Ninjabread Man

Overview

Ninjabread Man is a platformer that was originally released only in the PAL region on PlayStation 2 in 2005, but later was ported to the Wii, which came to North America. This game has become somewhat infamous for it's controls, design and looping that Data Design Interactive has used several times before and after this game.

Gameplay

Ninjabread Man is set in the land of Sweetworld, a beautiful land mand out of yummy sweets and biscuits. One day however, evil muffins and gummies decide to invade Sweetworld and the only thing that can stop them is Ninjabread Man, a ninja made out of dessert bread. It should be noted that the game does not actually tell you the premise, the only way to know about Ninjabread Man's epic quest to save Sweetland is to read the back of the game's box.

The Wii version of the game plays by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. You control your ninja with the nunchuck's analogue stick and swing your samurai sword by making a horizontal movement with the remote. Ninjabread Man can also fire gummies which can be done by pointing the remote at the screen and aiming at the enemies. Jumping and double jumping is handled by shaking the nunchuck once for a simple jump and twice for a double. The game has a lock on system and the camera can be controled with the D-pad.

In Ninjabread Man, you must complete each stage by finding 8 energy canes to repair a teleporter which will take you to the next stage. Each stage can be completed again in a time attack and score attack mode.

Legacy

Ninja Bread was not reviewed by most traditional outlets such as Gamespot or 1up. Sites that did review the game reported that the game played horribly, with a half baked control scheme and a single player campain that was seemingly incomplete (The game ends after the third level without any explination or ending) The game was also noted for sharing assets with another Data Design published title, Rock N Roll Adventures. Among video game fans Ninja Bread man is often cited as one of the worst Wii games in console's library. EGM would later cite the game in an investigation piece about Nintendo's lack of quality standards for third party Wii games.