Decently fun short romp, albiet it isn't much more advanced than the original game. Gotta say though, the lack of choppiness here makes it feel much smoother to play.
Super Mario Bros. was a very influential game and would have many games try to copy it or try out the genre. JaJamaru is this weird IP that honestly I'd recommend you look up if you want history on how this series came to be. Now I thought the previous game was the first and only time to be Arcade like but this one still feels like it's trying to be a score attack game.
Sure it may have elements of a sidescroller but it has many of the elements from the previous games including enemies and just how you control. Even stuff like the items are the same. You have to get them from hitting specific blocks by jumping under them. You have to reach the end in a very short time limit but don't worry, running out of time only has a flame chase you. Nothing about the levels really stand out. It's not only ugly even by 1986 standards but it all feels not well thought out especially with the physics of your character. It's not too surprising considering the developer but it's a little disappointing how uninteresting it all is.
You also fight bosses but like the previous game, it's all just for bonus points and don't take from your lives if you die. Even the final boss where you're meant to save Princess Sakura is just for a bonus. You don't even need to win to continue. The game is only 20 stages before it loops. The music is nothing special and worse of all getting the frog or invincibility makes the screen flash red and yellow and it hurts my eyes, do not play this if you are prone to seizures!!
This might not be a bad game but no one should really be playing these days unless you're just curious about the franchise. He would get a better platformer on the Famicom later on (even if Japan seems to hate that one more but I don't agree). While it's not a bad game, it's close to being one and nothing about it really feels fun and there was better even by 1986. Konami's Ganbare Goemon! was already out by now so I hope owners of the Famicom were buying that instead even if that's not fully a platformer and also has it's own platforming issues but at least it's a fun game. Man now I wanna play Goemon...
Sure it may have elements of a sidescroller but it has many of the elements from the previous games including enemies and just how you control. Even stuff like the items are the same. You have to get them from hitting specific blocks by jumping under them. You have to reach the end in a very short time limit but don't worry, running out of time only has a flame chase you. Nothing about the levels really stand out. It's not only ugly even by 1986 standards but it all feels not well thought out especially with the physics of your character. It's not too surprising considering the developer but it's a little disappointing how uninteresting it all is.
You also fight bosses but like the previous game, it's all just for bonus points and don't take from your lives if you die. Even the final boss where you're meant to save Princess Sakura is just for a bonus. You don't even need to win to continue. The game is only 20 stages before it loops. The music is nothing special and worse of all getting the frog or invincibility makes the screen flash red and yellow and it hurts my eyes, do not play this if you are prone to seizures!!
This might not be a bad game but no one should really be playing these days unless you're just curious about the franchise. He would get a better platformer on the Famicom later on (even if Japan seems to hate that one more but I don't agree). While it's not a bad game, it's close to being one and nothing about it really feels fun and there was better even by 1986. Konami's Ganbare Goemon! was already out by now so I hope owners of the Famicom were buying that instead even if that's not fully a platformer and also has it's own platforming issues but at least it's a fun game. Man now I wanna play Goemon...
Not bad, but not particularly good, either. I didn't play much of the original Ninja JaJaMaru-kun because I didn't like it, but this one was much easier to get into. It gave me heavy Mappy-Land vibes which is a good game. This is a very janky game and that's the main thing holding it back. Movement's not the best, and some enemies/obstacles seem to just know how you'll move. The game doesn't end until you lose all your lives, so I called it quits at level 20, which seems like a pretty natural endpoint.
If you played Ninja JaJaMaru-kun and that there was something there that it didn't quite scratch, give this one a shot. Not something worth going out of your way for, however.
If you played Ninja JaJaMaru-kun and that there was something there that it didn't quite scratch, give this one a shot. Not something worth going out of your way for, however.