This game is not just played for one player, but also for two, in which you can play with either a friend or family member. Now I prefer the movie than the game itself.
Plot. Long ago, Mori Shintaro competed in a martial arts tournament in Japan and defeated his rival Koga in battle. Mori was awarded an ancient dagger, which is a key to a cave that is laden with riches. Koga attempts to steal it from him, but Mori retaliates with the dagger leaving him a scar. Fifty years later, Mori trains his three grandsons as ninjas, their names are Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum. Rocky is the elder of the three and the leader, Colt is the middle brother and the hot-headed one, and Tum-Tum is the youngest brother who just about eats any food, especially candy. Koga sends three stupid henchmen to steal the dagger, but they're easily overpowered. Then they travel to Japan to save their grandfather who is in trouble.
Concept. Players choose one of the three brothers. There are several levels in the game, each one made of smaller zones, the game progresses as players get to the other zone until the end. In the final stage they confront Mori's old rival, Koga. Now this game will punish you with it's difficulty that is very hard.
Design. Nathan Rose is the creator of the game, and he also developed the crappy Last Action Hero video game for the NES. The entire game is fully rendered in 2D sprites.
Memories. I played this game on my cousin's Sega Genesis when I was 8 years old. We usually played the game together, and we got increasingly tired of the difficulty. Whenever we stopped playing the game, we would play games like Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic 2, Street Fighter II Championship Edition, and NBA Action 95, ah memories. Also, during the summer of 1995 in New York, we found passwords to different stages, and finally managed to beat the
gameand a new memory came to us, one that will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Rantings. Now, for one thing that bothers me is that the game missed some of the characters that were in the movie. Such as their Japanese friend and female ninja who becomes Rocky's love interest, Miyo. Also, what I can't stand is those stupid boulders that roll at you, and guess what? If the boulders hit you, you'll either die or lose most of your health depending on the size of the boulders. Also, the dragons were always a major bother in the Japanese Gardens. (SPOILERS BEWARE!) The ending was very, very, lame, not like the movie at all. So get this folks, you just get congratulation from Mori, and it's NOTHING like the movie.
Good Aspects. Well, despite the punishment the game gives you with it's harsh difficulty it's not that bad of a game. What was also cool, but hard to perform was the special moves such as hurricane kicks and more. The game has low replay value, and it is considered a cheesy game.
History. 3 Ninjas: Kick Back is a video game based on the movie of the same name. The 3 Ninjas movie saga started in 1992, and despite what the critics say, it remained a cult classic for the children of that generation. Kick Back was released in 1994, and met with success among fans of the first film and failure among the critics. The third movie Knuckle Up was released in 1995, and two of the original actors of the first movie reprised their roles. Then 2 years later, High Noon at Mega Mountain was released and it was a complete disaster with a poor cast such as Hulk Hogan and Loni Anderson, poor script writing and a very poor plot. The late Jim Varney, known for his Ernest character, was also in the fourth movie. The fourth movie remains in the top 100 of IMDB's worst movies list.
Overall. 3 Ninjas Kick Back gets a 4 out of 10.