Game Review of 3 Ninjas Kick Back (SNES)

3 Ninjas Kick Back is a game published around 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and the Sega Genesis. The video game is about three young boys on a quest to retrieve a stolen magical dagger. The dagger, given to a retired Samurai the boys are assisting, is to be passed down to future generations of Samurai. The boys, named Rocky, Tum-Tum, and Colt, aim to defeat waves upon waves of baddies as they journey through a variety of environments in order to retrieve the stolen dagger, learning a variety of kung-fu along the way.

The game is based on a movie of the same name, which fared rather poorly according to critics. It has since developed an avid following, however, and the game became rather popular, ranking highly in many fan-based game lists.

3 Ninjas Kick Back is a beat-em-up platformer, similar to Super Mario Brothers. In this game, however, you have the power to punch, kick, and toss opponents. I would liken it to something like Gun Star Heroes, only without emphasis on projectiles. The levels, retaining the old-school low-bit graphics of the SNES age, are vividly colorful and exciting to navigate. The variety of enemies to beat up is marvelous, and the game play doesn't get very stale; I have fun playing it, despite having owned it for 15 years!

The only problem I have with 3 Ninjas Kick Back is a serious lack of environmental textiles. The sprites used for things like the ground, the sky, and even the movements of the characters become extraordinarily bland. Though the environmental interaction is nice and intuitive, things like swinging on a rope become extremely tired after just a few animation sessions. The enemies all have nice sprites, though, and aren't simply recolorations or reuses of the same thing, so this makes up for it. All of that said, it's still a wonderful game.

All-in-all, I would give 3 Ninjas Kick Back a 3.5 out of 5. The graphics are nice for the time period, and have not expired with age. The classic feel is nice, and the fact that it is a solid beat-em-up is reflected in its ability to withstand the test of time. Even today, 3 Ninjas Kick Back is a solid performer in terms of game play dynamics among a vast array of good-graphics-but-no-fun video games.