Cubic Ninja (3DS) Review

Of all the Nintendo 3DS games that I’ve managed to play thus far, not many of them take huge risks with the platform which is a little bit disappointing. With Ubisoft’s Cubic Ninja, however, it’s a little bit too much of a risk that’s been taken by the developers. It’s not that bad though, as Cubic Ninja does provide some good fun but there’s still a lot wrong with the title that might put a final nail into the coffin for most players.

As you’d expect from the look of the game, Cubic Ninja is a bit of a bare bones package and that also applies to the game’s story too. Cubic Ninja follows the main protagonist CC, a cube who is also a ninja (surprise surprise) as he quests to find his kidnapped princess, who is also a cube. The story is literally presented with this same sense of brevity as I’ve explained it here, and while it’s not really all that sufficient, it’s a nice addition that gives players a bit of a reason to push through the game’s many levels.

In terms of presentation, Cubic Ninja features some slick interfaces and menus that really give the game a heightened sense of production. However, the actual graphics themselves are not totally ground-breaking, but thankfully some good artistic direction seems to save the game from looking too budget. All of the characters featured (yes, they’re all cubes) have this weird sense of charm about them, as do the boss characters (who are giant cubes) too. All of these characters move and animate beautifully with some of the more quirky animations getting a giggle out of me every now and then.

Unfortunately, Cubic Ninja does not do a great job at utilising the 3D effects of the Nintendo 3DS, however the way the game is designed is almost counterproductive to creating a decent and passable 3D effect as many players will be moving the console most of the time. However, when the 3D effect is present it does a good job in creating a sense of depth in the actual characters themselves but the levels feel a little bit “flat” when viewing them in 3D.

As previously mentioned, Cubic Ninja employs two major ways to play, one of which totally negates the 3D effect of the Nintendo 3DS, but utilises another hardware function instead. During Circle Pad mode, the game is entirely played with the Circle Pad and the 3D function is enabled. While this is a little bit more impressive than a 2D game, the Circle Pad just doesn’t feel right when moving CC around. The second mode requires the player to move the 3DS in order to make CC move across the environment. Stuck on the floor and need to get on the roof? Tip your 3DS upside down to make CC fall from the ground to the roof. It’s a great almost gimmicky gameplay mechanic that will see players moving their 3DS consoles around in all manners of positions, and it’s thankfully pretty responsive too, though sneaky players will switch between different modes in order to get through some parts and I personally wouldn’t blame them.

Of course, this means that Cubic Ninja is essentially kind of physics-based puzzler, where players must navigate through obstacles and the like to get to safety and save CC’s partner. Players will come across obstacles in many different forms, and it’s really fun to try and overcome them. However, sometimes it does feel like it takes a little bit too long to get into the swing of things and there are some problems with the controls that the player will have to adapt to, but when the player does develop a sense of flow, it does admittedly feel just right. Thankfully, the game does throw a few curveballs whenever the action becomes to get a bit stagnant, as well as some pretty nicely designed boss battles too.

In terms of actual content, Cubic Ninja features around 100 levels to get through and most of them vary the gameplay quite a bit, but many players may get bored after a while. This is somewhat remedied by the game’s short playthrough time (it should take around three-four hours once you’ve gotten the hang of it), but at the price this package is being offered at, it seems hardly worth it. The game does offer different playable characters, some of which have different physical properties such as a rubber cube that bounces much more than CC does. These playable characters are a nice touch but ultimately they don’t really add anything new to the experience.

There is also a level editor which is quite functional and even allows the players to export their designs to a QR code, but this editor has one colossal oversight that seems really perplexing – the only way to share your QR code is by physically taking a photo of it with someone else’s 3DS, as there is no online functionality to share them. It’s a bit of an odd thing and it severely reduces the longevity of the game.

Cubic Ninja’s soundtrack offers some nice beats that you would tap your foot to, but nothing that you will continue to remember once your gaming session has ended. Most of the tracks do a good job at enhancing the action that’s taking place on screen too. Sound effects are not nearly plentiful enough and unfortunately feel a little bit tacked on.

Cubic Ninja is a good puzzler that tries something new, and for that I do give it due credit – however it unfortunately seems to fall flat on its face in offering a compelling experience, and despite the good use of the gyroscope, it feels a little strange to neglect the 3D functionality so much. Still, if you’re into those games like Super Meat Boy or N+, you’ll definitely like Cubic Ninja and I would probably recommend it (but at a discounted price). Otherwise, it’s a bit of a puzzler that falls short but put up a good fight before doing so.

Graphics 7.0

A bit of a barren and sterile graphical presentation, but slick menus and some charming art direction save Cubic Ninja. 3D effect, when used, is good but could be much better.

Gameplay 6.5

While there are some good ideas here, such as the use of the gyroscope, players may not like the toss up theyll have to make between innovative controls and a 3D effect. Good variety in gameplay but sadly not enough to make it endearing to players.

Sound 5.5

Some nice and inoffensive tunes provide an enhancement to the action, but nothing really stands out here.

Tilt 6.0

Theres a few levels on offer, some nice boss battles and a very functional level editor, but the distinct lack of export and import options (and online connectivity) makes the level editor seem pretty pointless and severely affects the games longevity.

Value 6.0

Despite my initial apprehension, Cubic Ninja was a decent puzzler that tried things differently, and for that I do appreciate it. Unfortunately it did not leave me fully satisfied, but I do recognise it does things much better than some other slack 3DS titles.