Among the great lessons I’ve learned from the variety of indie games in this generation, is that simplicity in game design doesn’t necessarily disqualify it from being worthwhile. That said, in order to really make an impression that way, you need every aspect of its implementation to be pretty well perfect. If you can’t quite manage that, and the experience is a bit muddled, you instead end up with something like Ninpo Blast.

The first thing you’ll notice is that, true to its name, it has a pretty old-school pixel art look. The thing is, it isn’t just that it uses pixel art, or that half of the screen is unused since the action scrolls vertically with static graphics on either side, it’s that your ship and most everything in the game is on the chunky side. The problem with this is that it makes the space you have to operate in feel quite claustrophobic, leaving you pretty limited options for maneuvering. Throw in the fact that one of your two weapon options fires multiple shuriken at once, and very quickly visibility becomes another compounding issue.

In terms of the play itself, for the most part it’s on the generic side overall, and at first it’s likely you’ll feel quite underpowered for surviving too long. What you’ll quickly discover is that this is by design, with the intention being that you’ll slowly accumulate currency in each run that will allow you to purchase a variety of weapon upgrades and stat boosters to help you last longer. I suppose that’s fine if you intend to try to stick with the game for a while, but given the lack of original and compelling play overall, assuming people are going to play the game long enough to reap the benefits of grinding and diligence seems to be a mistake. The fact is, whether old-school or modern, more complex or even very simple, the Switch eShop has too many titles that are far better conceived and implemented, making this tough to recommend.