Quick, hug the wall! Now appear across the room, crouched down! Now fling yourself on top of the filing cabinet... somehow! If you can't do it, that's because you're not the Ninja, the hero of a new point-and-click adventure from Japanese developer Dassyutu. You start the game outside of a building being guarded. Obviously, you must get in. The rest is for you to discover.
Since it's a point-and-click game, you point your cursor at things and... wait for it... click on them. I know, what a concept, huh? If you're familiar with the conventions of the genre of Japanese escape games, you'll settle into the Ninja fairly quickly. If you're not, here's the skinny. This particular point-and-clicker doesn't highlight the cursor when you move over a hotspot, but click areas are fairly large, so it doesn't become a game of pixel hunting. In general you click on obvious objects, hoping that they will leap obligingly into your inventory, but there are a few times when you must click at the side or under an object to switch the camera view and snag an object hidden from the main view. Once you've got a few items in the inventory, look around for places to use them. Don't forget to take notes if you see anything that looks like a clue.
The utterly charming animation of the Ninja cannot be captured in a screengrab. The impression his quick, dramatic poses give is less "deadly assassin of the night" and more "seven-year-old who's discovered that a balaclava and black pajamas look totally cool POW POW!" Puzzle solutions make sense. I wouldn't say that it's a logical game, exactly, because I figured things out more by flash of intuition than deductive reasoning, but once you get it, you see all the links of the chain. And for those of you wary of another untranslated or badly translated Japanese game, I'm happy to report that the Ninja's English translation is easy to understand, with the slight irregularities only adding to the quirky feel.
The titular Ninja, with his "Gaaaaaaa..." response to any sign of danger, and his total lack of preparation for his mission (seriously, Mr. Ninja, you're just lucky people leave keys and buckets of paint around), may seem a sorry excuse for his profession. Clearly it must all be a feint. While you're chuckling at his merry squid dance, that's when you get the shuriken to the jugular. Desensitize yourself to his shenanigans by playing the game.
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
The Ninja Walkthrough
To look at an object, hover over the right side of the inventory box (it will turn red) and click.
To combine objects, look at an object, click on the object you want to combine with it, and click on the object you're looking at in the main screen.
To move left and right between screens, click on the left or right edge.
To back out of any view, click the bottom edge of the screen.
The one exception is the map—you cannot back out of the map, you must pick a room on the map to travel to.
The game won't let you do certain things until you've gotten the clue. If I say you have to click on something for a clue, it's actually necessary for completion.
This walkthrough is streamlined for minimum backtracking, but the game does not have to be completed exactly in this order. If you're coming here because you're stuck, and you get to the section you think you're in, and you don't have an item it's calling for, simply check the Item Location section at the end.
Outside:
Take the batteries from the guard's booth.
Go left.
Click the orange cone and take the flashlight.
Combine the flashight with the batteries.
Back out.
Click on the screwdriver in the gap in the boxes.
Go left twice.
Click the shovel.
Click the toolbox and take the spanner and back out.
Go right.
Use the shovel on the big brown pile of dirt on the left.
Use the spanner on the manhole.
Click the manhole to go inside.
Inside—Rescue:
Click the flashlight and click anywhere on the screen to get some light.
Click the circle in the lower right hand corner, it is a rope.
Click the dark hole on the ceiling on the upper left to go to the next room.
Take the map from the table.
Look at the map.
Click on room E.
Use the screwdriver on the panel.
Pull the switch.
Click on the squid creature, who tells you there's something in a pocket.
Look at the map and go to room F.
Click the right pocket. You get a red key.
Use the map to go to room A.
Click the box on the wall. It says "The key to cage." If you're thinking you need a code, you've been tricked. You just need to know what room the cage is in. It's in room C. Enter "C" (must be capitalized). Take the blue key.
Back out of the box view, but don't leave the room. Click the right edge of the lockers to see behind them. Take the hook.
Go to room C and use the blue key on the lock.
Click on the blue blobby thing.
Click on the folded white sheet in the cage.
Inside—Destroy the Machine:
Go to room B.
Take the absurdly large hammer right of the door.
Click behind the trash can on the right to change the viewing angle and take the blue paint behind the trash can.
Combine the sheet with the paint.
Go to room D and use the blue sheet on yourself to sneak past the robot (the blue guy told you that robots can't see blue) and get an IC card.
Use the IC card on the robot (the clue for this is that poster behind you).
Click on the robot for the clue to the password to the safe.
Go to room H.
Use the red key on the door.
Click the safe and use the code 1478 (the red books are labeled ADGH, and 1478 is those letters' position in the alphabet).
Take the memo and look at it for the clue.
Go back to the main part of room H.
Click on the white panel on the bottom.
Enter 0006 (2 windows in room H x 3 black books in room F). This disables the device.
SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER! AHAHAHA! Sorry. I mean, use the hammer on the device. Uh oh. You're in trouble.
Escape:
Go to room E.
Click the squid.
Click the top right corner to look at the ceiling.
Combine the rope and the hook to form a grappling hook.
Use the grappling hook on the ceiling panel.
Click the UFO. Functus officio!
Item Locations
Items are listed from left to right, top to bottom, as they appear on the inventory screen.
Batteries — get from guard's booth outside
IC Card — sneak past robot in room D
Screwdriver — get from pile of boxes outside
Flashlight — get from under traffic cone next to pile of boxes outside
Hammer — in room B, right of the door
Hook — Hidden behind lockers in room A (click right edge to change viewing angle)
Blue key — Enter "C" into the box in room A
Red key — pocket of jacket in room F (only after rescuing squid creature)
Map — on table in room G (the first room you enter)
Memo — in safe in locked room in room H
Blue paint — hidden behind trash can in room B
Rope — get from underground area, in the lower right corner
Sheet — inside cage, room C
Shovel — leaning against building outside, one right of starting area
Spanner — in toolbox in the scene with the shovel
No item 16
Posted by: joye
|
July 20, 2010 3:25 PM