Mini Ninjas

Mini Ninjas Nintendo DS is a 2009 action-adventure game published by Eidos Interactive. While IO Interactive created the wider Mini Ninjas property, the handheld version was developed by Magic Pockets as its own Nintendo DS adaptation, built around compact missions, 3D exploration, and the system’s two-screen controls. Players follow Hiro, a young ninja chosen to confront an evil samurai warlord whose magic has disturbed the natural world by turning animals into armored soldiers.

The adventure begins after Hiro’s fellow trainees disappear while investigating the growing threat. Guided by his ninja master, Hiro travels through a stylized version of feudal Japan, helps people he encounters, searches for useful supplies, and advances toward fortified enemy territory. Defeating a transformed opponent restores it to animal form rather than presenting the conflict as ordinary violence, which gives the game’s fantasy premise a gentler identity. Ghosts, hostile samurai, and larger encounters provide obstacles as Hiro works to restore balance.

Mini Ninjas on NDS uses the Control Pad and face buttons for movement, jumping, sword attacks, blocking, camera adjustment, and ranged attacks. Hiro can throw equipment such as shuriken and bombs, while food and potions restore health. Sprinting draws on stamina, and Kuji magic relies on Ki, a resource that can be recovered through meditation. Experience gained during progress can improve Hiro’s abilities, tying exploration and combat to the growth of the central character.

The Nintendo DS Touch Screen serves as a practical command center. It gives quick access to the map, inventory, spell choices, selected secondary weapons, meditation, and character selection. Hiro can be joined by Futo and Suzume as the story unfolds, and the three have different combat styles and equipment. Hiro’s distinctive tools include magic and the ninja hat: on land it can protect him from incoming arrows, and on water it becomes a small boat for crossing rivers and other waterways.

The handheld version also turns the supernatural side of its story into a DS-specific feature. When Hiro enters the Plane of Spirits, the action shifts to short 2D puzzle challenges with an ink-painting-inspired look. These sequences ask the player to use the stylus to select tools and perform actions such as brushing, cutting, blowing, or rotating objects in order to clear a path or complete a task. That contrast between 3D action stages and touch-led spirit puzzles gives Mini Ninjas Nintendo DS a structure that differs from the larger console and computer releases.

Outside the solo quest, Mini Ninjas includes local wireless multiplayer through single-card DS Download Play. Two players can choose an arena and compete in Deathmatch or Time Attack modes, with Fire, Ninja, Water, and Night settings listed in the game’s manual. Released alongside versions for platforms including Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows, this DS edition shares the series’ characters and magical conflict while reshaping them for portable play, touchscreen management, and short-form multiplayer sessions.