It makes no sense to put fruit and ninjas together. It just wouldn’t work, right? Well, Halfbrick Studios decided to make a juicy, addictive combination that took the world by surprise. I’m talking about Fruit Ninja Classic an unexpected game for the iPhone that was released back in 2010.
Now, with even a VR version of the game and a Youtube Red series, the Fruit Ninja series is still popular, addictive and tasty. But, we’re not here for the current state of the game. Instead, we’re interested in its past. Welcome to Retro Review, and today we’ll be taking a look at the original, the classic, the one that started it all: Fruit Ninja Classic.
Fruit Ninja Classic: a juicy nostalgia
Fruit Ninja Classic is a simple yet addictive game. As soon as you pick it up, you’ll understand what to do without that much explanation. The objective is to cut as much fruit as you can to reach a new high score. The game also has a few different modes, but they still have the same objective.
In Classic Mode, you are in an endless fruit loop (get it?) where your job is to slice every single piece of fruit that appears on the screen. If you let the fruit fall without slicing it three times, you lose. There are also bombs that will make you lose immediately if you slice them.
Then, there’s Arcade Mode. In this mode, you’ll have one minute to slice all the fruit you can. You’ll have the help of special bananas that’ll help you get more points or fruit. Bombs also appear in this mode, but they just make you lose points, instead of the entire match.
The last single-player mode is Zen Mode. This mode is the easy version of the game. You have 1 minute and 30 seconds to cut all the fruit you want. There are no bombs or threats. You can mindlessly slice and nothing bad will happen.
Finally, we have a local multiplayer mode. You and your friend will compete to see who slices more fruit using the same device. While this is a great addition to the game, I’d also like to see an online multiplayer feature.
The experience
The experience in Fruit Ninja Classic is as good as I remembered. The music is good, although you only listen to it when you’re on the main screen an not on an actual game. The graphics of the game are really well made. They have their own style. And while you won’t think it’s actual fruit, each fruit looks so juicy you’ll want to try some. I literally stopped playing to eat a peach.
Finally, the gameplay. A game like this needs responsive controls, and I’m pleased to say Halfbrick nailed it. The slices are so precise, you know it’s your fault if you didn’t get the fruit. One thing that I don’t like is the bombs’ randomness. Sometimes they appear in front of the fruit, leaving you no choice but to avoid both of them. Causing you to lose a life or the entire match.
Conclusion
Fruit Ninja Classic is still a great game to this day. However, how good has the game aged? Well, the game’s idea and characteristics are still unique. The appearance of the game is still good compared to what we have on the App Store these days. And the gameplay is even better and more responsive than some games made today.
So it seems as the only enemy Fruit Ninja Classic has is itself. There’s a reason why it has “classic” in its name. Halfbrick Studios released a completely redesigned Fruit Ninja, which is free-to-play and offers more characters, game modes, and items. But it does have hard-to-get in-game currency and the option to look ads to get double the rewards.
So, if you want different game modes, with slightly better looks and you don’t mind about the ads, then the new Fruit Ninja is the game for you. But, if you don’t want to deal with ads or in-game currency, and just want to enjoy some good old Fruit Ninja, then I suggest you Fruit Ninja Classic for $0.99.