Mini Ninjas Adventures

Mini Ninjas Adventures is a spin-off from Mini Ninjas designed entirely for the Kinect motion controls. It has a visual style identical to the original game and features the ninja protagonist Hiro once again. Unlike the original game it does not offer a large world to explore, instead it consists of 21 levels where Hiro has to fight off waves of enemies to progress to a new environment. Hiro is tied to a horizontal plane near the bottom of the screen and he is shown from a view from behind. When the player moves left or right, he moves along on the screen. Enemies appear on three horizontal planes in front of him. Using a variety of weapons, he has to take them out and switch to the appropriate weapon based on the plane they are on.

When they are near, a sword needs to be used. It slashes when the player swipes left or right with his hands. A kicking motion launches them to a plane in the back. On the second plane shuriken need to be thrown. Players need to mimic the throwing motion to launch them. The third plane in the back can only be reached with a bow. When drawn, the player stretches the left arm to pretend holding the bow and launches arrows with the right hand. Switching between weapons can be done at any moment as soon as the weapon has been unlocked. Initially Hiro starts with the sword. It is drawn by reaching with the right hand over the right shoulder. The bow is selected by doing the same motion, but with the left hand over the left shoulder. Finally the shuriken are activated by stretching both arms sideways. Players quickly need to switch between weapons. Tougher enemies have a shield, and often need to be kicked first to stun them, or Hiro has to be moved out of the way when they attack so a counter can be launched by moving back quickly.

Fallen enemies leave behind hearts (lives), magic potions and other items. Additional tactics are learned later on. When the magic bar is full, a special attack can be activated by first crossing both arms the chest to charge it, and then pushing both arms forwards to launch it. It sends out a powerful ranged attack. Defeating enemies also fills up a bar for a ninja attack. When it is full the player shouts "NINJA" and through the voice command Hiro's friends arrive to take on the enemies. Incoming projectiles can be dodged by moving out of the way but Hiro eventually learns the deflect move. By holding both arms over the head and bending them slightly, a shield is formed. It protects against incoming attacks, stops projectiles or deflects them back towards the enemy. When opponents are defeated they turn into small animals, just like the original game.

By gaining experience Hiro can level up and distribute two points per level upgrade on abilities such as magic, health, deflect, critical hit and ninja. There is an unlimited amount of continues but when Hiro dies, the entire level needs to be replayed. New moves and abilities are always introduced through a short tutorial.