Ninja Hamster

Ninja Hamster is a 2D fighting game published by CRL for the Commodore 64.

Overview

The player controls a small, but perfectly trained rodent as he battles against his mortal enemies, the Sinister Rat and his band of villains.

The action is portrayed in the familiar beat'em up style, with two beastly opponents facing each other across a static screen. Each animal has an energy meter, which is depleted every time a hit is sustained. When this reaches zero, the combatant is knocked down, and a bit is taken out of his life-giving "Great Apple".

Once the seventh segment of the opposition's apple disappears, the hamster advances to the next opponent, if the hamster's apple is removed, the game ends.

The hamster has a repertoire of moves accessed by combinations of joystick positions and button presses. The moves available include a flying kick, mid-kick, ground sweep, punch, high kick, jump and duck. Energy is slowly regained all the time, so to successfully knock down an opponent, blows must be struck fairly regularly.

A two player option is provided, where the second player takes control of the villainous animals.

Reaction

Zzap 64! gave Ninja Hamster the following reviews and scores:

• "CRL have tried to inject a little novelty into the fighting genre, but failed to disguise what is basically a tired old beat'em up." - Julian Rignall ZZap!64 February 1988.
• "This mediocre effort simply disappears into the swirling morass without trace. The two characters are transparent hi-res monochrome sprites which clash badly when in close combat." - S.J. Zzap!64 February 1988.

• Presentation 80%. One or two players plus optional keyboard control.
• Graphics 39%. Poorly defined sprites battle it out across an incredibly bland backdrop
• Sound 72%. A totally cliched, but enjoyable boppy soundtrack.
• Hookability 48%. Simple to play, but the action fails to grab from the out set.
• Lastability 25%. Each character takes ages to defeat, and the action severely lacks variety.
• Overall 39%. A poor beat'em up which falls far short of its potential

External links

• Zzap 64 review of Ninja Hamster
• Ninja Hamster at GameFAQs