The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors

The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a fun throwback to a simpler time, but the bonuses don’t make it a top five beat-em-up.

While The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a cool, modernized reminder of a bygone era, its main downside is that arcade-style titles were usually designed to extract the maximum number of quarters from their audience in as short a time as possible, so longevity and variety weren’t high on the list of design requirements back then. As a result, it isn’t likely to hold someone’s attention for long if they aren’t interested in attempting to top the leaderboards. The campaign will take most gamers a couple of hours to complete at most, and the unlockable hard mode and new characters aren’t enough to give it legs. With that in mind, this spruced-up blast from the past is enjoyable while it lasts — it’s just a shame that there’s not a little more mechanical meat on these robotic ninja bones.

It’s a solid beat-em-up with solid gameplay that brings back some of the fun of the arcade classics like Double Dragon and Final Fight. But once you beat it, unless you absolutely have to have the best leaderboard score, you’ll hardly touch it again. If you love old school games as I do, this game isn’t a complete waste of cash for the price. The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors isn’t a bad game, just not a great one.

The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors is a competent and satisfying experience that benefits from two-player co-op and online leaderboards. However, in being a remake of the 1987 and 1994 versions, it also fails to bring anything too interesting or unique to the table. It’s a fairly easy recommendation to brawler fans, but I think a wider audience would be better off with the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, given its much stronger value proposition. Not that it needs saving, but Return of the Warriors isn’t quite the savior of the brawler genre.

I couldn't be happier about the return of the Ninja Warriors. The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors takes classic arcade action and updates it for a brand new era of ninjas. Combat is slick and addictive, and every level is more enjoyable than the last. Unfortunately, the ride just ends far too soon, and without any extra modes or stages to battle your way through after the credits roll, this is an excellent but ultimately far too short experience. I hope the Ninja Warriors stick around longer the next time they return.

By changing some core aspects of the beat ‘em up genre, The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors offers a SNES-like experience that is still enjoyable and unique today – even if it’s a brief one.