There's certainly a distinct difference between playing a game that's suitable for ages 7+ and a game that's aimed at 7+. Mini Ninjas is a game that is undoubtedly aimed at 7+ where the general idea was to make a game that parents could play with their kids. Certainly a praiseworthy objective with a title that has ninjas in it – where everyone expects a certain degree of stealth, swords and bloody, violent decapitations. So, in Mini Ninjas don't be surprised that when approaching the last of those objectives a cloud of smoke and a fluffy bunny's your main reward.

Yes, Mini Ninjas is twee. However, it does it in a good way. We can certainly say that most of the Zeldas are on the quaint side, but they're still very much enjoyable games. I'm happy to add Mini Ninjas into that bag, rather than one that's labelled “games that are pants because they are tame”.

After a nice cutscene intro providing you with the general storyline you discover that you're a special little Ninja that can use magic – which is a big deal. Your teacher has spent time honing those skills to use against your enemies. In this case, your enemies are a bunch of samurai who are actually animals transformed by some typical old dude sat in a castle a few hundred miles away. So, in Sonic-esque fashion it's your job to set those little critters free and restore harmony to nature preserves everywhere.

The combat is simple. You click the left mouse button several times to attack, or the right mouse button to stun. There's also a special attack that can be used when you have one available. Throughout the game you can find a series of scrolls that provide new magical abilities such as Tornados and Fireballs, or you can use potions such as Smoke Bombs or Cherry Bombs. While your main character is the only one that can use magic, along the way you'll run into 5 other characters that each have their own unique abilities and you can swap to any of them on the fly should you wish. Although in saying that I rarely moved away from a couple of characters provided if not to deal with set-pieces and magic is cool but half the time it's easier to stealth kill your enemies than cast a shower of lightning on them – still, the novelty's there.

As with all good Ninjas you can hide and perform sneak attacks on the enemy that are considered one-hit kills. To hide you simply have to be out of site to begin with and then crouch in tall grass, hide behind rocks or on rooftops as a few examples. This by far is the easiest way to make your way around environments and is certainly the skill that makes you feel like a Ninja most.

Along with the scrolls there are other collectibles to be had throughout the game. Probably the main one being, but not limited to, your constant hunt for fauna and flora to make potions with. However, you can collect idols on each level, go fishing and free caged animals as a few other sidelines. The animals coming in handy from time-to-time as your main character can posses them, which with the smaller creatures helps you detect nearby flowers, and with the bigger animals helps you kick some serious Samurai butt.

Generally speaking the game's pretty easy. I haven't died yet making my way through it and I've given it to an 8 year old to play, and while he might've died a few times he's really enjoying it. So, at least the game's been aimed at the right target audience. Personally I loved the art style, music and voice acting in Mini Ninjas. The gameplay's fluid and while perhaps it's complexities lie within the radial menus for selecting skills, potions and characters, at least the game pauses while you're using them so youngsters can get to grips with everything going on without getting frustrated.

Mini Ninjas is a simple little title on the whole that I can see doing well in a family environment and seeing as that's what the developer had in mind then I'd say they've achieved their goal. If you're perhaps looking for a Tenchu sequel then this probably isn't where to start looking.