Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review (PlayStation 4)

by Jim Smale · Published February 23, 2023 · Updated February 23, 2023

For our Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review, we go Back to the 80s, Jaleco first released one of their most-known franchises Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, spanning several sequels over the coming decades, some of them never released in the West before! We are now bringing three amazing Ninja JaJaMaru collections from the great developers at City Connection to Europe and North America! Restored with love, additional features, and English language support, different editions, including various titles of the series, are heading to your home screens.

Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review Pros:

Brilliant pixel art graphics.
650.8MB download size.
Platinum trophy.
Own in-game achievements.
Button settings – normal and rotate.
Online leaderboards.
Local two-player multiplayer.
24 characters to unlock, you get 2 initially.
Chapter and level selection.
The soundtrack is modern or retro (unlockable).
Battle platformer gameplay.
At the end of the level, earn unlocks from the gotcha machine.
The presentation is excellent with pixel art graphics, fireworks, etc.
New unlocks show next to the menu it pertains to.
The best score is shown on each level.
You can replay levels.
Earn medals for each level like no hit.
In the game it’s platforms that you jump between, smash blocks to stun enemies, and shoot enemies.
You can see enemy health bars.
Shoot enemy projectiles to destroy them.
Awesome power-ups like invisibility or riding giant frogs!
The collection includes –
- Ninja JaJaMaru-kun (1985, NES)
- Ninja JaJaMaru’s Big Adventure (1986, NES)
- Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure (1990, Game Boy)
- Ninja JaJaMaru: Operation Milky Way (1991, NES)
- Super Ninja-kid (1994, SNES)
- Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great Yokai Battle +Hell (2020)
All characters have unique attacks, stats, and movements.
Really addictive.
Tutorial signs within the levels.
Near instant loading times.
It is fantastic fun.
Plays like an updated version of the original Mario Bros game.
Boss battles.
Challenge mode is a harder leaderboard-based mode where enemies come at you faster and harder.
Collect 3 blossom leaves to get a bonus game at the end of the level.
Combos for killing enemies fast.
Ninja JaJaMaru: RPG Collection has two games that take the series in a different direction:
- Ninja JaJaMaru: Ninja Skill Book (1989)
- Ninja JajaMaru: The Legend of the Golden Castle (1990)
Stun enemies by jumping on them or by hitting the Breakable bricks under them.
You get retro games and a modern game all bundled into one.
The museum shows off collected images of box art, promo items, cartridges, and anything else.
The collection is what you fill in with the gotcha machine and each piece gives a brief description.

Ninja JaJaMaru The Great Yokai Battle +Hell Deluxe Edition Review Cons:

No actual tutorial and the signs are far and few between.
Cannot rebind controls.
No reference for what to do.
Takes a bit of getting used to.
The older games are harder to get into with little help, Tougher gameplay.
The collection comes down in separate downloads.
Each character is different and if it’s a character you have never seen then you go in blind.
The collection and museum menus are not clear.