Parasitus: Ninja Zero Review
Are you one of the many relentless warriors, frantically launching cheeseburgers (with bacon) down that plunging throat of yours in hope of one day bringing forth a self-imposed heart attack? Well, stop now! Put that greasy burger down as there is a much simpler solution to incite a cardiac arrest. Simply pick up Parasitus: Ninja Zero from the Xbox Live Indie Games section and play until you clutch your heart-bursting chest in joy…and immense pain.
Flowering from developers Heart Attack Machine, Parasitus: Ninja Zero is nearly as beguiling as its title suggests. Being a 2D hack ‘n’ slash adventure game of the Castlevania meets Shinobi breed, Parasitus immediately struck a chord within me. It is the style of game that I didn’t even realise I dearly missed. It’s blocky 8-bit pixel art and sombre, disturbing tracks gripped me in the way Splatterhouse 2 was able to twenty years ago. There is just something weirdly compelling and horrific about the atmosphere that is created.
It hits almost instantly with the intro of the game, with the digitalised screams of those slaughtered in the demonic apocalypse that the game bases its action around. Or at least I think it does. The game itself does not know what location or era it is taking place in, and it certainly is not going to introduce you to the protagonist or his purpose. All you know when you wake up in the eerie cemetery is that there are zombies to the right of the screen, so that must be the way to go. At first, the combat in Parasitus seems disappointingly basic, with there only being one button to slash your katana, and variation being a jump and slash. Wow. You meet a couple of different enemies such as undead dogs and flying gargoyles, at which point learning to guard is a necessity.
The slow start soon caves in, and the game teaches you some new moves to experiment with every time that the EXP bar is filled – this is done so by killing of course. Before long you will have an impressive selection of combos to mix things up with in a two button affair. The speed of the game then picks up and when you start traversing the castle, some spike pits and flame traps provide a more perilous path, especially with the slightly shaky walljumping you need to utilise. Despite the relative small structure of the game, it being set across five levels, it manages to emit an epic tone. When your ninja protagonist is standing still, his sword at his hilt, and large overcoat and headband fluttering in the wind; you are given the sense that he is the only guy who can save the world. When the whole roster of moves is available you soon see why. Firing a grenade launcher, somersaulting into flying demons, and hadouken-like sword slashes that send a torrent of blue flames towards those in the way, are all stringed together with ease. Parasitus definitely has style.
Once you have realised that most enemies, be it charging trolls, packs of zombies or winged fire demons; can be taken down by seesawing your thumb over the X and Y buttons, then the game will play as a fun slaughter fest. At the end of the level there is always a challenging boss fight, with either a bizarre-looking beast or a nimble and skilled ninja. These can be tricky fights especially on the higher difficulties and will become frustrating as they deplete all of your lives and force you to restart the entire level, or the checkpoint if there was one in that level. This will be familiar to anyone who has played the classic arcade beat ‘em ups and is aware of how precious lives really are. Much like those older titles, Parasitus has leaderboards for each level, with higher scores only attainable at the more challenging levels of difficulty. This is your reason to replay the game as well as finding the two larvae and unlocking the extra playable character, Trooper. Those who manage to convince a friend to play an old-school hack ‘n’ slasher can even try out the game’s local co-op feature, and go kicking the butt of that interstellar menace hand-in-hand. Well, that last bit is up to you. Either way, Parasitus will please anyone who enjoys a Castlevania-like adventure. It’s highlights include fighting a guy with a bazooka inside a tank on a moving train (it has an explosive finish) and battling its odd stomping amalgamation that it calls its final boss.
Find out more about Parasitus: Ninja Zero and the people who made it at deliciousham.com
Review summary Pros:
Great atmosphere through chilling soundtrack and haunting backgrounds, Castlevania-like adventure, combat is both fun and challenging, bizarre boss battles
Cons:
Story is almost incomprehensible, walljumping is a little shaky
Rating: 80%
