The game begins with Ninja defeating a large cat-like monster, which spits out a glowing stone as it dies. Ninja becomes uncontrollable as he picks up the stone and accidentally beheads his master. The ghost of the dead master then explains that this is a Rage Stone, and that Ninja will need to find the other Stones before the evil Master O-Dor can get them. I-Ninja is not a game with a strong story, with the first and last five minutes of the game providing most of the plot development, but this doesn't seem to matter much in this type of game.

The story and cut-scenes that are in the game are well done though, with a strong sense of humour throughout. Argonaut made the wise move of letting Don Bluth (The Land Before Time, Titan AE) handle these cut-scenes and his experience with animated movies shows, despite the brevity of scenes contained within the game. More cut-scenes and an expanded story would certainly have been welcome though.

Packed with some imaginative levels, I-Ninja constantly keeps players looking forward to what is around the next corner, or in the next stage. Right from the beginning players are thrown into levels that draw heavily from existing platform game design with little twists that would normally be seen in games like Super Monkey Ball or even Sonic, all within the space of a few minutes of play.

What allows the developers this kind of freedom with the level design is the wide range of actions and movements Ninja has. While none of these actions is particularly original, Ninja's ability to perform a lot of them propels the game beyond the scope of a typical platformer. From the standard double-jump to more complex actions such as flying or running on walls, Ninja is able to combine these actions into a smooth display of skill. I-Ninja even contains a few levels that require him to grab onto a large ball and roll through the rest of the stage. These sections can be quite challenging, as well as very fun.

Players are not spoon-fed the new moves throughout the game; instead they are virtually all introduced within the first couple of levels. What makes this work is the complete ease with which most of the actions can be performed. By the end of the first frantic level most players will have picked up on the controls fairly quickly, which is just as well, since the levels constantly require players to utilise all the moves available.

As well as this range of peaceful moves Ninja also has a powerful sword with which to combat the enemies he faces. Starting with just a couple of button moves, players will soon learn several combos with which to combat the more powerful enemies. Darts and shuriken can also be picked up for ranged attacks, while some levels contain guided missile launchers to open up new paths. As Ninja fights, he also accumulates anger, which can then be used to power up his attacks for short periods of time, or to recover lost energy.

Alongside this standard way of fighting Ninja will also need to use a range of gadgets, mainly in a few of the boss fights. From a modern-day version of Punchout in a giant robot to manning a gun turret defending a beachhead, these levels provide a nice alternative to the rest of the game, to the point where it almost becomes a disappointment to have to fight some of the bosses the regular way. The boss fights are all reasonably memorable, although most of the fights become fairly standard once the enemy's pattern is figured out.

The regular enemies mostly consist of other little ninja-type characters with a few larger mini-bosses scattered though the levels. The fights are not overly challenging, though if players let a few enemies surround them they can cause a lot of damage. The mini-bosses unfortunately all have standardised patterns that can easily be avoided. Having a greater variety of enemies would certainly have improved the game, but that may have taken I-Ninja too far from its platforming roots.

While the levels themselves are very well designed we feel that ultimately there aren't quite enough of them. To fully complete the game most of the levels will need to be played through three times, with the second and third times consisting of challenges such as coin collecting or time trials. While these subsequent playthroughs of the levels can be a lot more challenging than the first time through, a few additional levels would certainly have been welcomed. The time trials in particular can get quite difficult, with one little misstep often causing players to miss the required time.

A lot of what makes I-Ninja so fun to play is the ease with which players will pick up these new skills. The control system plays a major part in this: the controls are well designed and quite responsive. Even in the harder parts of a level, where movements have to be quite exacting, players could not blame the controls for failure. Responsibility for a misstep or mistimed action rests on the player rather than the control system. In a game such as this that is quite an important factor, and we're pleased to see appropriate attention was put on it.

Alongside the control system is another typical bugbear of the modern 3D platformer: the camera system. While not totally perfect, I-Ninja comes pretty close with a partially adjustable camera operated with the right analogue stick. Through virtually all areas of the game this can be operated so as to be able to see all that the player needs to see, as opposed to some other games that restrict camera movement a lot more. This is just as well because in order for the player to keep up with the fast-moving Ninja, the camera needs to be shifting quite a lot as the player's perspective changes. Luckily, I-Ninja pulls this off with ease.

While not overly stunning, the look of the game fits well with the overall game design. Painted in bright cartoon graphics, Ninja and his world provide a nice alternative from the darker, more serious tones of most ninja games. Ninja and a lot of the enemies have had a generous coating of 'cute? which adds to the appeal of the game. The animation works very well also, with Ninja himself moving very smoothly, mirroring the controls of the player to perfection. The fighting is suitably exaggerated and the game is full of nice touches, such as Ninja posing briefly after running up a wall, which finish the game off nicely.