The Legend of Tobimaru is a retro action platformer with metroidvania elements that sees you playing a ninja who sets out to gain special powers that he can use to protect his clan in future battles.
In The Legend of Tobimaru you take on the role of Tobimaru, a member of a ninja clan who is deemed their ‘Orb Protector’. He lives in a land where battles between rival ninja clans are commonplace and each clan has a powerful orb that grants them special powers. After Tobimaru’s clan is brutally attacked in his absence, he sets out to defeat all the rival clans, take their orbs and harness the power to prepare him for future battles – but does this make him just as evil as the people who attacked his clan?
The Legend of Tobimaru’s action platforming gameplay feels fondly reminiscent of the classic Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi games, with challenging retro action platforming action as you slice your way through levels populated with enemies, traps and bosses. It features metroidvania elements, with you unlocking new skills that will help you progress past obstacles, but it’s broken up into separate (very large) stages instead of having one open game world.
It’s a fun game, but there are a few issues with the current build, especially in the first level. This is due to the fact that your move set is limited at the start you’re not really equipped to take on more powerful opponents – such as the first proper miniboss you meet (the one at the bottom of a pit). You have the ability to ‘shift’ through opponents, but the game really needs a roll/dodge move to take you away from the vicinity of an upcoming enemy attack.
It’s still early in development though and it shows a lot of promise – there’s a nice selection of cool moves to unlock, the retro visual style is great and the combat feels satisfyingly meaty. With just a few tweaks to the gameplay The Legend of Tobimaru could end up being an excellent slice of retro ninja action.
UPDATE: This Alpha Is No Longer Available