163. Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru (Now Production, Famicom, 1990)

Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru ("Masked Ninja Hanamaru") is a pretty basic platformer released in the middle of the Famicom's life in 1990. Later that year, it was also released as Yo! Noid in North America complete with the Domino's Pizza license.

While the platforming and jumping in the game is nothing to write home about, each of the 12 levels in Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru has some kind of gimmick: the first level has the water level constantly rising and falling, the second level has slippery ice and moving platforms, and the third level has you riding a skateboard. The skateboard was by far the most interesting mechanic, as there are certain areas where you have to build up speed to make a jump. Also, there are hidden bonus games that when completed, take you to the end of a level, which was a welcome reprieve during the punishing ice level. Bosses take the form of a logic based card game, which I appreciated, since it was a nice breezy break from platforming.

None of the gameplay feels amazing, but it feels pretty good, especially for a Famicom game. You can easily control your jumping and midair movement, but there is a bit higher of a jump and less friction than in something like Mega Man. You can also throw your bird friend a short distance as your primary means of attack. Most enemies fly off the screen after a single hit, but some took a bizarrely long time to finish off. You also only have 1 hit before you have to restart the level from the beginning, and unfortunately the levels are a bit too long on average. They could have been about half to two-thirds as long and it would have been fine. 12 levels is also on the long side for a Famicom action game.

4/5, a platformer with a nice variety, but the levels are a bit too long and punishing