Ninja Chop!! (XBLIG, 2010)

Ninja Chop!!
Developed by zerozerozero
Released for XBLIG (3/2010)

Ninja Chop!! is probably one of those releases for XBLIG that Microsoft would rather everybody forget about. The indie marketplace had its share of perverse, exploitative titles and Ninja Chop!! is one such title. You play as a female ninja who uses her karate chop to cut milk bottles in half. You have a meter with a tick mark you want to stop on as it passes over. The closer to the marker you stop, the more bottles will get chopped. If you stop right on the marker, you'll get a special animation for a perfect chop. Every couple of rounds you get a bonus wave where you attempt to chop a giant milk bottle. As your ninja lady chops these bottles she'll get drenched in milk (or blood if you change the bottles to skulls in the options). It's a very odd game and has a way of making one feel dirty just for even looking at it. As you smash bottles you'll level up your character and unlock new clothing you can dress up in. Every couple of waves the background changes up, and that's really about all there is to Ninja Chop!! While it is maybe worth a chuckle or two, I couldn't see anybody but the most depraved getting much replay out of this title. I suppose that's a bit of a moot point anyway as the title was pulled from XBLIG, likely for its lewd conduct.

Final Verdict: Ninja Chop!! is probably about as perverse a title as you could get on XBLIG, which may also be why it was de-listed from the marketplace.

Related Links:
Ninja Chop!! - GameFAQs
Ninja Chop!! SaD Games - YouTube

Uncraft Me! (XBLIG, 2013)

Uncraft Me!
Developed by Team Shuriken Studio
Released for Xbox Live Indie Games (6/2013)

Uncraft Me! is a tough 2D-platformer with a touch of that perversity that the XBLIG platform is often associated with. The in-game graphics are rendered in 3D blocks, similar to Minecraft, though the illustrated babes that make up the background are composed of high-def artwork. The women look like something you'd see in a Japanese anime and the game offers an option to switch the art from "goddesses" to kitties, which will replace the busty women with digitized kitty pics. This can be nice if you genuinely enjoy the gameplay and just want to play the game without being made fun of for doing so by onlookers, though it's arguable if the kittens in the background will necessarily prevent this.

Each level, of which there are a total of nine, features a unique picture which will be blocked at the beginning of the level. Each checkpoint you reach is a cannon that will blast out a portion of the concealed backdrop until you reach the final one at which point the entire picture will be exposed. The pics themselves are suggestive but there really isn't anything that racy, plus as mentioned before you do have the option to view kittens if you so desire. The stage layouts are well done for the most part, though there are some irritating sections in the later levels. Instead of a double-jump, your character in Uncraft Me! has a jetpack with a limited boost that recharges upon setting foot on solid ground. This gives the challenges a bit of their own flavor and makes for some very difficult stage designs especially when you get towards the end of the game. You will die a lot in this game, but the checkpoints are quite generous so you're never placed too far back and you're quickly respawned upon death. Along the way through the stages you'll face various obstacles, like giant laser beams and lava all over the place.

The soundtrack for Uncraft Me! is fantastic, composed of some hard-hitting chiptune tracks from Fantomenk. Fans of YouTuber Keith Apicary will recognize the name as he's used several of their tracks for his videos. The game allows you to view unlocked pictures for the stages you've completed, giving at least some incentive to play each stage. The challenge ramps up considerably towards the end, to the point that only the most persistent will be able to finish the final levels. I still haven't completed the final two levels myself after many, many tries. Uncraft Me! is successful at delivering a rock-hard 2D platforming experience that gives quite a bang for the buck it went for when the 360 indie games store was still rockin'.

Final Verdict: Uncraft Me! is a solid entry into the tough-as-nails 2D-platformer genre ideal for those who like a stiff challenge.

Related Links:
Uncraft Me! - GameFAQs
Team Shuriken - Official Site
Uncraft Me! Rage Quit - Rooster Teeth on YouTube
Uncraft Me! GFZ Review - YouTube
Uncraft Me! on Sad Games - YouTube

Moe Mekuri 萌めくり (XBLIG, 2010)

Moe Mekuri 萌めくり
Developed by Kohei Gallery
Released for XBLIG (8/2010)
Also on PC

萌めくり, also known as Moe Mekuri, is an ecchi tile-flipping puzzle game. You'll be flipping tiles over to reveal pictures of girls in swimsuits, though don't let this give you the impression the game is hiding shoddy gameplay behind racy pictures as there's actually a fantastic puzzle game in here. When you boot the game up you'll be greeted to some extremely upbeat J-pop music to set the mood. The menu design is top-notch, presenting the player with a music test, gallery, manual (all in English!), language select and you can even turn the vocals off in the BGM if you want! It's very rare to see such a fleshed out menu in an XBLIG title and Kohei Gallery's presentation here is second-to-none. The gallery and special stages on the menu are there for those who can clear all stages on all three difficulties, giving you some sense of accomplishment for completing everything.

As stated before, Moe Mekuri is a tile-flipping puzzler, and the objective of each stage is to have all tiles flipped over (they're invisible on one side, solid on the other). When a tile is clicked, the tiles above, below and to the side all flip inverse of the one you you clicked on. Later levels will introduce blue tiles that will flip the center square twice and the surrounding squares once. There are gray tiles that can't be flipped manually, instead you must use a nearby tile to get them to flip. Finally there are also green tiles that will flip everything on the same column and row. Harder difficulties spice things up by adding bigger puzzle boards to really get your brain in high gear. The pictures you can unlock are actually quite tame and are nothing worse than what could be seen on network TV adverts (Carl's Jr in the US has run ads way more racy than this game!). So despite the game's somewhat pervy first-impression, Moe Mekuri 萌めくり is a fabulous puzzle game and stands as one of the best I've encountered on XBLIG. It would later receive two sequels, both going under the English title Moe Mekuri 2 & 3.

Final Verdict: Moe Mekuri 萌めくり is a simple, yet highly-addictive ecchi tile-flipping puzzle game that anybody with even a passing interest in the genre should take a look at.

Related Links:
Moe Mekuri - GameFAQs 
Moe Mekuri Trailer - YouTube
Kohei Gallery - Official Site
Moe Mekuri on PC - Steam