The ninja has his face covered, his red headband tied, and his best tough-guy pose ready, but his pockets are completely empty. That’s the funny thing about the opening of Super Adventure Ninja on Woko Games: you look like someone who means business, while your throwing-star counter sits at a big, fat zero. Before you can act like a master assassin, you’ll have to find your own weapons, so your legs will be doing most of the work for now. This HTML5 side-scrolling platformer starts you off in a grassy landscape, with a sign pointing right and platforms at different heights where you can get comfortable running and jumping. The place looks perfect for a stroll, although the little guy in black seems convinced he’s on a top-secret mission.
You can stop and look ahead before moving on, so there’s no reason to panic the moment you reach a platform’s edge. Flat stretches give you room to line up a jump, but you still need to check where you’ll land and whether an enemy is waiting nearby. The one-eyed creatures look a little clueless, but bumping into them will cost you health all the same. Three hearts in the corner show how much you have left, and watching one disappear because you rushed forward certainly takes the shine off your ninja credentials. Before you find any throwing stars, you can still attack monsters by jumping on their heads, provided you land on top instead of running into them from the side. Getting that landing right is the tricky part: a jump that looks straightforward can still leave the ninja worse for wear if your aim is off.
Things start feeling more appropriately ninja-like once you collect throwing stars and can attack from a distance. Having a weapon doesn’t mean you should throw one every time something moves, though, because the counter drops with every shot. You need to judge an enemy’s position and decide whether it’s worth spending ammunition or whether a well-placed jump will do the job. I like that you have to collect your weapons, since each throwing star has an obvious purpose instead of being another pickup you grab out of habit. Heart pickups are worth watching for when your health is running low, but you should still check the route before going after one. An item sitting within reach can make you impatient, while the monster beside it has no intention of politely waiting for you to finish collecting it.
The level selection screen shows four slots, with the first available and the others locked. The cartoon artwork uses bold black outlines that help the ninja and monsters stand out against the grassy platforms. What makes me smile is how seriously the ninja takes himself in this setting: the sky is blue, the clouds are white, the trees are green, and he’s scowling as though the entire world has personally offended him. His black outfit and red headband are easy to follow against the bright background, while clearly drawn platform edges help you judge where to jump. The scenery is charming enough to deserve a look, but if there’s a monster standing nearby, the sightseeing can probably wait.
The controls are easy to learn, but you still have to choose your approach based on your remaining health, your supply of throwing stars, and the enemies ahead. Sometimes a clean jump is enough; sometimes spending a throwing star saves you from an unnecessary close encounter, and those small decisions give you something to consider as you work through a level. You don’t need to turn this ninja into a speedrunner, especially when stopping to check the path could save a heart you’ve worked hard to hang on to. Get him safely through the next stretch first, then worry about looking impressive. The black mask can hide his face, but that health bar won’t cover for him.
