Rock 'n' Roll Adventures
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''Ninjabread Man'' is a 2005
platform Platform may refer to: Arts * Platform, an arts centre at The Bridge, Easterhouse, Glasgow * ''Platform'' (1993 film), a 1993 Bollywood action film * ''Platform'' (2000 film), a 2000 film by Jia Zhangke * '' The Platform'' (2019 film) * Pla ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
by developer and publisher Data Design Interactive. The game was released on the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
and
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
in Europe in July 2005. A port for the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
was released in September 2007 in Europe and Australia, and on 3 October 2007 in North America. ''Ninjabread Man'' was later published as part of Data Design Interactive's 'Popcorn Arcade' brand of Wii games. Upon release, ''Ninjabread Man'' received universally negative reviews from critics and was criticized for its camera system, graphics, lack of story, short length, and controls; the Wii version received even lower reviews for its use of
motion control Motion control is a sub-field of automation, encompassing the systems or sub-systems involved in moving parts of machines in a controlled manner. Motion control systems are extensively used in a variety of fields for automation purposes, includi ...
s and has been listed as one of the worst games of all time.


Gameplay

''Ninjabread Man'' is an
action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...
platformer A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
. There are three
level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (optical instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights * Spirit level or bubble level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *C ...
s in the game, plus a tutorial level. In order to proceed to the next level, players must collect eight power rods to activate a teleporter. The Ninjabread Man can attack enemies directly with a samurai sword via a shake of the
Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...
, as well as throw shurikens from a distance using the Wii Remote's IR functionality to aim. When the player completes a level and plays it again, a menu appears with a second mode available, ‘Score Pickups’. If the level is completed again in this mode, the player will unlock ‘Time Attack’ mode. Completion of this mode unlocks the ‘Hidden Pickups!’ mode, in which the player must find pickups.


Development

''Ninjabread Man'' reportedly started development as a planned third entry in the ''
Zool ''Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension'' is a platform video game developed and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was marketed as a rival to Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog''. Originally released for the Amiga home computer in October 1992, the gam ...
'' series, a 2D platforming series released for the
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers produced by Commodore International, Commodore from 1985 until the company's bankruptcy in 1994, with production by others afterward. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16-b ...
. Not much is actually known about the pitch, though it is believed that
Zoo Digital Publishing Zushi Games was a British video game publisher. Based in Sheffield, Zushi is the owner of the multi-million-selling ''Premier Manager'' series and best known for Alien Hominid. Zushi published titles for the Nintendo DS, Wii, Game Boy Advanc ...
(''Zool'''s rights owners) weren't impressed by the tech demo and pulled the license. As such, DDI released the game as a standalone original game. Despite this, evidence for the game originally being a ''Zool'' game are still present; such as leftover ''Zool''-themed levels and items, and a since-leaked intro that shows Zool crashing onto a planet that closely resembles the one used in this game. The data indicates that each of the other four games DDI made with the same assets were originally worlds in the ''Zool'' demo, with ''Ninjabread Man'' being Sweet World, ''Rock'' '''n' Roll Adventures'' being Music World, ''Myth Makers: Trixie in Toyland'' being Toy World, and ''
Anubis II ''Anubis II'' is a 2005 platform game by British developer Data Design Interactive. It was published by Conspiracy Entertainment in the United States for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. ''Anubis II'' received negative reviews from ...
'' being Tooting Common from ''
Zool 2 ''Zool 2'' is a side-scrolling platform video game originally developed by The Warp Factory and published by Gremlin Graphics for the Amiga in November 1993. It is the sequel to the original '' Zool'', which was released earlier in 1992 on variou ...
''. The game was first announced in November 2004 as ''Myth Makers: The Ninjabread Man'', originally intended to be part of the company's ''Myth Makers'' series before having the suffix removed during release.


Reception

''Ninjabread Man'' received unanimously negative reviews upon release. The
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
version of the game has a 31% average rating on
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
, while the Wii version has an average of 17.5%. On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the Wii version of the game has an average score of 20/100, based on 6 reviews. The PC version of the game was not reviewed by any major publication. ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' gave the Wii version a score of 1.5/10, saying: "It’s buggy, often completely broken, somehow manages to have frame issues in tiny levels, and is completely ruthless if (and when) younger players die." ''Thunderbolt'' gave it 1/10, criticizing the game's length and the unimaginative use of the character as key flaws.


Cancelled sequel

On 23 January 2008, a sequel titled ''Ninjabread Man – Blades of Fury'' was announced. It was never released, and Data Design Interactive went out of business in 2012.


''Rock 'n' Roll Adventures''

''Rock 'n' Roll Adventures'' is a
platform video game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
developed and published by Data Design Interactive and
Conspiracy Entertainment Conspiracy Entertainment (formerly Conspiracy Games) is an American third-party developer and video game publisher, publishing games from smaller companies that would face difficulties distributing games themselves. The company has also develop ...
. The game was released in Europe on
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
,
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, and
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
on 17 September 2007 and in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
on 11 October 2007. The game is considered an
asset flip An asset flip is a type of shovelware in which a video game developer purchases pre-made assets and is perceived to use them to create numerous permutations of generic games to sell at low prices. Such games tend to be viewed by gamers as uncrea ...
of ''Ninjabread Man''.


Gameplay

Like ''Ninjabread Man'', there are three levels, plus a
tutorial In education, a tutorial is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...
. In the tutorial level, the game will show the player what controls to use. For the rest of the levels, the player must collect all eight Power Rods. The enemies of the game are
drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
parts like
cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s. The game uses the
Wii Remote The Wii Remote, colloquially known as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with an ...
and
Nunchuk is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately (sticks) and (rope). A person who has pract ...
. Flicking the Nunchuk upwards allows the player to jump. Swinging the Wii Remote swings the player's guitar.


Reception

The game has received poor reception. ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' gave the game a 3.0/10, criticizing it for non-interesting graphics, sloppy gameplay, and bad controls. ''
Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British Video game journalism, video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally p ...
'' pointed out that the spine of the box misspells the title as "Rock n' Roll Adevntures".


See also

* ''
Anubis II ''Anubis II'' is a 2005 platform game by British developer Data Design Interactive. It was published by Conspiracy Entertainment in the United States for the Wii, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. ''Anubis II'' received negative reviews from ...
'', a similar Data Design Interactive game


References

{{Reflist 2005 video games 3D platformers Conspiracy Entertainment games Data Design Interactive games Metro3D games Ninja characters in video games PlayStation 2 games RenderWare games Single-player video games Video games about cookies Video games about ninja Video games developed in the United Kingdom Wii games Windows games