Everybody remembers Flappy Bird, the simple-looking but infuriatingly difficult mobile game that took the world by storm more than three years ago.
Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen, under .Gears Studios, has since released other titles such as Swing Copters. Nguyen is now back with a new mobile game that looks simple at first, but can definitely frustrate even the most hardcore players.
Ninja Spinki Challenges Released For iOS, Android
Japanese studio Obokaidem teamed up with Nguyen for the development of Ninja Spinki Challenges, which has now been released on Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store.
Obokaidem successfully persuaded Nguyen to make the game, which is his eighth one, by allowing the developer to have complete control of the project. The game took seven redesigns before Nguyen was satisfied, and according to Obokaidem executive producer Norio Nakayama, it took around a year and a half for the game to be completed.
Ninja Spinki Challenges was supposed to be released in December, but because word got out on Nguyen's new project, several pirated versions of the game were released into app stores. Obokaidem waited for the fake versions to be taken down before they launched Ninka Spinki Challenges to avoid players from being confused with which one is the original.
How To Play Ninja Spinki Challenges
Ninja Spinki Challenges retains the cute 8-bit graphics style found in Nguyen's previous games, but that should not make people think it is no longer as hard as his past titles.
In Ninja Spinki Challenges, players are offered six different mini-games featuring Ninja Spinki who was first seen in Swing Copters. The mini-games require quick reactions and high dexterity to complete, similar to the skills needed to gain a decent score in Flappy Bird.
Some mini-games require players to swipe on their screen, while other mini-games require players to tap on the display. Each mini-game starts with the goal of lasting 10 seconds, which is actually a very hard thing to achieve given the small space that players have to operate in and how easy it is to overshoot your character's movements.
Players will be able to unlock an endless mode for each of the mini-games, along with modes that will task players to survive for longer periods of time. Players who level up will also be able to unlock more stages and icons.
The game is completely free but supported by advertisements. Players will be able to continue the mini-game that they are playing to see how long they can survive after the timer runs out, but they will first have to watch a video advertisement.
Flappy Bird's Success
Ninja Spinki Challenges looks to follow the same formula that made Flappy Bird a worldwide phenomenon, though Obokaidem would surely hope that the new game will stick around.
After reaching its peak popularity, Nguyen famously pulled out Flappy Bird from the App Store and the Google Play Store in February 2014.
Nguyen was said to be making about $50,000 per day from the in-game advertising in Flappy Bird, but the developer apparently was not able to handle the stress brought on by having such a popular game, as it has ruined his simple life.
