Akane the Kunoichi is only the second undertaking in game making by the creators over at Haruneko. With only one other game under their belt the passion and love they have for games is easy to see. Akane is at its roots a very simplistic game that takes you back to the platform days of the Super Nintendo. If you have played any type of platform based game you will be accustomed to Akane the Kunoichi. Frustration mounts as you are faced with endless amounts of enemies and small amounts of life.
Akane’s adventure is divided into five zones with three acts apiece. Platforming is the name of the game, you will do quiet a bit of wall jumping as well. Players will find themselves facing enemies in the form of ninjas, dogs, and monks. Each of the five zones ends with a boss-fight. Like other platform games before it boss fights become rage fests. Your very large foe will have a multitude of ways to dispatch you with a great amount of health. Unfortunately for Akane she follows in the foot steps of other platform greats in being strong but weak in the same breath. She is faced with the unfortunate travesty of having only 4 hearts of health. Sadly if you can guess restarting the act will become more a part of the game then you would like.
Akane takes on the style of many other platform based games that blazed a trail before it. Graphics won’t blow you away but work well for the style of the game. Colors on the levels and the characters are a variable palette of beauty with great popping effects. Elements found in-game are very similar to ones from the Super Nintendo era but feel updated in the same hand. Retro game players should find some nostalgia hidden with in the game and feel like they are back in the hey day of platforming.
In the game Akane would also need to gather “Charming Lost Kimonos” hidden throughout the world. It is told that 45 of these create a Loving Lost Kimono. Anyone that wears this charm will be able to conquer the heart of her beloved. In Akane the Kunoichi, you are a Kunoichi ninja secretely loving her master Goro, a noble samurai. One day Goro is kidnapped by the evil Hiromi and her minions – Akane has to rescue him, but it won’t be an easy task! Many enemies will try to stop her, and she’ll need to be brave enough to fight through those evil ninjas and monsters loyal to Hiromi.
Akane is a great game overall unfortunately for most it will be a once through type game. Once the game has been beat you won’t really find many reasons to revisit the title. Gameplay is very straightforward with little leway to change how you defeat enemies or bosses. You might only find yourself replaying the game to enjoy a level that was hard or enjoyable every so often. Boss fights are simplistic so even those add no value to wanting to give the game another go. Akane though a great platform based game will find its self as a game being deleted to save space on hard drives sadly.
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