One of the better Strategy games on the DS.
Each level of Ninjatown is about 8-12 minutes long, and has you completely wrapped up in the game play. You need to be on your toes for every level to make sure the wave of enemies gets defeated in time, and you have several ways to go about doing this. Ninja huts (towers) are the source of the primary amount of damage dealt to the enemy waves. There are several different types of ninjas that have different motives. Some attack quickly, powerfully, slow enemies down, or shoot them with arrows, and each must be strategically used to defeat the waves in time! Modifying buildings can be built that can make surrounding huts more powerful, faster, or have a bigger range. There are also special powers that Ol' master ninja can use as an emergency defense, and you have tokens of special ninja capabilities that can be used once per map. The game is very interactive, making you use all of your resources to win.
You must plan carefully, which makes most battles intense. As you unlock more ninja types, you'll find many ways to win battles, which adds depth since the outcome will vary depending on how well you use strategy. If you don't plan carefully, it's easy to lose, and the difficulty gets harder as you play. While that may be the case, the fact that you have the inability to quickly correct your units on the fly may be frustrating when battles are too frenetic and fast paced for your adjustments to make any significant difference. Expect trial and error as you play, but it'll be worth it in the end.
Despite it's cute look, it's highly difficult, but still addictive. The more you plan accordingly, the better you'll get at it and have fun trying to experiment each Ninja types in each battles. Not many battles play out the same way as expected, offering a different experience each time. This is easily the best thing about the game since the Ninja types are well balanced too, so you won't have cheap difficulties that much, if at all.
The graphics are pretty good. It has a nice cutesy art style with vibrant colors, but they aren't exactly the best the DS has to offer. The sound is ok, the sound effects are decent, and the music, while cheerful, bright and carefree, is slightly repetitive since there isn't enough variety in it, but it's ok so it isn't all bad. These aren't the strongest points of the game, but they're not bad either.
As for replay value, you can try to get an "A" grade for each battle, and with 36 battles in total, it can take a while. It also comes with friendly multiplayer options. With each player defending their own version of the same town, the goal is to be the first to defeat each wave of attackers. Losing a wave will cost you a heart, and when they're gone it's game over. If both players have a copy of the game nine multiplayer maps are available, but you can still play three environments with just one cartridge. The replay value in this game is solid at least.
Overall, you shouldn't miss out on this game. Sure, it's difficult, has trial and error, not that impressive graphics and sound, and it's cutesy look might turn you off, but the gameplay is so addictive, unique and rewarding that just playing the game is more than enough to own it, and for the funny storyline as well. Look past it's flaws and look, and you have one of the best Tower Defense games on the DS.
Final Score: 8.5/10