House of Dead Ninjas
Run, leap, stab, shuriken, and bomb your way to the bottom of a massive, ancient tower filled with deadly enemies and strange environments as you seek a legendary treasure... and die a whole bunch. Megadev and AdultSwim combine to deliver a fast-pasted and challenging arcade platformer with randomly generated items and layouts that will take a lot of skill (and a lot of lives) to beat.
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Well, I have seen (in my wide trawling of the internet) at least one ninja with a bazooka. It is invisble, though, but it should be enough that the internet won't ruin your hopes and dreams for you.
Ha ha, I love the Birdo reference for Ninji in the manual.
Fun game, but I don't think I'll be investing the time to get to the end (if such a thing exists). Adult Swim games are among the best as far as attitude and quirk, as well as consistently engaging gameplay.
Does this have an end? I got about 200 levels deep and am finding it fun (and keep seeing new enemies), but am wondering if there's a bottom. At 250? 500? 1000? Never?
@Czhorat The game does indeed go on forever, or at least until you become overwhelmed which will of course happen sooner or later. :) There's a few surprises later in the game too, but sadly no bazookas!
I. can't stop. playing. this. game.
Since no one has said this yet, I might as well: nethack.
-Going down endless floors of randomly generated levels
-Picking up used weapons
-Undocumented effects/surprises
-And are those things stick up from the ground graves? (The same graphics seems to appear on the game over screen.) Like bones files?
-Finding the amulet of Yendor. Oh wait, no. That's not the objective in this game.
I still haven't discovered how to go through impassable walls without a weapon.
Unless slashing them with the sword is not considered using a weapon. But the ones on the ground still require a bomb.
More importantly,
do the yellow/golden treasure do anything? One of them was shaped like a key.
Also, has anyone found the sandwich recipes? I want my lunch money back!
As someone who plays flash games ALL DAY LONG I'm pretty hardened to the 'oops where did my afternoon go?' effect some of them have. However, well done Megadev because I've already spent aaaaages playing this!
@JIGuest HODN does indeed take some inspiration from Nethack, or Rogue rather, which I grew up playing. :) I think the randomness keeps the game fresh for much longer, and of course, given that the game has no end there was no way we could design an infinite number of levels.
Regarding destroying blocks without a weapon, the way to do it is to position yourself on top of one then tap "down" twice in quick succession - this saves you having to use a valuable bomb, although lining yourself up with blocks can be fiddly.
As for the golden treasure items, they simply give you 10,000 points; even more so if you have a few fairies with you. And I'm not sure what happened to the sandwich recipes...perhaps the previous owner ripped out that particular page? ;-) Anyway, thanks for playing and thanks for your comment!
Cheers,
Mike.
@Kate It's a tough life eh Kate? ;-) Glad you like the game, and I hope all's well in Moshi world!
House of Dead Ninjas - Tips and Tricks
Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive
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Although you begin with only five lives, that number can be increased by hearts you pick up. So even if you're at "full health" and haven't taken a hit yet, don't ignore any hearts that you come across, since they'll stack.
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Dying not only resets your timer, it also resets all your bombs and shurikens to the default of 20 shurikens and 5 bombs. This may sound good if you're running low, but since weapon pickups stack, but it also can make you LOSE weapons; even if you had 30 or more shurikens, for example, getting hit resets that back down to 20.
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Shurikens also stack beyond your initial capacity, so grab any and all you come across.\line - If you see a flashing gold/red/orange clock, grab it! It'll give you a substantial bonus to your clock beyond the typical 30 seconds. Unfortunately, it isn't "permanent", so dying or grabbing a new clock to refill your timer only grants you your normal 30 seconds back.
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The end of the large, spiked "wrecking balls" that swing around is the only part that can hurt you. You can run through the chain without being injured.
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You can be injured by your own bombs, so be careful about using them in enclosed spaces. Since bombs will bounce off walls when thrown, if you're trying to blast through an obstacle, stand a few paces back for it.
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Spikes are lethal even if you don't land on them, so don't try to walk through them or get too close. You should always stay away from spikes, even if they offer you candy or ask you to help find their puppy.
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Even if you're standing on a one tile block and an enemy is on the floor, do NOT get too close. Apparently, toes are a ninja's greatest weakness, and if an enemy comes too close to you while you're standing near the edge, it still counts as a hit. No, it isn't fair. Yes, I feel your pain.
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Shurikens can travel "through" one-block high obstacles and strike enemies beyond it, but only if you aren't crouching.
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Thrown shurikens always bounce off enemies and lodge momentarily in a surface nearby. If you're quick, you can grab them before they vanish and use them over and over.
Making Friends and Enemies... But Mostly Enemies
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Mummies/skeletons will chase you as long as they can see you, and they're very fast. They can be killed with a single shuriken, but often just dropping down out of their line of sight or over a block is good enough, since they can't climb.
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Frogs leap back and forth and can only be hit if you're crouching... anything else will sail right over their head.
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The small, winged green lizards throw swords every few seconds in a straight line left or right, depending on which way your direction. They'll even throw a sword if you're on the level above them, however, so you can just wait for them to throw before dropping down. You can also dodge the sword by crouching.
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Green ninjas only march back and forth until they hit an obstacle. They will not go over obstacles, or move down floors.
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Purple ninjas can't climb, but they will drop down if they come to a break in the floor and keep going.
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Fat ninjas just walk back and forth between obstacles, and they take two hits to kill.
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Once you get down to the stages where the floor is made of green, red, and purple blocks, always be on your guard. Here you can find a dragon that pops out of the floor and spits fire at you. You can only see it before it pops out of the ground by watching out for its tiny green spikes, so you'll need CONSTANT VIGILANCE if you don't want a fireball sandwich.
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The flashing insect/alien-ish enemies cannot be killed, so just avoid them. They travel along walls and ceilings.
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The bouncing chickens won't come near you, but they will stay in one place and block your way unless you kill them.
SCORE!
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The bonus you get for dropping down a level corresponds to how much time you have left. So if you have 20 seconds on the clock when you go down a floor, you'll get a 20 point bonus.
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Even if you aren't hurting for time, you might want to make an effort to grab all the clocks you come across, since each one nets you a cool 3000 points.
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Gold objects like keys or bars are usually behind a wall or floor you'll have to bomb your way through, but each one is worth over 1000 points.
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Each fairy you rescue from a bottle follows you until you get hit, and provides a bonus to the points you get from any action by providing an equal amount of points. So if you kill a fat ninja, normally 300 points, and have a fairy following you, you'll get 600 points instead. This also applies to the points you're granted for descending a level. You can also have multiple fairies, and the bonus stacks, so grab any you see.
Ninja and the Chamber of Secrets
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If you see an irregularity in the floor or wall (like a cracked or differently coloured block, or an object that doesn't go with the rest of the tile set) try bombing it.
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Green doors act as a way to skip a few floors quickly. Simply hop inside one by walking into it, and you'll be transported down several levels.
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Warps, which look like black holes, take you to a special world where nothing can hurt you, allowing you to quickly descend through floors and past enemies without trouble. The problem is that while you can grab weapons, fairies, and treasure, there are NO clocks, so you'll need to hop quickly back into another warp to get back out if you don't want to die when your time runs out.
Wow, great advice Dora! Here's a few more tips to help players progress:
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If you stand on a destructible block and push down twice in quick succession you'll destroy the block without having to waste a bomb.
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Whilst falling, tap down to start the piledrive attack, which will instantly kill anything that gets in its way.
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If, well, I mean WHEN you do die, hammering the direction keys will allow you to recover more quickly and get going again.
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All of the keys can be redefined in the options menu - particularly handy if you're left-handed or French.
I'm sure there's more but that should be enough to keep you going for now. Best of luck!
Cheers,
Mike.
Really fun game I have to say, and has enough randomness that gives it replayability.
It would be fun if it had, like Spelunky, some kind of "if you work hard enough you can restart from a further level than '1'". There you could buy for a big amount of gold a teleport to deeper levels.
Here are some additional tips after hours of playing :) :
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look out for the purple ninjas you leave behind because they can fall on your head
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you can remap your keys, especially the down-piledriver so you can use it often. It has a big splash so the foe does not have to be directly under. Really good move that saved me lot of lives
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when dragons start popping out get in a habit to crouch every time you fall down a level
If the developer is reading this two things would be nice:
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make the submit score open a separate window or don't make it the first choice after death. I accidentally pressed it so much times, and somehow reloading the game takes unreasonable amount of time.
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the wall gripping cancels the pile driver which results in a painful death if you were attacking someone near the wall. Maybe changing that, when gripping, pressing down would ungrip you a do a pile driver would be better?
PS. I HATE FROGS :) i would say the most annoying ones in the game.
Hey EasyGoing! Thanks for your feedback, and I'm glad you're enjoying the game. :) If we ever make a sequel then being able to start further down the tower is definitely something we'd consider. Some good tips there too, particularly regarding the purple ninjas - it's always worth taking them out if you can predict that they might fall on you at some point.
Moving the "Submit score" option is a tricky one as we'd most likely replace it with the "Retry" option, and accidentally hitting that might be even more annoying, especially if you've just beaten your highscore. I'll talk to Adult Swim about it though and see what they suggest.
You'll be pleased to hear that the piledriver can no longer be interrupted with a wall grab; this will appear in version 0.5.7 which I'm hoping will be uploaded to the Adult Swim site in the next few days. There's a few other tweaks in there as well, to make the game a little less harsh - lasers won't be able to zap you if they're off-screen, for example.
Anyway, thanks for playing, and I have to agree with you about the frogs too - they get me every time, and I've been playing the game for some months now! I tend to let them jump then go and splat them with the sword. ;-) Well, cheers for playing, and lookout for the new version!
Mike.
This is one of the most addictive flash games I've played in a long time. The challenge factor is great! The reaction-time aspect of game play is similar to that of Unicorn Robot Attack and Canabalt, but I find this game has heaps more replay value for some reason - perhaps the variety of weapons, secret rooms, and possible styles of play (pacifist vs aggressive etc.)
Re: hints - I agree with the idea of doing the piledrive attack when falling as a way to instantly kill anything that gets below you... but the downside of this is when what's below you is a spike. The piledrive attack seems to speed up the fall making it more difficult to 'exit' if a surprise spike pops up.
Anyone figured out how the portals work exactly? Is it possible to keep finding clocks in the portal zone and stay there indefinately - or are there no clocks in the portal zone?? I haven't seen any yet - and wonder about the difficult challenge of collecting 20 items in the portal zone - does this imply only limited time (i.e. no clocks) there?
P.S. I've also developed a phobia of frogs as a result of playing this game.
P.P.S I've reached level 250 and want more!
Thanks to Mike of Megadev for the earlier replies. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that this is of course a great game. Thanks for making it!
My highest level is around 270 and I've still have to see a Bahamut. I still get killed a lot by the dragon Knives.
Since everyone is sharing, here are some more tips and tricks.
Beginner
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You are your own worst enemy: Notice that you move very fast but enemies move at somewhat "normal" speed for a video game. This means that most of my first deaths were due to myself running into enemies, not the other way around. Don't move at maximum speed all the time. Pause to think.
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Resources: Most resources, including time can be thought of as limitless. In all the games I've played, I've never run out of any weapons. I ran out of time maybe 3 or 4 times in total. Just pretend they are infinite. When you get better at not dying (and thus fewer "weapon recharge", you will also get better at finding and conserving weapons.
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Throwing stars: As a follow up to the above advice, (almost) always use throwing stars to kill enemies in front of you. Even at point blank range. In fact, if you are too close, you will almost always pick up the star you've just thrown immediately.
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Think: Think about how you died. There is usually a way that you could have avoided this which does not involve better reflexes.
Intermediate
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Go down slowly: If you have the option of jumping down two consecutive floors, jump down one floor first, take a look at what is below you and then decide what to do.
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Use the bomb: Most think you would normally think can't be killed can in fact be destroyed by the bomb. This includes Madman (the border following light) and Gror (the thwomp like monster) and anything else in the stats in the game over screen that does not have a "N/A" in the kill column.
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Frogs: They are not that dangerous. You can crouch and throw a star if there is no blocks between you (see above comment about always throwing stars). If there is a height 1 block between you then you are already safer and you can throw a star right as they jump and still kill them.
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Madman (the border following light): You can actually drop down a one space wide gap while a Madman is moving upwards if you cling to the wall opposite to the one it is on.
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Crouch: Always stay crouched if you can remember. You can still do anything you could while standing (attack, move, jump). It avoids many deaths (especially from Knives later on). The only time you want to stand is to throw a star above a height 1 block. If fact, if it were in the options, I'd set "down" to be UNcrouch (and be crouched all other time).
Advanced
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Jumping up: It is possible to jump back up any hole you fell down. It is a bit difficult if there no walls on either side of the hole you fell down. You need to double jump (at maximum height) and immediately cling to one side of the hole and immediately wall jump after that. This is especially useful if you see that you've missed a clock or heart. Even if you need a few attempts, it usually doesn't cost that much time.
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Custom keys: To make the above much easier, I've set my jump key to "c" and bomb to "a" (on a qwerty keyboard).
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In fact, I've managed to jump above the first level and climb up the "wall". I've only found darkness higher up and haven't tried using all 5 lives to jump to the highest point to see if there is any secret. But I've tried it for 3 lives and I do fall down for much longer (afterwards) if I use 90 seconds to wall jump than 30.
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(the next one I should be listening to myself, but haven't done so yet)
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Bomb down: When there are enemies patrolling below and you want to drop down there, it is much safer to throw a bomb than to try to kill them with a downward thrust or throw a star after dropping.
It would be interesting (as, say, an unlockable bonus) to be able to play at half speed or something. I feel like it be very easy since the enemies would all move in slow motion but you would move at a "regular" speed.
Wow, lots of interesting feedback and tips here! Firstly I'd better reply to BillyTehKid; portals are basically safe areas where you can pickup loads of bonuses and ammo without fear of being killed by an enemy. The downside is that you won't find any clocks in these areas, so it's best to leave yourself a few seconds when you exit the warp area to find a clock on the other side. The exception to this is if you come across a portal and happen to see a clock one or two floors down - grabbing it will allow you to maximise your time in the warp area.
The piledrive attack can be risky if you're not 100% sure what's below you; I only use it to kill enemies one or two floors below me. As has been mentioned though, it has a wide "hit area", and you can even use it to clip enemies as you pass them on the way down. In fact, you can even use it whilst running and jumping on a horizontal platform, although your timing needs to be good.
Now for Mr.JIGuest. ;) Some great tips there, and I agree that you are often your own worst enemy - if you do die then it's nearly always your own fault. Actually there are a few occasions which are a bit harsh on players (such as enemies attacking off-screen), but these will be fixed on the next version which is due to appear on the Adult Swim site some time next week.
As you rightly pointed out, jumping back up the tower is possible, but not the easiest thing to do. If you happen to miss a clock but still have 15 or seconds or so remaining then you should be able to make it to the next clock with time to spare, at least in the early stages.
Well it's 3am here so I'd best get to bed - thanks for the comments everyone, and I hope you continue to enjoy the game. :)
Cheers,
Mike.
Great game, viciously hard. The two most evil things that always get me are:
1. Around level 500 there's a section where the background is black and the blocks are black as well except for four blue dots in the corners - it's almost like playing blind and very difficult since I can't see the gaps.
2. If you kill a Trattip (spiked walking ninja) next to an opening, then use your pile driver as you dive through the opening, the nearby spikes kill you. The only way to safely descend is not to use the pile driver. This feels a little cheap, I feel like just slashing your sword below you shouldn't give you a wider hit box to spikes.
Glad to hear you are stopping off-screen lasers from killing the player.
There's no Bahamut on levels 500-600 that I can see. If he's around level 1000 I don't think I'll ever make it, unless the new version is a lot easier. Wow, searching around on the web it doesn't look like anyone else has even gotten to Bahamut either.
@Emerald Hawk Thanks for the feedback - that last tileset has now been tweaked to be more visible, and you can now brush past the dead Trattips when doing the downward attack without fear of them killing you! As for the Bahamut, it looks like I screwed up there - he was very rarely meant to appear, but it seems that he's just not turning up at all. In the new version that likelihood has increased, but you'll still need to be a very skillful player to "summon" him, you could say... Anyway, Adult Swim now have the latest version of the game and there are far fewer cheap deaths in there - they'll be testing that build over the next few days so it should be up on the site before the end of the week.
Cheers,
Mike.
I never really had an opinion about frogs before. Now I hate them. Good job!
It's funny how much of a difference game design makes. The Doodle Jump-style "how far can you go?" games drive me crazy, but add a little more depth, like this game does, and I'm beyond hooked.
@Grasa Total I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who hates the frogs. ;) I've yet to play Doodle Jump, but I know what it's all about. Not sure why HODN turned in to a never-ending game, but Rogue probably had something to do with it, plus I get bored of designing levels. :) Anyway, thanks for your comments, and thanks for playing!
Cheers,
Mike.
Around level 300+ I suddenly came across a big, freaky, red demon creature, about four times larger the usual demon creatures that fly across one level. This one was flying across multiple levels - so I just ran for it, losing about three lives in the process. Ho ho.
Was that the newly revamped Bahamut? I've not seen it before.
I ran into bahamut around level 300. But this happened when i had 5 fairies and i had not died once. I had a score of about 300k when he appeared. i freaked out and got killed. he's as tall as a floor and about one third the width
Yep, that's Bahamut alright! He's pretty tough, but can be killed with a few bombs or a load of shurikens. Like you said, he can pass through floors so outrunning him can be tricky. He should only ever appear if you have 9 lives and when you're a few hundred floors down, and if you do manage to kill him then you'll bag 10,000 points. Looks like I screwed up with awarding the "Kill the Bahamut" achievement though, so I'll fix that in the next update along with one or two more tweaks, such as removing the retractable spikes which everyone seems to hate! ;-)
Cheers,
Mike.
I'm quite pleased with my achievement of successfully running away from the Bahaumut.. ;-)... despite the death(s) that shortly followed.
What the guide doesnt mention is all creatures can be killed with a bomb, even the flashing alien thingy and the spike ball. also bricks can be broken by double tapping down over them.
Just managed to kill the Bahaumut, so managed to get the 'Kill one of each enemy' achievement, but not the 'Kill the Bahaumut' achievement. I presume this is what is being referred to above as the bug with this award.
I still have yet to get 250,000 points however, or to kill 250 enemies in one game, which is way back in the 'tough' achievement list.
Incidentally, I only lost one life trying to kill the Bahaumut, versus three lives in a mad dash when trying to get away from it. So clearly taking the dude down is the better strategy.
Yep, I completely forgot about the "Kill the Bahamut" achievement...what an idiot! :-\ We dropped that in there at the last minute and I obviously left out the code to unlock it. I've fixed it now but it could be another week or so before we're able to update the game. There'll also be a few more minor tweaks in there.
Cheers,
Mike.
YOU DONT NEED BOMBS TO BREAK SQUARES IN THE FLOOR!!! Just tap down twice quickly, this even works on the silver floor squares to goodie rooms
Will there ever be an end, bottom, or just something? I've been playing to see the fabled bottom floor described in the prologue and the game manual's "Let me tell you a tail..." on page 3, but seeing that no one has reached the bottom even at the off handed mention of level 500-600 I'm beginning to lose hope and my lust for playing.
BTW i love the manual the cleaning cartridge tip, the cover's "I'm a Super Nintendo game" design, and especially the notes at the end. wait to put in the polish!
also this game feels suspiciously like a game i did play on the Super Nintendo...great job if it wasn't
Dear Mr.JIGuest,
Sadly there is indeed no end to the game, so the little ninja is destined to die one way or another - the aim is simply to amass as many points as you can, or reach the lowest floor possible if that's your thing. Hope you don't feel cheated!
As for influences, I can't say I know of the SNES game you're thinking about but the SNES is probably my favourite console of all time, and the great Japanese games of the 80s and 90s are what we aspire to. If we can recreate some of the "feel" of those legendary games then that's great, although games like Castlevania, Metroid and Ghouls n' Ghosts will never be bettered as far as I'm concerned. :)
Cheers,
Mike.
I really enjoy this game.. although I think I reached the peak in terms of my ability.
Yesterday I passes lv 500* (567)
and a new high score of 433,000
Ive gotten all of the "Easy Achievments" by this I mean... the achievement that (despite the posted difficulty I think wasnt too hard to get...
There are 2 however I cant seem to get (and dont know how to get them....
Jumpy Ninja... (Ive tried playing like a frog on crack... an still didnt get it) and "you can stop now"
Has anyone earned these?? and if so... how exactly do you get them???
I have to ask, who did the music for the game? I loved it. :D
Funny game, I play on it for dozens of hour !
I post this comment mainly because of some problems with the achievements. I play on it on the adultswim site, I don't know if the problem is only on this site, but with the achievements I hardly obtain on this site, I won't change. I hope it can be fix on it.
As you already know, the achievements "Kill the Bahamut !" and "Jumpy ninja" don't works (for the "jumpy ninja" achievements, I can't check on my own, I can't know if I really stay less than 10 seconds touching the soil during the 100 first floors, but you said it's broken on the adultswim comments, and with the Bahamut problem not fixed, I think this other stay not fixed).
But the achievements "Survive for 30 minutes" and "Kill 1000 ennemies" don't works too. I survived for 44:17 minutes and killed 1 046 ennemies (whithout cheating (really !!)) and the two achievements stay locked. The "Rescue 15 fairies" works, and for the "Reach floor 1 000", I can't say, my record is the floor 855. It woul'd be cool that those two could be fixed soon, for the gamers like me who hardly try for hours of obtaining the achievements and fail when succeding in the conditions).
And it woul'd be awesome if the obtainement of the achievements coul'd be retroactive, because I don't know if I can repeat a score like that, or the time it will cost me. (Yes, I stay believing in santa claus...)
(Excuse-me fot the errors in english I could do, English is not my first language.)
I killed the Bahamut!
Still not sure how to get it to appear though. It seems to have something to do with having nine(full) life though.
It is a touch cookie, taking 5 bombs to destroy. You can drive it back with regular attacks and ninja stars as well.
I hope you can make a version that has no timer. I always get killed going back for a clock.
Im on level 772 and no bahamut. I have 9 lives (probably because its the hacked version)but no bahamut. The closest thing is this little red demon (theres more then 1) that passes through walls but not floor. it will explode into some tiny blue vortex when i kill it and it gives me 10,000 points. its realy easy to kill. Is this some hacked version of bahamut?
I'm loving this game!
I've gone more than 1,000,000 points and around 560 levels down, which I guess makes me a maniac!
Here are my tips (not already mentioned I think):
1. Portal: The portal will stop ALL enemies, but pretty much make clocks dissappear UNLESS... If you don't see a clock in the next level, but a portal is available, either kill yourself right there to gain 30 secs, or drop down a level or two, spot the clock and climb back up. The program will remember where the clock is (since it's already there) and you will gain more secs.
2. Portal: In one instant, I managed to get the gold clock while in portal mode, which game me 50 secs! YAY! I have come across other gifts as well while in portal mode, so it's not impossible.
3. Bahamut: It will take around 15 stars to kill that beast, 4 bombs (or 5? Mike?) and 3 piledrives (but you get yourself killed in the way at least once).
4. Bahamut: It will appear AFTER level 250 and only if you have 9 lives. It can reappear (I've met him twice while playing the same game, so it's possible). It will offer 10,000 points.
5. *I think* that after leve 450 (or 500?) the level patterns/texture start from scratch...
6. Bombs: Bombs can kill enemies on the level bellow (like this purple thing that drops on you and kills you. If you like it out of your way, bomb it from the above level. Same for the lazers and the electric thingy).
7. Knife throwers: Very dangerous (and that laugh... grrr), but they will shoot a second after you see them on the screen. Either go down VERY quickly, or wait for a sec...
8. Soercerors: Star away with more than 2 stars. Try to corner yourself between a wall and a brick, so that he can't kill you. alternatively just piledrive on him.
9. Faeries... Ultimately they don't do much, if you care to just go to lower levels. If you're after more points just hunt them down! They will provide an +1x to the points you get, for every faery you set free.
10. Level lowering... Until level 15 there are no enemies on each level. Until 299 there is one enemy (unless someone drops from above). Until 499 (I think) there's two enemies... Then there's hell...
Great tips Nik, and to clarify, the Bahamut takes 4 bombs to kill. :) Scoring over 1,000,000 points is a great achievement and is way more than I've managed! Like you said though, I think the key to achieving a massive score is making clever use of the fairies and the warp areas - there's certainly a bit of luck involved, but it's the random element which keeps the game interesting. :)
I'm not sure if there's any more I can add to what everyone's mentioned already - seems like you've all picked up on the various subtleties! If we're lucky enough to be able to make a sequel then you can be sure that we'll be adding plenty more things to keep you all on your toes. Thank you all for playing, and we hope that you continue to enjoy the game - also, don't forget to check out the Adult Swim Facebook app where you can prove to your friends how much more ninja you are than them!
Cheers,
Mike @Megadev
what does the warp zone do? i see it all the time and i have no idea what it does. any help?
I think i am addicted to this game, it's just one of the games that keep going. I need to eat..
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House of Dead Ninjas - Tips and Tricks
Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive
Although you begin with only five lives, that number can be increased by hearts you pick up. So even if you're at "full health" and haven't taken a hit yet, don't ignore any hearts that you come across, since they'll stack.
Dying not only resets your timer, it also resets all your bombs and shurikens to the default of 20 shurikens and 5 bombs. This may sound good if you're running low, but since weapon pickups stack, but it also can make you LOSE weapons; even if you had 30 or more shurikens, for example, getting hit resets that back down to 20.
Shurikens also stack beyond your initial capacity, so grab any and all you come across.\line - If you see a flashing gold/red/orange clock, grab it! It'll give you a substantial bonus to your clock beyond the typical 30 seconds. Unfortunately, it isn't "permanent", so dying or grabbing a new clock to refill your timer only grants you your normal 30 seconds back.
The end of the large, spiked "wrecking balls" that swing around is the only part that can hurt you. You can run through the chain without being injured.
You can be injured by your own bombs, so be careful about using them in enclosed spaces. Since bombs will bounce off walls when thrown, if you're trying to blast through an obstacle, stand a few paces back for it.
Spikes are lethal even if you don't land on them, so don't try to walk through them or get too close. You should always stay away from spikes, even if they offer you candy or ask you to help find their puppy.
Even if you're standing on a one tile block and an enemy is on the floor, do NOT get too close. Apparently, toes are a ninja's greatest weakness, and if an enemy comes too close to you while you're standing near the edge, it still counts as a hit. No, it isn't fair. Yes, I feel your pain.
Shurikens can travel "through" one-block high obstacles and strike enemies beyond it, but only if you aren't crouching.
Thrown shurikens always bounce off enemies and lodge momentarily in a surface nearby. If you're quick, you can grab them before they vanish and use them over and over.
Making Friends and Enemies... But Mostly Enemies
Mummies/skeletons will chase you as long as they can see you, and they're very fast. They can be killed with a single shuriken, but often just dropping down out of their line of sight or over a block is good enough, since they can't climb.
Frogs leap back and forth and can only be hit if you're crouching... anything else will sail right over their head.
The small, winged green lizards throw swords every few seconds in a straight line left or right, depending on which way your direction. They'll even throw a sword if you're on the level above them, however, so you can just wait for them to throw before dropping down. You can also dodge the sword by crouching.
Green ninjas only march back and forth until they hit an obstacle. They will not go over obstacles, or move down floors.
Purple ninjas can't climb, but they will drop down if they come to a break in the floor and keep going.
Fat ninjas just walk back and forth between obstacles, and they take two hits to kill.
Once you get down to the stages where the floor is made of green, red, and purple blocks, always be on your guard. Here you can find a dragon that pops out of the floor and spits fire at you. You can only see it before it pops out of the ground by watching out for its tiny green spikes, so you'll need CONSTANT VIGILANCE if you don't want a fireball sandwich.
The flashing insect/alien-ish enemies cannot be killed, so just avoid them. They travel along walls and ceilings.
The bouncing chickens won't come near you, but they will stay in one place and block your way unless you kill them.
SCORE!
The bonus you get for dropping down a level corresponds to how much time you have left. So if you have 20 seconds on the clock when you go down a floor, you'll get a 20 point bonus.
Even if you aren't hurting for time, you might want to make an effort to grab all the clocks you come across, since each one nets you a cool 3000 points.
Gold objects like keys or bars are usually behind a wall or floor you'll have to bomb your way through, but each one is worth over 1000 points.
Each fairy you rescue from a bottle follows you until you get hit, and provides a bonus to the points you get from any action by providing an equal amount of points. So if you kill a fat ninja, normally 300 points, and have a fairy following you, you'll get 600 points instead. This also applies to the points you're granted for descending a level. You can also have multiple fairies, and the bonus stacks, so grab any you see.
Ninja and the Chamber of Secrets
If you see an irregularity in the floor or wall (like a cracked or differently coloured block, or an object that doesn't go with the rest of the tile set) try bombing it.
Green doors act as a way to skip a few floors quickly. Simply hop inside one by walking into it, and you'll be transported down several levels.
Warps, which look like black holes, take you to a special world where nothing can hurt you, allowing you to quickly descend through floors and past enemies without trouble. The problem is that while you can grab weapons, fairies, and treasure, there are NO clocks, so you'll need to hop quickly back into another warp to get back out if you don't want to die when your time runs out.
Posted by: Dora
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January 13, 2011 11:25 AM
Wow, great advice Dora! Here's a few more tips to help players progress:
If you stand on a destructible block and push down twice in quick succession you'll destroy the block without having to waste a bomb.
Whilst falling, tap down to start the piledrive attack, which will instantly kill anything that gets in its way.
If, well, I mean WHEN you do die, hammering the direction keys will allow you to recover more quickly and get going again.
All of the keys can be redefined in the options menu - particularly handy if you're left-handed or French.
I'm sure there's more but that should be enough to keep you going for now. Best of luck!
Cheers,
Mike.
Posted by: Megadev
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January 13, 2011 2:48 PM
Thanks to Mike of Megadev for the earlier replies. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that this is of course a great game. Thanks for making it!
My highest level is around 270 and I've still have to see a Bahamut. I still get killed a lot by the dragon Knives.
Since everyone is sharing, here are some more tips and tricks.
Beginner
You are your own worst enemy: Notice that you move very fast but enemies move at somewhat "normal" speed for a video game. This means that most of my first deaths were due to myself running into enemies, not the other way around. Don't move at maximum speed all the time. Pause to think.
Resources: Most resources, including time can be thought of as limitless. In all the games I've played, I've never run out of any weapons. I ran out of time maybe 3 or 4 times in total. Just pretend they are infinite. When you get better at not dying (and thus fewer "weapon recharge", you will also get better at finding and conserving weapons.
Throwing stars: As a follow up to the above advice, (almost) always use throwing stars to kill enemies in front of you. Even at point blank range. In fact, if you are too close, you will almost always pick up the star you've just thrown immediately.
Think: Think about how you died. There is usually a way that you could have avoided this which does not involve better reflexes.
Intermediate
Go down slowly: If you have the option of jumping down two consecutive floors, jump down one floor first, take a look at what is below you and then decide what to do.
Use the bomb: Most think you would normally think can't be killed can in fact be destroyed by the bomb. This includes Madman (the border following light) and Gror (the thwomp like monster) and anything else in the stats in the game over screen that does not have a "N/A" in the kill column.
Frogs: They are not that dangerous. You can crouch and throw a star if there is no blocks between you (see above comment about always throwing stars). If there is a height 1 block between you then you are already safer and you can throw a star right as they jump and still kill them.
Madman (the border following light): You can actually drop down a one space wide gap while a Madman is moving upwards if you cling to the wall opposite to the one it is on.
Crouch: Always stay crouched if you can remember. You can still do anything you could while standing (attack, move, jump). It avoids many deaths (especially from Knives later on). The only time you want to stand is to throw a star above a height 1 block. If fact, if it were in the options, I'd set "down" to be UNcrouch (and be crouched all other time).
Advanced
Jumping up: It is possible to jump back up any hole you fell down. It is a bit difficult if there no walls on either side of the hole you fell down. You need to double jump (at maximum height) and immediately cling to one side of the hole and immediately wall jump after that. This is especially useful if you see that you've missed a clock or heart. Even if you need a few attempts, it usually doesn't cost that much time.
Custom keys: To make the above much easier, I've set my jump key to "c" and bomb to "a" (on a qwerty keyboard).
In fact, I've managed to jump above the first level and climb up the "wall". I've only found darkness higher up and haven't tried using all 5 lives to jump to the highest point to see if there is any secret. But I've tried it for 3 lives and I do fall down for much longer (afterwards) if I use 90 seconds to wall jump than 30.
(the next one I should be listening to myself, but haven't done so yet)
Bomb down: When there are enemies patrolling below and you want to drop down there, it is much safer to throw a bomb than to try to kill them with a downward thrust or throw a star after dropping.
It would be interesting (as, say, an unlockable bonus) to be able to play at half speed or something. I feel like it be very easy since the enemies would all move in slow motion but you would move at a "regular" speed.
Posted by: JIGuest | January 14, 2011 8:56 PM