Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle + Hell

Went wrong somewhere along the line. The original idea might have promise, but in practice it has failed. Threatens to be interesting sometimes, but rarely.

Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell is simultaneously new and nostalgic. The arcade gameplay will be familiar to fans of NES-era titles, but the game's modern features and obvious love for the source material elevate it above your typical 8- or 16-bit throwbacks.

A great gameplay loop, a variety of fun characters to toy around with, awesome remixes, loving tributes to Jaleco as a whole, and all sorts of fun stages to replay and scorechase like the Hell content and the Ranking stage, The Great Yokai Battle + Hell is a definite must-own, and is easily the best entry in the entire Jajamaru franchise, both serving as a loving tribute to the five famicom games it pulls from, and being a fun way to modernize a very simple arcade-style game and add so, so much depth to it.

Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle + Hell - Deluxe Edition is a great way to celebrate an Eastern classic at the same time that it presents it to the Western public.

Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle + Hell is a scrummy chocolate gateau (or insert preferred cake of choice). If you opt for the extra retro collections, they are the extra yummy cupcakes. What I’m trying to say is you’ll be spoiled for arcade and retro goodness for many gaming nights to come. If you can grab a buddy or loved one to share the experience, then I guess you can call that the extra sprinkles on top. So, of course, I recommend this collection and possibly convince you to seek out your favourite dessert. The only area of improvement, like a lot of these retro collections, is not a lot of depth given to the game’s history. Regarding gameplay, the core game offers some of the best modern arcade gaming I have experienced in some time, and the extra retro content feels like a wonderful bonus adding to an already golden package.