Japan and Mexico. The Narcos and the Yakuza. Who would have thought that they’d become one, eh Hombre. Now they’re filthy Narkuzas, making life hard in your Pueblo. Aye Caramba ese, what’s a Mexican Ninja to do but go and show them whose boss.
Welcome to the wacky world of Mexican Ninja and it’s melting pot of two intersecting cultures in the crime-ridden city of Nuevo-Tokyo. Somehow, someway, the Yakuza and the Mexican Cartels have banded together to create the Narkuza – a ruthless gang of criminals making life difficult across Nuevo-Tokyo. It’s your job as that of the fabled Mexican Ninja to deliver hyper-violent street justice to the gangs and evil tech corporations flooding the city with crime and drugs. No barrio is safe from your wrath!
Mexican Ninja is a brash, violent, colourful and incredibly crude return to 3D arcade brawlers and beat-em-ups. Think the original TMNT Arcade Game, Double Dragon and even Streets of Rage, if it was a dazzling explosion of colour and graffiti and more foul language than Leonardo can withstand before going into a coma. It’s a super-fast, hyper-violent barrage of melee-based combat against the lowest of the low the underworld has to throw at you. But it’s also a bit more than that. Because Mexican Ninja has a twist in the proverbial tail. And that is that it’s also a rogue-like.
Sometimes there are pairings that you wouldn’t have considered. And mixing up a beat-em-up with rogue-like mechanics just happens to be one of those. And yet, here at least, it works incredibly well. That’s down to the fact that developers Madbricks clearly have a handle on what makes both those genres work. More importantly, they clearly understand what it is that makes both of those genres work well together. There’s a fine balancing act between mixing gameplay mechanics and styles, genres and ideas, and I daresay Madbricks have managed to do just that.
Both genres are defined by repetition. But it’s a repetition that compliments each other rather well here. Beating arcade games back in the day, especially if you wanted to do it on one quarter, meant spending a lot of time replaying it to get good and finally carry yourself through to the end without losing a life. And rogue-likes require the same kind of dedication, just with less quarters spent in the long run. Popping them together works like a bit of a dream then, when implemented right as now your character gets stronger while you memorise the enemies and attack patterns. Unlike in traditional beat-em-ups where your character doesn’t change at all.
This little change up in mechanics does wonders to add depth, replayability and a breath of fresh air to what is, for all intents and purposes, as traditional a multiple-stage beat-em-up as you can get.
Mexican Ninja’s focus on kinetic, high-speed action lends itself well to button-mashing gameplay. But don’t let that stop you from playing tactically either, as both styles along with fast reflexes will get you to the end. Our ornery little ninja has light and heavy attacks, a jump, a dash and a basic parry to his broke-ass name. Mixing up attacks provides some thrilling, high-octane combat as you zip across the stage, disembowelling every cabrone in your way. As an added bonus, you get two Jutsus to help you even the odds, the first of which is picked up at the start of each run. The second you can choose as a reward at any of the stages that offer it as a final one, or at some of the many shrines in each area.
On death, enemies drop all too valuable Yen for you to use in the games hub to upgrade the ninja. There are two skill trees to blow your cash on. One provides basic stat upgrades, such as increasing magical damage, health and base attack damage while the other tree unlocks new attacks and combo perks. Both are necessary to increasing your chances of making it through Mexican Ninja’s gauntlets.
As much as button mashing will get you far, it’s learning those extra moves that make a difference. Not just for the games boss fights which are full of AOE’s and the occasional ad, but to chew through enemy shields faster than the basic combo will.
The boss fights are also bright and colourful and as foul-mouthed as the rest of the game. From a Crack Panda to Tech Bro’s in a giant Sombrero wearing mech, Mexican Ninja goes all in on the weirdness.
The rogue-like mechanics are exactly what you would expect. Each time you die, you start right at the beginning and lose any incremental upgrades you’ve picked up in your previous run. Money, thankfully, gets carried across with your rebirth. To make life somewhat easier, if you decide to quit the game while in a stage, the next time you resume it will be from the start of that area. But full death comes with a complete wipe and all you’ll retain is the money you had on your corpse and the permanent upgrades and moves you’ve unlocked.
Everything from increased health and Jutsu upgrades, to enhancing all of your attacks are yours to choose from during a run. Choosing the right upgrade for your playstyle is highly important. Is a 5% damage increase worth more than a 10% health increase? That’s for you to decide. New Jutsus as well rock up throughout the campaign. Whether you want to throw out the Mexican Ninja version of a Bankai or release a deadly fart cloud around you that inflicts poison is, again, up to you. Be wary though and read the fine print on those upgrades as some come with detrimental effects to you as well.
It wouldn’t matter though if the mechanics didn’t complement each other. And they do. Mexican Ninja is a ridiculously fast paced brawler that will keep you on your toes in fights. There’s a lot going on here and you do need some fast reflexes to keep up with it all. And that’s what makes the combat so exhilarating. The speed and ferocity is cathartic.
Visually, Mexican Ninja is a gorgeous game. The visuals explode with colour in everything from the hectic, screen-filling attacks to the gorgeous graffiti on buildings. There’s a cel-shaded approach but Nuevo-Tokyo definitely sports its own identity in the looks department.
The games one downside is that there’s quite a bit of noticeable screen-tearing. While Mexican Ninja’s obscenity laden dialogue and humour may not be for all, it’s gameplay is stupidly addictive and a great showcase for why rogue-likes and beat-em-ups should collaborate more often. There’s a simple joy to getting to grips with its systems and speed that makes cake-walking that fourth boss with nary a hit a pleasant high. Take a dive into Mexican Ninja‘s madness and you may just be pleasantly surprised.
Pros:
- Fantastic art design
- Fast paced, fun combat
- Weird humour
Cons:
- Noticeable screen-tearing
Score: 7/10
Mexican Ninja was reviewed on Xbox Series S/X using a code provided by the publisher. It is also available on Xbox One, PS4/5, and PC.
Double AA Gaming 