Oh, my they grow up so fast! I’m talking of course about our little iPhone games. It seems like only yesterday that Fruit Ninja was brought into this world, offering up juicy fruit-slicing action in one of the most unique and well-suited touchscreen mobile games. But it wasn’t yesterday, it was 5 years ago. Still to this day there’s nothing quite as satisfying as slashing apart some fruit with your finger. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Halfbrick has updated Fruit Ninja, along with practically their entire catalog of games, with 5th anniversary content.
Fruit Ninja Classic, Free – The birthday game, the one that started it all. Fruit Ninja’s latest update is chock full of new content. Use the Starfruit you’ve earned to play 6 different mini-games, which in turn can earn you Golden Apples. Then take those Golden Apples and enter the special Anniversary Tournament. If you beat all 6 opponents in the tournament, you’ll win the Golden Ember Blade, “The most powerful blade that has ever been forged!" I want it I want it I want it.
Jetpack Joyride, Free – The endless cave flyer that started off as a spinoff of Monster Dash has also received a hefty 5th Anniversary update. For the next month, you can play the special Cut & Run event in Jetpack Joyride. Here, your jetpack is replaced with a fruit-shooting watermelon (obviously) and all the coins in the game have been replaced with fruit as well. Each round lasts 60 seconds and your job is to collect as much fruit as possible in that time. Unlike normal Jetpack Joyride, you won’t die from hitting hazards in Cut & Run, but you will lose fruit each time, so play carefully!
Monster Dash, Free – Speaking of Monster Dash, naturally it has received a 5th Anniversary Fruit Ninja update as well. Say hello to the new weapon the Fruit Ninja Blade, which sees Barry Steakfries don his karate outfit as he slashes away at enemies. Of course a new weapon also brings with it a bunch of new challenges. As with other challenges, you can use the Fruit Ninja Blade on the ones you’ve unlocked, but if you want to permanently add it to your collection for Arcade Mode runs it’ll set you back $1.99.
Radical Rappelling, Free – Halfbrick’s newest game Radical Rappelling has also received a bit of Fruit Ninja love in the form of new outfits for both Rip and Roxy. Fancy carrying a sack of fruit on your back while rappelling down a sheer cliff face? Or how about doing so while clutching the Golden Ember Blade? Now you can, and those are just part of the new Fruit Ninja-themed outfits for the heroes of Radical Rappelling.
Band Stars, Free – Halfbrick and Six Foot Kid’s adorable band simulator Band Stars is NO stranger to cross-promotional updates, having been affiliated with American Idol, Pitch Perfect and Glee in the past. So it’s no surprise it received some Fruit Ninja love. With this update, your band can now rock out in the official Fruit Ninja Dojo, complete with juice-splattered walls and lovely hardwood floors.
Bears vs. Art, Free – Halfbrick’s quirky puzzler about a bear who just hates art also received a touch of Fruit Ninja love in this week’s batch of updates. For the next month, a special Fruit Ninja event is taking place in Bears vs Art. During this event you’ll come across fruit-themed paintings, and if you can manage to slash up 200 of them, you’ll unlock the Katsuro costume set for Rory the bear. If there’s one thing that’s more fun that slashing priceless art to pieces using razor sharp claws, it’s playing dress-up with an video game bear.
Top Farm, Free – If you like building virtual farms (and who doesn’t!?) and are a fan of Halfbrick’s Top Farm, then you guessed it, there’s some Fruit Ninja magic for you too. Plop down a shiny new Sensei statue into your farm. It not only looks good, but it also awards you gems every 12 hours. Sensei is a generous master, and you can place his statue on your farm for free, but if you want the gem-generating benefits of it you’ll need to plop down $9.99. Hey, if you’re an avid Top Farm player, that might be worth it for that many daily gems!
Yes Chef!, Free – Hey, if you spend a ton of time growing and harvesting food in Top Farm, you can bring it on over to Halfbrick’s Yes Chef! and cook it up! How’s that for synergy? Halfbrick’s spin on Candy Crush pays its respects to Fruit Ninja’s 5th anniversary with 25 new levels that take place in a magical land known as Fruitasia. Beating levels allows you to win in-game currency, power-ups, and “ninja swag." Just what a chef needs, ninja swag!
Fruit Ninja Academy: Math Master, $4.99 – Last but certainly not least is Halfbrick’s educational spin on the Fruit Ninja franchise called Fruit Ninja Academy: Math Master. I actually love the idea of this app. It’s aimed at teaching younger kids basic math by using Fruit Ninja-style game mechanics. It’s got a ton of personality, and great production values. And NO IAP (for the kids, ya know?). Its anniversary update includes new stickers featuring Katsuro, Mari, Han and Nobu from the Fruit Ninja universe partying down and celebrating 5 years of Fruit Ninja.
