Wrath of the Black Manta
Reviewed 5/31/00

Wrath of the Black Manta was one of my favorites as a kid. To this day I don't see how I didn't detect the extremely high cheese factor of this game back then, I had a good time playing the game 7 years later and laughing my ass off for almost an entire day. Nevertheless, WOTBM is a good game, and the hilariously bad character art and text only add to the quality. Call me strange, but it's entertaining and doesn't detract from the game at all.

The game itself is a pure ripoff of Ninja Gaiden, but it plays considerably different. The play control is awkward and quirky at first, it takes some getting used to, but after a while it's second nature. The Black Manta, on his lame quest to rescue some kids from the evil organization D.R.A.T., uses the ninja star as his main weapon. You have unlimited Ninja stars, and unlimited power to use your special "arts", such as invisibility, doubling yourself or going underground. When in close range of an enemy, Black Manta uses a short sword, which has a cool sound effect but is completely pointless, sort of realistic though, if the enemy was in close IRL he certainly wouldn't use a shuriken. Why they may be so logical there is anybody's guess, because this game has "Nintendo logic" all over it! Come on, how many ninjas do you know who are skilled in the "Art of Missile"? Walking around the levels are men in red, the Black Manta can interrogate them and get useless facts off of them.

Black Manta: "What is the name of this organization"
Man in Red: "I don't know, but it is pretty big"

With conversations like that, you can easily see how I think this game is hilarious. Not to mention some of the bad guys, one guy looks like the Joker's brother and another guy looks like a constipated ogre. And the kids, OMG, one kid looks like a long lost Osmond brother, while another looks like a Micheal Jackson zombie. Stuff like that makes the game funny.

Getting into the logistics of the game, the gameplay graphics are pretty mundane, the sound quality is bad and the music has the "essence of cheese", adding to the overall feel of the game. What makes WOTBM fun is the fair level design and nice extras, like flying on a towel and a first person shooting type thing, coupled with the high cheese factor. The game is cut too short, though, at 5 levels, and is really easy once you get used to the controls, except for the last boss who is impossible almost. You will probably need to use a walkthru to figure out the right combination of ninja arts to beat him.

Graphics 7
REAAAALLLY bad character art, mundane surroundings
Not all that bad in some areas
Sound 7
Some catchy little didees that go along with the feel
ANNOYING sometimes
Innovation 1
Manages to rip off anything and everything.. which is pretty funny!
Gameplay 8
Fun overall, Ninja Games kick
A large portion of the score comes from the humor factor, it's so blaringly uninspiring it's funny!
Replay Value 8
Fun to play again and again

88%
Overall Score

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