The Ninja Kids

The Ninja Kids is a side-scrolling arcade Beat ’em Up made in 1990 by Taito. It received no ports until its inclusion in the Taito Legends Compilation Re-release in 2005.

The story is about an evil sect trying to summon “The Satan” on July 1999 (as foretold by Nostradamus), and only a group of four ninja can stop them.
Pretty standard fare for a videogame, except for the fact that almost every character is a puppet. No, not People Puppets, just regular puppets. Everything about this game is very tongue-in-cheek, though, so it also can be seen as a Stealth Parody of typical cheesy brawler storylines and settings.