Small World, Big Fun – LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin Review

<p>So sue me&comma; but I just love the LEGO video game formula&comma; and I just can’t get enough of the addictive smash and build gameplay that each one offers&period; The latest offering can only be found on handhelds&comma; but that doesn’t keep it from being a fully featured and supremely entertaining entry into the Traveller’s Tales’ impressive stable of LEGO games&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Developed by Traveller&&num;8217&semi;s Tales Fusion&comma; <em>LEGO Ninjago&colon; Shadow of Ronin<&sol;em> is based on the popular animated television series&comma; and is a bit unique in that it is one of TT Games few titles that are based on one of LEGO’s own properties instead of an outside property&period; My children are well versed in the show&comma; but I must admit that I had not watched it before playing&period; The game does a great job of making one want to catch up on episodes though&comma; as it tells an interesting story that includes several elements&comma; story threads&comma;  and characters from the show&period; I almost felt as if I were missing out on some good stuff&comma; and that is a strength of the game in that it draws the player in with a good narrative&comma; and makes them excited to learn more about the world&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;80537" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-80537" style&equals;"width&colon; 500px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;small-world-big-fun-lego-ninjago-shadow-ronin-review&sol;ninjago&lowbar;ronin&lowbar;001&lowbar;500px&sol;" rel&equals;"attachment wp-att-80537"><img class&equals;"wp-image-80537 size-full" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;03&sol;05011755&sol;Ninjago&lowbar;ronin&lowbar;001&lowbar;500px&period;jpg" alt&equals;"lego1" width&equals;"500" height&equals;"283" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-80537" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Always plenty of stuff to smash in the environments<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Gameplay follows the typical LEGO game formula that can be found in all of the titles&comma; and it is just as addictive as it has always been&period; The scale&comma; however&comma; has been downsized to accommodate gaming on the go with the Vita or 3DS&period; Levels are much shorter this time around&comma; but there are still plenty of them so you do not feel as if you’re getting shortchanged&period; There’s also not a traditional hub-world like those that can be found in the Marvel or Hobbit games&comma; but there is a smaller map that can be traversed on the back of a dragon to reach all of the levels to play or to replay&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Replaying the levels is still a big draw&comma; as the myriad of collectibles that these games have come to be known for are still present and accounted for&period; There are not as many to be found as in the big brother console versions&comma; but there are still plenty of unlockable characters&comma; cheats&comma; and surprises to be found&period; It would have been nice to see the variety of unlockables that can be found in the other games&comma; but the reduced amount compliments the game’s smaller size&comma; so it makes sense and it can hardly be looked at as a detriment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;80538" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-80538" style&equals;"width&colon; 500px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;bagogames&period;com&sol;small-world-big-fun-lego-ninjago-shadow-ronin-review&sol;ninjago&lowbar;ronin&lowbar;003&lowbar;500px&sol;" rel&equals;"attachment wp-att-80538"><img class&equals;"wp-image-80538 size-full" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;03&sol;05011748&sol;Ninjago&lowbar;ronin&lowbar;003&lowbar;500px&period;jpg" alt&equals;"lego2" width&equals;"500" height&equals;"282" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-80538" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Dragons are obviously the superior way to travel<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>As I said before&comma; the game does a great job of telling a coherent story and entertaining the player with a solid narrative&period; The characters are also all entertaining in their own right&comma; and some of them are downright hilarious&period; The humor tends to be a little more on the Saturday morning cartoon variety&comma; as opposed to the typical goofball hilarity that can be found in the other LEGO games&comma; but it&&num;8217&semi;s in line with the show the game is based on&comma; so it makes sense&period; While some of Jay’s dialogue and jokes border on grating&comma; characters like Gareth provide consistent chuckles&comma; and the tone hits the right amount of silliness and seriousness to weave a satisfying tale to accompany the great gameplay&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I can’t say much else&period; The game is simple and straightforward&comma; but it&&num;8217&semi;s fun and highly polished&comma; which is more than be said for most of the big budget titles that release nowadays&period; It’s a great addition to anyone’s portable gaming device and will provide fans with hours of smashing&comma; building&comma; and collecting&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;