Mexican Ninja

Sometimes all I need is to let myself loose and find some chaos to enjoy life. Well, this type of game is the kind of experience that lets me do that. Fast, flashy, needlessly vulgar (in a good way) and difficult enough to let my brain flow with chaos. You want some good laughs and a stylish adrenaline rush? Go for it, you won't regret it.

Janky and could use some optimization, especially for Steamdeck. But its very fun and worth it for the price.

It has some fast paced action and excellent combat graphics!

fun gameplay, amazing art and concept

Difícil, viciante e cheio de personalidade. Mexican Ninja utiliza muito bem o ciclo roguelite: você morre bastante, mas volta mais preparado a cada tentativa. As fases precisam ser refeitas, porém apresentam pequenas mudanças, enquanto as missões secundárias oferecem benefícios que podem salvar uma run. Os chefes são realmente desafiadores e o visual é excelente. Senti falta apenas de uma trilha sonora mais presente e, principalmente, de um modo cooperativo, que combinaria perfeitamente com o combate. Mesmo assim, vale muito a pena para quem gosta de beat ’em up e roguelite. Recebi gratuitamente uma chave do jogo por meio da Keymailer. Gravei minha primeira gameplay para quem quiser conhecer melhor o jogo: https://youtube.com/live/gn3o60ORL1Q

You want to talk about a fusion of not only food but also of countries? How about ending up in Nuevo Tokyo, formed on betrayal, fire, and power? Welcome to the creative world of Mexican Ninja, developed by Mad Bricks and published by Amber Studios. This is your host, Beast, and a shoutout to Keymailer for supplying the key to this indie roguelite action game. There will be no spoilers during this review, so sit back, grab some Tempura Tacos, and let’s get into this! Talk about a Culture Shock: Imagine, if you will, two factions forming a new feudal regime. The Yakuza and the Narcos becoming Narkuzas, a new ruling class in Nuevo Tokyo. Could you imagine turning on your TV and seeing this on the news? I bet your Culo would pucker tighter than coal forming a diamond! What's next? Well, that's up to you and some rebels to take down the five heads of the Narkuza to make the land free to the people and safe to walk around again. It's time for the Mexican Ninja to step up and begin THE REVOLUTION! That's it for the story, let's get into the gameplay! The Fusion of Roguelite and Action! Real talk, I see the appeal of this genre; it is a learning experience to truly "Get GUD" as you progress through Nuevo York. Honestly, it is a fun action title where you start with one power-up that you can build up as you go. Enemies come in a pattern and that is not a bad thing, as you can prepare for each ambush. The deities that you run into will grant you certain blessings for your journey; you will have two at a time, and if you choose can swap them out. My personal favorite is the AOE farting ability that, if you level up properly, can also cause burn damage. That's right, the power of shrimp tempura and Cochinita Pibil will be the death of my enemies. Smell my vengeance...SMELL IT!! The layout does feel like a mobile game where your heavy attack has a cooldown, and it does show your button layout on the screen. RT and LT act as your power-ups. You have a jump button that also can be equipped with an attack and your light attack, which is your main bread and butter. Yes, there is a parry mechanic and a dodge mechanic, which is a risk-and-reward system in play. Also, the clothes make the ninja as you go through each level and pick up random quest; you can unlock more costumes. Keep in mind that each one has its own stats and buffs. It is not just about looking when it comes to the drip you wear for the occasion! Know Thy Jutsu! Here is where things get a bit dicey. YOU WILL DIE...A Lot! But that is okay; you will learn from your mistakes, and whatever money you accumulate will be used on your skill tree. The funny part is when you die, a garbage truck with a vacuum sucks you up and takes you back to your training grounds. It is a creative way to see how you did before your death in a Nuevo Tokyo newspaper, showing how many enemies you took out and how much you made. I love the creative title it had: "The Pinche Ninja was found Dead like an idiot in some dark corner of Nuevo Tokyo." As stated, you have two areas to upgrade yourself; the first area is "The Way of Donkey" where you put points in Courage, Abundance, and Mindfulness. Then you have the "Mero Mero" Skill tree. It deals with Survival, Martial Arts, and Combo Power. The longer you last, the more money you obtain to max out each skill tree. I would advise learning how to dodge and parry as best as possible. Vast Lands of Nuevo Tokyo: The atmosphere in Mexican Ninja works well and hits the right visuals that make me wish I could explore more of the areas. The developers took the art direction of mixing both Mexican and Japanese culture into a nice melting pot. When it comes to the music and sound design, it all meshes well to fit the mood and action. You almost feel the give that you have when hacking through enemies. I do wish that the explosions on the barrels had a stronger effect. Honestly, the grit of the streets reminds me of my time playing the Shank series. Hits that right level of gore and danger with every attack and silliness. Hell, there are even traps laid out that you have to be careful with tripping, and even that has its own beautiful animation warning. One tip: depending on what missions you accomplish, you can unlock other costumes for the Mexican Ninja. Keep progressing to discover more. Do you prefer Saki over the Tequila? I think I only have one issue and that is the parry mechanic in the game. I wish there was a dedicated parry button instead of it being tied to the heavy attack. It is fairly easy to parry as when the enemy has an attack aura surrounding you gives you enough room to time the parry. Also, I do not like that I can't disable some floor bear traps that inflict element damage, but you can lure enemies into them which is a nice touch. That's about it. Final Showdown in Nuevo Tokyo: This is something not in my wheelhouse when it comes to Roguelite games. But Mexican Ninja hits the right spot for me as a Beat'em Up fan. It has humor, replay value, and solid gameplay that anyone can get into. There is a soul here that the developers wanted to convey; they wanted to make a genuine, no-nonsense game. I say no nonsense because the game just works; you have a plan of action, and you find a way to get from A to B. There might be multiple incidents, but that's the fun of getting good. Mexican Ninja gets 4.5 out of 5 Beastly Paws. I am hoping it gets nominated during the Game Awards this year, because I am having fun. It could use a co-op mode, though, but that's about it. Check out Mexican Ninja, which is out now on Steam, Xbox Systems, and PlayStation Systems. Hopefully a Nintendo Switch version is in the works, but we shall see. All right, gamers, time to pack it up and ride off into the sunset. - Beast Out - Video Review available below: https://youtu.be/FO8sUYqpeJQ

TL;DR - Mexican Ninja kicks ass, balancing roguelite progression with brawler-meets-Golden Axe world design and combo-driven hack-and-slash gameplay. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I found Mexican Ninja after blowing through and loving Anomaly President and before that, SoulQuest. I wanted more fast-paced, button-mashy, combo-driven flashy combat with light Action-RPG systems and this game not only scratches that itch, but the progression pacing, for me, is spot-on. I'm loving this game and find I keep coming back to it daily even if just for one run - making progress steadily, always unlocking meaningful upgrades for the next run, and upgrading/building out the combo trees is very satisfying when you see how the combos you designed play out in battle. Overall, Mexican Ninja has a very 'long tail' compared to similar games in the genre I've played recently. I feel like I'm past the halfway mark in the overall 'run', and if so, I'd be totally satisfied getting 10ish hours out of this game, assuming I'll revisit in the future and/or they'll release updates that bring me back. Absolutely recommend Mexican Ninja! (heads-up, I did have some Steam Cloud conflicts that basically led to me restarting the first run 3 times across my two PCs... hasn't happened since a recent update and the whole thing absolutely could have been 100% on my end. Just double check it synced if you're bouncing between devices before you boot it up)

Fun, enjoyable, and really entertaining! 🥷 Had a great time playing it.

This game is a really good streets of rage roguelite and runs perfect on the steamdeck 10/10