Ninja Falldown combines the two factors every game strives for: fun and addictive
by Toni McQuilken
Mar 15, 2012 12:43 PM –
Install
Ninja Falldown is an addicting and fun fall down game. Simply tilt your device left and right to falldown the holes in the game. Avoid the ceiling for as long as possible to keep from crushing Ninja. Also, don’t forget to collect every bonus item you can in the game … they come in VERY handy in certain situations… 
Try to avoid dragons, they are always hungry.
Price: $1.29
Tested on: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Easy gameplay to learn!
- Levels are random, so it is always different and challenging to play!
- Several different power-ups to try and get!
Cons
- I’d like to see multiple modes, such as challenges or even a high score list you can view – you get your score at the end of each level, but I couldn’t find a way to view it outside of that situation.
Features:
Ninja Falldown is a very cute, but challenging game overall. In a lot of games of this “type” the character is heading upward, via jumping or jetpack or whatever, and for some reason, I always have a hard time thinking that way. In this game, however, you’re headed down, and that works better for me. The game is very simple in concept – you have a little ninja character that you have to keep from hitting the top of your device. The screen is constantly moving, and each level has, usually, one place to drop down to the next one.
In addition to just trying to stay alive, which is surprisingly harder than it sounds, there are also power-ups to try and get, like extra lives or a spring that will allow you to jump. The jump comes into play when one of the later power-ups are on the other side of the gap that you have to fall through, so you have to be good enough to jump, get the item, and then get back to drop down to the next level. There are also dragons which, if you hit them, will take away one of your lives. The game ends when you either run out of lives, or your ninja hits the top of the screen.
The longer you stay alive, the harder it gets. I got to a point where one of the levels was actually moving up at a faster rate than the rest, and before I realized it, I was squished at the top of the screen. More of the dragons start to pop up, and the levels themselves seem to start moving faster. I got to the point where I ignored the power-ups completely since I was barely managing to just get to the next level down before I died.
In fact, the only complaint I really had about the game is that I wanted more. I wanted to have a high scores list available on the main menu, instead of just showing my current score/time when I died so I could try to best myself. I also would love to see additional modes, like a challenge to get a certain number of power-ups, or to stay alive for a set period of time. But those are really minor complaints, and speak to how well done the main game is… that I like it so much I want more ways to interact with it.
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Ninja Falldown Main
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Ninja Falldown Instructions 1
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Ninja Falldown Instructions 2
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Ninja Falldown Gameplay
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Ninja Falldown Game Over
Fun Factor:
I was surprised at how fun this game was. It’s very challenging, but not so much that you get discouraged. And as soon as you die, you want to go in and try again. My only complaint was that while I could see my final score each time I died, I really wanted a high score list available from the main screen so I could try to beat my best times/scores.
Addictive:
Despite being simple on the surface, this game is challenging enough that you can’t help but want to go “just one more round”. I was impressed with the fact that the levels are different every time you play, so you can’t just learn where the next drop down will be – every time you play, it is like the first time.
Graphics:
The graphics are cartoony, but they’re supposed to be. This is a ninja game. The colors are bright and beautiful, and the background is nice without taking away from the gameplay.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The game is played purely through the accelerometer. You tilt your device back and forth to maneuver your ninja, with the one exception being when you have the “jump” power-up. In that case, you tap the screen to use it. I tested this on a tablet, but to be honest, I think I’d prefer it on my phone, since the smaller devices seem to be better designed for that type of gameplay. But even on the bigger device, it was still very responsive and easy to use.