PixlBit

The Ninja Kids

Released: 1990

Pitch: Fight your way through hordes of satanic enemies.

At first glance this game seems like a pretty low rent beat-'em-up and mechanically that holds true. You can move around the screen jumping and attacking and occasionally using a screen-filling special attack. It doesn't get much more complicated than that (this game wants your quarters!). It is perfectly serviceable. What's interesting is all the stuff around the gameplay. The character graphics, especially for the bad guys, look like they started as hand puppets or off brand Sesame Street characters. The bad guys even fall apart as a puppet might (heads coming off, separating at the waist, etc.). The plot of the game is that a group of satanists is trying to resurrect—you guessed it!—Satan, but the satanists themselves look like reject Klansmen. And they can fly. It's quite bizarre! The game is nothing special but it's fun enough that, coupled with game's...unique charms, I'd give it a recommend!