.
This was a swing and a miss for me. I want to be clear, I never go into a game hoping for a bad time. I really wanted to like this game, and kept trying to give it the benefit of the doubt as I formed my opinion. It just came up short, and I found myself comparing it unfavorably to Anomaly President, another rougelike beat 'em up that came out this year. I think it's easy to say unless you're someone who really loves beat 'em ups, you can skip Mexican Ninja.
Mexican Ninja
TMexican Ninja is a cookie-cutter beat 'em up that lacks any unique qualities that would help it stand out in a crowded genre. Every concept here has been done elsewhere, and been done better.
