Travel back in time with this pair of retro RPG classics that were never released outside of Japan. Ninja JajaMaru: The Lost RPGs is a bundle of two games. Here are their English translations: “Ninja Jajamaru Ninjutsu Book” (released in 1989), “Ninja Jajamaru Legend of the Golden Castle” (released in 1990).
I don’t know about you, but this is the first time I’ve heard of this series. Maybe it’s because they haven’t been released in my area, but these two titles seem niche to say the least. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good. If you’re a fan of retro RPGs and want to play something you’ve never played before, Ninja JajaMaru is for you.
The first game, Ninja Skill Book, reminds me of old school Dragon Quest games. Players guide the protagonist through the map from a top-down perspective. Go from point A to point B on the overworld map. You can visit different villages and interact with characters. Includes random enemy encounters. Earn XP as you progress and become stronger. You can also buy and upgrade weapons and equipment with money collected by defeating enemies. It’s a very retro RPG. In a good way… in a bad way. It hits all the right places if you want a nostalgic journey, but it also feels like it’s going at a snail’s pace when it tries to progress.
Ninja JajaMaru: Ninja Skill Book was probably pretty cool when it was first released, but it’s getting a little dated now. You have to select the action you want to perform. I feel like this is just repetitive and unnecessary. We appreciate that you can tweak the game settings.
As with most re-released retro games, there is a rewind feature to correct any mistakes. If you grew up in the era of real-life games, this feels like a cheat, but I’m also someone who couldn’t beat The Jungle Book without rewinding it 20 years later on the Nintendo Switch, so I don’t know who I am. do you judge?
The second game in this bundle, The Legend of the Golden Castle, is far superior in all respects. This felt like a top-down Legend of Zelda game: instead of encountering random enemies, you could run around and attack them with your equipped weapon. The graphics have also been improved and the controls are simpler and smoother. Instead of going through the options and selecting “talk” he interacts with the NPC, he just approaches the NPC and presses A. There are many differences between the two games. If you don’t like one, you can try the other.
The best thing about Ninja JaJaMaru: The Lost RPGs is that you can customize your experience. You can change the controls and adjust the rewind speed. You can also change the display, which is great. You can adjust sharpness, CRT gamma, screen size, etc. Options also have an enhancement section such as lower random encounter rate (lifesaver), double his XP and gold. Then there is the cheats section. Here you can also turn on cheats such as unlimited HP, no random encounters, unlimited gold, and maximize your stats at the beginning of the game. This is definitely a cool feature. You can also save or access and change your settings at any time by pressing the select button.
I enjoyed some of the Ninja Skill Books, but I have to say that this bundle is worth checking out The Legend of the Golden Castle.I think JRPG fans will really enjoy this feeling. . It’s much easier to pick up and play, and you can easily get through without using cheats or extensions.
If you like retro JRPGs, check out Ninja JajaMaru: The Lost RPGs. Even if you’re not a fan of the old games, everyone from beginner to pro can access this bundle because everything is customizable. So are “retro” games. Personally, I think it’s fun to go back and play the games that inspired them to become what they are today.
Ninja Jajamaru The Lost RPG is now available on the Nintendo Switch eShop.