It sounds best if you just cough the word out
It’s time to wrap your tongue around Ninja Jajamaru-kun, as ININ Games has released a few localized collections of his most prominent adventures. While this was one big collection in Japan, for what I can only assume are localization reasons, they’ve been split up into three different releases. Buckle up; I’ll outline them here.
First, we have Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell. This is a brand-new game for the series that acts as a celebration of its history. You’ll choose from a growing cast of characters to stomp yokai as you make your way to the catfish pirate.
If you’re in the mood for classic Jajamaru, there’s Ninja JaJaMaru: Retro Collection. This includes five classic games: Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun, Ninja JaJaMaru’s Big Adventure (JaJaMaru no Daibouken), The Great World Adventure (Oira JaJaMaru! Sekai Daibouken), Operation Milky Way (Ninja JaJaMaru: Ginga Daisakusen), and Super Ninja-kid (Super Ninja-Kun). It’s worth noting that Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure was originally released in North America as Maru’s Mission, but the version in the collection is truer to the original Japanese release. They’ve also included a colorized “DX” version.
Finally, there’s Ninja JaJaMaru: The Lost RPGs. Here you have translated versions of the two Famicom RPGs, Gekimadenn — Maboroshi no Kinmajou and Ninpouchou. This collection is very special to me, as the only way to previously play these games was through fan translations, and I’m always happy when a publisher takes the time to bring old titles to a new audience.
You can get The Great Yokai Battle +Hell and the Retro Collection in one pack through Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition. Not, however, that this does not include Ninja JaJaMaru: The Lost RPGs, which has to be purchased separately.
I’ve covered three of the JaJaMaru-Kun games here previously. The series has never been a very blockbuster one, and the games are relatively medium. However, it’s still a facet of Japanese video game history, and I’m very excited that more people will get to experience these. I’ll have a full review once I have a bit more time with the titles, but for now, I can tell you that they’re definitely there. The games are in the collections, and you can play them.
In fact, you can play them right now on Switch and PS4. There is some delay on the PS4 deluxe version, but that should be resolved and available on February 23.
