Item - Return of the Ninja

(Review based on the Chooseco edition.)

I must confess I have never read the prequel to this book (Secret of the Ninja). Reading that entry is not required to understand and enjoy this one, but I definitely recommend it. Whereas Life as a Ninja in the You Choose: Interactive History Adventure series focused on the lives of real ninjas, the ninja-based CYOA books deal more with the mythical elements associated with ninjas (such as heightened senses, supernatural stealth, and the ability to do magic).

This book is very good. There is, of course, quite a bit of martial arts fighting (which will please you if you are a fan of the genre). However, as is to be expected from a systemless CYOA book, the main strength is not the action but the decision-making. There are several ways to reach a successful conclusion (with each of them having different degrees of success), but getting to a happy ending requires careful choices in every case. Some of the paths involve a trip in time back to the Heian period of Japanese history, which I found very interesting. While the book is quite wordy, the choices always come at a quick pace, and the paths do not feel as short as is the case in some later CYOA titles. There is a single plot underlying all the pathways; this may please those who prefer consistent adventures but was problematic for me, as it could get a little tiring to read the same revelations over and over as I replayed. Nonetheless, I was quite satisfied with this adventure and look forward to reading other ninja-themed books in the series.

More reviews by Guillermo

I really liked Secret of the Ninja, and I was hoping this would be another good gamebook along the same lines. Let's just say I was right! One thing I really liked about this sequel is that it continues right where Secret of the Ninja left off, and reading this book gives new background information into why things in that earlier book happened the way they did, in addition to providing a new, internally consistent plot thread. Like its predecessor, you can travel back in time -- but this time it's to a new time period.

Also, it isn't as repetitive as the earlier adventure. Different pathways really do reveal different facets of the plot, although this isn't done as successfully as it could have been.

Many of the mythological and fantastic elements of the book's predecessor are missing here... there are no more gods, creatures or spirits, so fans of mythology might be disappointed. Still, I think this is a worthy successor to book #66, perhaps even a slight improvement. Good stuff!

More reviews by stonemason

Packing a punch at no. 92, Return of the Ninja is a proper sequel to Secret of the Ninja. First off, let me say, as I’ve also previously said, that Jay Leibold is a very good writer; outside of his superior story-telling ability, his choice of words in stringing together sentences is such that they lend the sentences a seamless flow. He also has a knack for painting a picture with just the use of his words. As a convenient example, consider how Jay Leibold textually lays out the action scenes in his book such that they form a motion picture in the reader’s mind.

Your character in this book, depending on the choices made, has a major and a minor objective. Your major objective is to retrieve a kidnapped adolescent from your friend’s dojo. The minor objective, which incidentally distracts you from your major objective, is to go back in time to rescue your friend and end an age-old family feud. With 21 endings, overall I felt that the spacing between the choices presented and the development of the arcs was excellent.

After having seriously enjoyed Secret of the Ninja, the thing that immediately struck me with this sequel is that it minimized the fantasy elements. Though I was looking forward to more of the intertwining of supernatural fantasy and action, the branching narratives in this book were compelling enough whereby they did not detract from my enjoyment. Lastly, I’d be remiss in not mentioning Frank Bolle’s consistently beautiful, highly detailed graphic illustrations that helped make the stories more vivid every step along the way.

Rating: 8.5/10.0

More reviews by tonylachief