Originally demoed at Apple’s September 2012 event, to show off the power of the new fifth-generation iPod touch, Clumsy Ninja was said to be launching that holiday season; i.e. fall 2012. However, much like with the announcement of Infinity Blade Dungeons, the app never arrived. Whereas Dungeons ended up being axed entirely, it turns out that Clumsy Ninja was just severely delayed.

After over a year since the game was demoed, Clumsy Ninja has finally hit the App Store today. At Apple’s event, NaturalMotion described the game as an ‘interactive toy’ based on “years of research”. The game centres around a cute 3D ninja, which acts similarly to a virtual pet.

The player can poke, prod, play, train and throw the character around his environment. According to the company, the ninja should feel more realistic as it based off realtime simulations of the human body (like muscles or the nervous system) rather than predefined animations. Over time, the ninja gains intelligence and strength as the player interacts with him. For instance, at first, the ninja will not have the stamina to keep a routine with a punch bag and often get thrown off balance. As the game progresses, the ninja develops his strength. This growth development is reflected in the game; he gets better at fighting, for instance.

Clumsy Ninja is free with in-app purchases available, which buy in-game currency (“gems”) that can be spent on more items and toys for your ninja to play with.

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