Ninja Shodown Image
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
  • Summary: Retrieve the Jade Katana at all costs. It's every ninja for themselves in the ultimate battle for the Jade Katana! Fight alone, team up or take on friends in brutal arena-based combat where the mighty prevail and the weak pay the ultimate price: death and dishonour. The year is 199X and theRetrieve the Jade Katana at all costs. It's every ninja for themselves in the ultimate battle for the Jade Katana! Fight alone, team up or take on friends in brutal arena-based combat where the mighty prevail and the weak pay the ultimate price: death and dishonour. The year is 199X and the world teeters on the brink of total destruction. The mystical Jade Katana, stolen! Its power, so lethal! In the wrong hands, humanity will fall! And so the Viper Clan, sworn guardians of the Jade Katana, prepare to embark on their most perilous mission yet: retrieve the sword at all costs! Use katanas, shurikens, bombs, machine guns, shotguns, bazookas and more as you battle your way through a variety of locations to become the ultimate ninja and fulfill the ancient vow of the Viper Clan. [Nintendo] Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Nov 1, 2017
    83
    I’ll admit it’s a great time. I sank hours into single player, despite my frustrations, and I had even more of a blast with the multiplayer. The Switch is proving itself to be a worthy home for fun party games, and Ninja Shodown is a strong addition to that lineup.
  2. Dec 20, 2017
    65
    Ninja Shodown is one of those games where the Multiplayer shines more than the single player experience. That’s not to say the game isn’t fun alone; it is, but there’s more mayhem to be had in multiplayer, especially Versus Mode. It’s hard to recommend for $15 if you don’t plan to play with friends, especially with no online play, but if you have some friends who want to kick up some ninja-style mayhem, you’ll want to check it out.
  3. Oct 16, 2017
    65
    Fun but shallow game without enough game modes to be entertaining for long enough.
  4. Jan 22, 2018
    65
    If this were any other platform or if this were released much later in the system's life, Ninja Shodown wouldn't be anything extraordinary. The multiplayer does the job, albeit without much flair, while the rest of the modes are more frustrating than enjoyable. On the Switch, however, the title barely has any competition, so those looking for a party-style combat game will find it more appealing despite the $15 price. If you can find Ninja Shodown for cheap and you're guaranteed to have a bunch of friends over often, then give this game a look until some of the stronger multiplayer combat titles hit the scene.
  5. 55
    Ninja Shodown may be trying its best but it simply isn’t very much fun to play. The control issues are very difficult to get around and they rob you of the opportunity to really enjoy the gameplay. There are a number of modes to choose from that do vary up the details but at the end of the day there’s no escaping the fact that the core experience is pretty flawed. This all makes it very hard to recommend when there are so many other better multiplayer titles available.
  6. Oct 18, 2017
    50
    However you end up playing Ninja Shodown, it's unlikely that it will hold attention for more than a handful of rounds. The core mechanics are solid, the action is relatively fast and fun - especially in four player mode on a big screen - and it can be rather entertaining. However, the difficulty spikes and lack of depth in single player, coupled with the lack of modes, no online and minimal options in multiplayer, ultimately make the game little more than a brief but fun time filler. It's becoming more and more apparent that party games like this need more meat on the proverbial bone to stand out, and in this respect Ninja Shodown struggles to make its mark.
  7. Oct 21, 2017
    50
    Ninja Shodown is frantic, action-packed and undeniably frustrating. A relatively short game that will take a long time to get the hold of, it could improve on some details of its moves, especially the combos and attack detection, even if these flaws become less significant in its much more enjoyable multiplayer experience.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of
  2. Mixed: 0 out of
  3. Negative: 0 out of