The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game Review · 3:29pm May 29th, 2020
So now that I'm done with driving for a while and I am finally here where I need to be, I can detox for a little bit. I thought as long as I'm here, I might as well work on another review. This time for a video game, one that I have played through (not 100% mind you, but still have) and I think it's time I talk about it.
You all know I love Lego. You all know I love Lego Ninjago. You all know I am a bit iffy when it comes to the Lego Ninjago Movie, and for good reason. Note to self, re-review that again, in full to give more detail and analysis. But today, we're going to talk about the video game. Without wasting time, lets get right into the Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game! ... Boy that's a mouthful.
So the Ninjago Movie game follows the same story as the film. The ninjas of Ninjago City are trying to constantly battle Lord Garmadon's never-ending supply of forces that keep attacking and trying to conquer the island. However, things take a drastic turn when Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, unintentionally releases a monster on the city. So in order to scare it off, he and the rest of the ninjas must learn to become true ninjas.
So lets start with everything good first.
First off, the graphics. While nothing groundbreaking, they do the job just well, and they do a decent job of trying to integrate the natural world elements and Lego elements together just like in the film.
One of the things I took away from the film, and still do today, is the environments of Ninjago City. I freaking LOVE the Asian styles of architecture and design throughout the city. The movie took inspiration from many martial arts films, anime, and real world cities and it works just as well in the game. I love wandering around the cities and exploring, there's so much detail to make the city look and feel alive. 
Honestly, it feels a bit more alive than New York City from Lego Marvel Superheroes, in my honest opinion. There's tons of little details that are fun to look at, and it makes me wish the Movie had given us more Lego sets. Seriously guys, give us more Ninjago City sets, you know how many people would pay for more of that? Gimme more!!!
And what makes the environments even more nice is something that the movie should have done a shit ton more; actually nod to the TV show. There's distinct nods to stuff that's seen in the TV show, like vehicles over in a store in one spot, or suits of armor calling back to previous villains and characters.
Not only that, but this game also includes tournaments where you can play against villains FROM THE TV SHOW. The Stone Army, the Serpentine, the Nindroids, Morro the Departed ghosts, all of these classic villains from Ninjago are finally here and they are glorious.
Even more so because you can actually play them. If you win some tournaments, or uncover these mystery green blind bags, you could unlock more characters, and some of them are directly from the show which makes trying to find them even more fun. I cannot stress enough how much I was trying to find these things like a rabbid dog. Cause I need those pieces man!
Combat's and gameplay also got a little better. With the ninjas, if you're fighting enemies, you can perform multiple attacks which can multiply how much studs you earn. And you better constantly fight, cause after ten seconds or so, that multiplier will stop and you'll be back to collecting studs like normally. So I will give them credit for making fighting a bit more interesting, I do appreciate that. 
And the gameplay controls work pretty alright.
I haven't tried using the customization mode yet, but I do appreciate the fact they give a wide variety of characters to pick from.
However, I am sad to say that this game is not perfect. This game unfortunately has an equal share of flaws. And they are flaws we gotta talk about.
First thing I wanna talk about is the cutscenes and acting. Now this is sort of a mixed bag, and maybe I’m just complaining over nothing, but this stuff really bothers me. Now if you hadn’t seen the movie and got the game first before you even saw the film, you do get a bit of a treat. You do get to see scenes from the movie ripped into the game, which still look beautiful to watch. I still love watching these CGI/stopmotion animation style, I think it’s still beautiful and it still holds up.
The PROBLEM I have with this, is all of the acting in the game is just… crap. I’m sorry, it’s crap. They didn’t get the voice actors from the film to just continue to play themselves in the game, and for what reason, I will never understand. Designers, could you not have bothered to hire them? I mean for gods sakes, look at the Lego Movie game from 2014. That was made around the time of the Lego Movie, and guess what. The original voice actors from the movie reprised their roles for the game, making it feel like you were still part of the experience and gave you more enjoyment to be had. But here? None of the original talent from the film is in the game. Now, maybe it could have been the original voice actors possibly being too much to pay, or maybe they were lazy, I do not know. But you know what, here’s something you can do.
If you couldn’t hire the voice actors from the movie, why not, I don’t know, HIRE THE ACTORS FROM THE TV SHOW. Imagine the excitement of every Ninjago fan, if they got to hear the original voices of their favorite characters come through in the game. That would have made sooo many people happy, but yet, you chose not to. Then again, so did the people who made the movie, but... I know it sounds more like bitching than nitpicking, but that’s how I feel about this.
The map system also has some issues on it’s own. Now it does and can direct you to several places and little checkpoints on the part of Ninjago Island you are in, but sometimes trying to navigate your way is a giant pain in the ass. Now it’s an open world, but I dunno, something about this map and trying to pick where I want to go just bugs the crap out of me. Navigation is terrible.
And the loading screens… ugh. Where do I begin with these? Maybe these only happen because of the equipment I'm using, but the loading screens are a bitch and a half. I counted how long they go for, and they went on for past two minutes. That may not sound like much, but for this game, it’s a lot. Now most loading screens in game are like what, a few seconds at most, I’ve got patience for that. But when it takes MINUTES for it to load, we’ve got problems. You walk into a level, LOAD. You leave a building, LOAD. You leave a tournament or a chapter in the story, LOAD! Too many freaking loads!
And sad to say, this game does have one or two bugs and glitches. The ones that I've run into are thankfully minimal, but they're still bad. One of which was getting my character freaking stuck, and I had to quit the game to get it to work again. Really did not appreciate that.
And I honestly wish we had much more characters to pick from. I do appreciate the fact the devs were clearly trying to cater to the fans and give us characters we love and want, but I wish they put in a lot more. Have more ninja outfits to pick from, give us more of the small villains, give us some more citizen outfits. Better yet, they should have updated this game by giving some DLC characters; I wanna play Sons of Garmadon characters, the Dragon Hunters! Hell, gimme characters from the new Prime Empire series, I wanna play some of those!
And last criticism I have to give, which is a little true... this is basically another Lego game. I love the Lego games, don't get me wrong, and I always will love them. But something I do recall pointed out in another game is that these are mostly just the same game. Doesn't make it bad, but it is basically a little cookie-cutter with some new additions in between, I think that was some criticisms I heard.
Overall, the Lego Ninjago game is… it’s a decent game. I won’t deny I had fun, but compared to some of the other Lego games, it feels like some parts they weren’t trying. I still find the voice acting to be absolutely dreadful, but that’s just my own opinion, not everyone else’s.
Oh and I will mention this. Before I even planned to get the game, the orignial price, get this… was 50 dollars. 50 FREAKING DOLLARS!? You’re charging me 50 dollars for this!? 50 isn’t even worth that price, this is worth like 20!
Now I jumped when it’s price was low, so I did get a good deal. And now it’s lowered much more down to 30, which is a bit more fair, but still, what were they thinking!? Hell, maybe I’m blind, but I swear to god, when I looked for it originally, I thought the price was at 80. Maybe my memory is crappy, but a game should not cost that damn much. And despite the fun I had, the game is not worth that price.
If you want it, it’s up to you. I’m just a guy giving a review for another game, that’s about it.
I give the Lego Ninjago Game, a 6 out of 10.
Yeah, I'd have to agree with just about all of this, having played the game myself. I didn't even pay top dollar for it, and it just feels... average.
Are you, by any chance, planning to review the rest of the Lego videogames? If so, I highly recommend that you play and review Lego DC Supervillains.
Destiny 1 and 2 called, my friend. It seriously takes 2 or so minutes to load into a PVE, PVP, or any other kind of thing. And most of the time, it's not that big to warrant the load times.
But still, I have this game, and although I've never seen Ninjago (or any episode past three filler episodes when I was on holiday in the states), I am glad to have received this game for free. Also, it's just good to see you back in the saddle of doing things after your super-big move in this current climate.
Welcome back, bud.
Not as bad as Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie!
Okay, in all seriousness though, nice review. Seems quite sensible to me. Never played this game but I try to avoid tie-ins to movies because usually they're crap. Not *always*, mind you (Spider-Man 2 for PS2 was superb) but quite often they're just cash grabs.