Visit the upgrade screen in this pixel-powered vertical shooter and you may be surprised by what’s available. Alongside the usual assortment of weapon upgrades, you’ll also find a score multiplier extension and the ability to unlock new backdrops; with the action taking place on a sole infinitely scrolling playfield before purchasing a wider range. Working your way through the unlock list is the main way Ninpo Blast lures you in, as it’s not so much about rote memorisation – due to it featuring randomised waves – but rather grinding to supercharge the starting weapons.
True to its name, it delivers a quick blast experience. You’re given three lives and tasked with surviving as many waves as possible, each lasting around a minute and ending with a random boss battle. Death comes at you fast initially as the two weapons carried – an occasionally action-obscuring shuriken spread shot and a straight-shooting laser – are incredibly weak, unable to kill the majority of insect-like enemies as they dash either horizontally or vertically across the narrow playing area.
Occasionally enemies drop missable gear tokens, which are vital to collect to improve firepower not just so it can destroy whatever’s thrown at you, but take down bosses swiftly too.
Making this task a tad easier is a bomb on a brief cooldown – highly useful for multiple enemies attacking in formations, especially those seemingly on a collision course. Signposting here is decent too, with indicators showing where enemies are about to emerge. Spiders swing from webs, dragonflies home in and give chase, and carrot-like(!) foes crawl along the left and right of the screen while spewing bullets. Bosses, meanwhile, take the form of larger spiders with unique bullet formations to memorise.
The pace here is breakneck, throwing you into the action instantly, and there’s an energic musical score to accompany the pacing. The pixel art is bright and vibrant; a sort of halfway home between 8-bit and 16-bit. If you’re expecting different modes, though, you’re in for disappointment. This isn’t too fatal to the experience as a whole, fortunately, as there is something to be said about how lean Ninpo Blast is. You’re encouraged to dust yourself off and try again, with each upgrade potentially increasing your chances of survival.
This score-chasing element is tied into the online leaderboard, although how true of a reflection to a player’s skill is questionable. Surely those with the majority of weapon unlocks will be at a huge advantage over newcomers? It does at least give something to focus on while adding replay value. It’s surprising how much richer a shooter feels just for having a leaderboard.
Getting back to the grind, Ninpo Blast is enjoyable. It’s repetitive, but it’s the compelling kind of repetition, as you’re forever becoming more adaptable. At the same time though, the amount of gear drops is clearly monitored behind the scenes, making the experience feel padded out. It isn’t long until the weapon upgrades quota rises to fifty gears, and on most attempts, I was barely averaging ten. This means you won’t be blitzing through Ninpo Blast in under an hour – something I was wary of. To see everything will take a few evenings, swiftly dying and starting over constantly. At first, a typical run lasts in the vicinity of three minutes.
The short burst gameplay is ideal for the Switch, and I’d recommend that version over others, but as long as you’re not expecting a long-haul experience that you can 1CC I don’t think anyone will be too disappointed. It’s more than serviceable for a quick shoot’em up fix – once you’re actually capable of swatting whatever’s thrown your way. The grind is real, as the kids say.
eastasiasoft’s Tiny Pixels Vol. 1 – Ninpo Blast is out 14th Aug on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series.