House of Dead Ninjas is an infinite runner platformer developed by Megadev and published by Adult Swim. It centers around a ninja trying to infiltrate a mystical temple to defeat the monsters inside and loot treasure for fame. It appears to be an homage to old 8-bit games, especially NES games.
Controls[]
All of the controls in this game can be redefined in the options menu.
- Left/Right: Move left/right
- Up: Jump (hold to jump higher, tap twice to double-jump), Enter door/portal
- Down: Crouch (use Left/Right keys while Crouching to Crouch Run)
- Z: Sword Attack
- X: Throw Shuriken
- C: Throw Bomb
Plot[]
Legends tell of a mystical tower called the Ziggurat of Infinum, which countless ninjas have entered in an attempt to reach the bottom and claim its riches, but no one has been able to do it so far. One ninja, on a quest for fame, sets out to storm the Ziggurat himself to achieve the impossible.
Gameplay[]
Being an infinite runner, the only goal in House of Dead Ninjas is to try and get as far as you can. At the beginning of the game, you are deposited at the top of the Ziggurat of Infinum and are tasked with making your way downward. You earn points every time you kill an enemy or descend down a floor. As you play, a timer counts down from 30 seconds; let the timer reach zero and you'll lose a life, just as touching an enemy or hazard will do to you. You start the game with five lives (but can accumulate up to nine via 1-Ups); the game ends if you run out of lives.
The Ninja has several abilities that can be used to defeat or evade enemies and hazards. He is able to double jump, wall jump, and crouch run. He also has three different weapons at his disposal. The Sword is the Ninja's most basic but reliable weapon. Aside from delivering basic melee attacks, the Sword can be used to do downward thrusts, allowing the Ninja to kill any enemy below him. The Shurikens are throwing weapons that are thrown straight ahead and bounce off of enemies after killing them. After being used, Shurikens can actually be recollected to prevent your ammo from going down, but they disappear after a few seconds. There are also pick-ups that replenish your Shurikens, but recollecting used Shurikens is the best way to make sure you never run out. Bombs are explosives (obviously) that are thrown in an arc and can destroy blocks as well as enemies that can't be destroyed by other weapons, but their explosions can also kill the Ninja if he's too close. Like Shurikens, Bombs can be replenished by collecting pick-ups.
Pick-Ups[]
- Shurikens: Gives you 10 extra Shurikens.
- Bombs: Gives you 3 extra bombs.
- Extra Time: Resets the timer back to 30 seconds.
- All-Seeing Eye: Allows you to detect offscreen pick-ups more easily.
- Money: Gives you extra points.
- 1-Up: Gives you an extra life.
Enemies and Hazards[]
- Ninja: Walks back and forth.
- Wandering Ninja: Walks back and forth, and doesn't change directions if he reaches a ledge.
- Sumo: Fat ninja that takes two hits to kill (but a downward thrust will kill him instantly).
- Kobold: Fox demon that stands in one spot but throws knives. The knives can be dodged by crouching.
- Frog: Small but toxic frog that occasionally hops at you.
- Mad Spark: Living ball of electricity that crawls along the walls or the edges of a platform. Can only be destroyed by bombs.
- Spike: Stationary trap that kills on contact. Can only be destroyed by bombs.
- Phoenix Rooster: Jumps in place.
- Dragon: Hides underground until you get close, then pops up and shoots a fireball. Only attacks once.
- Spiky Ball: Comes in three variants - red, gray, and rainbow. Red ones are attached to chains and swing in full circles. Gray ones are attached to chains and just swing back and forth. Rainbow ones have no chains and bounce around the room diagonally. Can only be destroyed by bombs.
- Ghost Worms: Cluster of worms that can't hurt you but will slow you down if you try to walk through them.
- Smash Brick: Hangs on the ceiling and falls down if you pass under it. Can only be destroyed by bombs.
- Skeleton: Chases after you if he sees you.
- Porcupine: Strange-looking ninja with spikes on his back who runs back and forth. If you kill him, the spikes on his dead body can still hurt you.
- Ripper: Demon who flies back and forth in a sine wave pattern.
- Wizard: Takes two hits to kill. Doesn't do anything until you attack him, then he teleports away and starts shooting magic blasts.
- Shield Ninja: Ninja armed with a shield. Can only be attacked from behind.
- Block Totem: A stack of four blocks, one of which has an eye. Can only be killed by hitting the block with the eye.
- Laser Cannon: Moves back and forth on floors and ceilings and occasionally fires a laser. Can only be destroyed by bombs.
- The Bahamut: Giant zombie fish god that shows up randomly and slowly chases after you, able to phase through walls.