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Ninja Gaiden (NES)
Encyclopedia
, known in Japan as and as Shadow Warriors in Europe, is a side-scrolling platforming
video game. It was developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
; its development and release coincided with the beat 'em up
arcade version
of the same name. It was released in in Japan, in March 1989 in North America, and in in Europe. It was ported
to the PC Engine in Japan in 1992, to the Super NES
as part of the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy compilation in 1995, and to mobile phone
s in four planned episodic installments in 2004. It was released on the Wii
's Virtual Console
service for all regions in 2007.
The story follows a ninja named Ryu Hayabusa
as he journeys to America to avenge his murdered father. There, he learns that a person named "the Jaquio" plans to take control of the world by unleashing an ancient demon through the power contained in two statues. Featuring platforming gameplay
similar to Castlevania
and the NES version of Batman, players control Ryu through six "Acts" that comprise 20 levels
; they encounter enemies that must be dispatched with Ryu's katana and other secondary weapons.
Ninja Gaiden has been renowned for its elaborate story and usage of anime
-like cinematic cutscenes. It received extensive coverage and won several awards from video gaming magazines, while criticism focused on its high and unforgiving difficulty, particularly in the later levels. Over fifteen years after its release, the game continued to receive acclaim from print and online publications. It was novelized as part of the Worlds of Power
NES game adaptations written by Seth Godin
and Peter Lerangis
, and it spawned a soundtrack CD. On the NES, Ninja Gaiden has been described as one of the best arcade-style games, and the best ninja-related game.
in which the player takes control of the player character
, Ryu Hayabusa
, and guides him through six "Acts" that comprise 20 level
s. Ryu's physical strength is represented by a life meter
, which decreases when he is hit by an enemy or projectile. A "life" is lost when the life meter depletes entirely, when Ryu falls off of the screen, or when the timer runs out. A game over
screen appears when all lives are lost; however, the player may restart the level on which this occurred by continuing. At the end of every act, the player fights a boss; bosses have life meters that the player depletes with attacks. A boss is defeated when its life meter is depleted entirely. Each boss is one of the "Malice Four" – evil underlings of the Jaquio, the game's main antagonist. The Malice Four consist of Barbarian, Bomberhead, Basaquer, and their leader Bloody Malth.
Players attack enemies by thrusting at them with Ryu's Dragon Sword – a katana
-like sword passed down from the Hayabusa clan for generations. They can also use "secondary" weapons that consume Ryu's "spiritual strength
". Secondary weapons include throwing stars
, "windmill throwing stars" which cut through enemies and return like boomerang
s, a series of twirling fireballs named "the art of the fire wheel", and a mid-air slashing technique called the "jump & slash". When Ryu's spiritual strength meter becomes too low, the player cannot use secondary weapons. Players can replenish Ryu's spiritual strength by collecting red and blue "spiritual strength" items found in lamps and lanterns. Other items found along the way include hourglass
es that freeze all enemies and projectiles for five seconds, bonus point containers, potions that restore six units of physical strength, "invincible fire wheels" that make Ryu temporarily invincible to attacks, and 1-up
s.
Ryu has the ability to jump on and off ladders and walls, and by using the directional pad, he can climb up or down ladders. Ryu can spring off walls by holding the directional pad in the opposite direction he is facing and pressing the jump button. He cannot attack while on walls or ladders. Players can use this technique to get Ryu to climb up spaces between walls and columns by holding down the jump button and alternating between left and right on the directional pad. Ryu can also vertically climb a single wall by springing off it and then quickly pressing the directional pad back towards the wall.
named Ryu Hayabusa
who journeys to America to seek revenge for the death of his father, who then finds himself involved in a sinister plot that threatens the entire world. The story opens with Ryu's father Ken being killed in a duel by an unknown assailant. After the duel, Ryu finds a letter written by Ken which tells Ryu to find an archeologist
named Walter Smith in America. Before Ryu can find Walter, Ryu is shot and kidnapped by a mysterious woman; she hands him a demonic-looking statue before releasing him. Ryu then finds Walter, and Walter tells him of the demon statues he and Ken had found in the Amazon ruins. Walter tells Ryu of an evil demon that "SHINOBI" defeated and whose power was confined into two "Light" and "Shadow" demon statues. Ryu shows Walter the "Shadow" demon statue given to him from the woman, but during their conversation, a masked figure suddenly breaks into the cabin and steals the Shadow statue. Ryu gives chase, defeats the masked figure, and retrieves the statue; but when he returns he finds that Walter is dying and that the Light statue is missing. Right after Walter dies, three armed men confront Ryu and tell him to come with them.
Ryu is taken to an interrogation room, where he meets Foster, head of the Special Auxiliary Unit of the Central Intelligence Agency
. Foster tells Ryu about an over 2000-year-old temple Walter discovered in some ruins in the Amazon
. He continues by saying that Walter, one day, mysteriously sealed the ruins, in which nobody has since ventured near. Foster explains to Ryu that they have been monitoring the activity of someone named Guardia de Mieux, also known as "the Jaquio", who recently moved into the temple. Using the statues, the Jaquio plans to awaken the demon and use it to destroy the world. Foster asks Ryu to go to the temple and eliminate him. After making it into the temple, Ryu discovers that the Jaquio is holding captive the woman who handed him the "Shadow" statue earlier. He orders Ryu to give up the demon statue after threatening the woman's life. Ryu is then dropped from sight through a trapdoor
and into a catacomb.
After fighting his way back to the top of the temple, Ryu encounters Bloody Malth, whom Ryu defeats. While dying, Malth tells Ryu that he was the one who dueled with Ryu's father, that his father is still alive, and that Ryu will meet him as he presses onward. When he reaches the temple's inner chambers, he discovers that his father was not killed but was instead possessed by an evil figure. He destroys the evil figure, which releases Ken from its hold. Jaquio, enraged from Ken's release from the possession, shows himself; he immediately tries to kill Ryu with a fiery projectile, but Ken throws himself in front of Ryu and takes the hit. Jaquio is killed during the ensuing fight by Ryu, but then a lunar eclipse
occurs, causing the demon statues to transform into the demon. After Ryu defeats the demon, Ken tells him he does not have much longer to live due to Jaquio's attack. He tells Ryu to leave him behind in the temple while it collapses and to take the woman with him. Afterwards, Foster, communicating via satellite, orders the woman to kill Ryu and steal the demon statues; she chooses to be with Ryu instead of carrying out the order. The two kiss, and the woman tells Ryu her name, Irene Lew; the two watch as the sun rises.
and Rygar series. It was one of the first two games, alongside Tecmo Bowl, to be released by the company for the Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES). The game was released in December 1988 in Japan under the title Ninja Ryukenden, whose literal translation was Legend of the Dragon Sword. It was developed and released the same time as the beat 'em up
arcade version
of the same name; neither of the two games were ports of each other but were parallel projects developed by different teams. According to developer Masato Kato
, the term "ninja" was gaining popularity in North America, prompting Tecmo to develop a ninja-related game for the NES at the same time the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden was being developed. The NES version was directed was developed and directed by Hideo Yoshizawa
(listed as "Sakurazaki" in the game's credits), who led the development teams of both this game and its arcade counterpart.
Drawing inspiration from the Mario
series, Yoshizawa kept the same title but changed everything else; it became a platformer
as opposed to a beat 'em up
as featured in Double Dragon
; the gameplay was modeled after Konami
's Castlevania
, which Ryu was equipped with a katana
-like Dragon Sword, shuriken
s, and ninpo techniques such as fire wheels. In designing the protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, the development team wanted him to be unique from other ninjas. They designed him with a ninja vest in order to place emphasis on his muscles, and they furnished him with a cowl that arched outward. They originally wanted to equip Ryu with sensors and a helmet with an inside monitor to check his surroundings, but that idea was scrapped. They utilized specific locations and environment to justify the need for having a ninja for a main character. In charge of designing the graphics, Kato used the NES' technical limitations to his advantage by placing the background and objects together. The game's difficulty was set at a high level due to Tecmo's policy on increasing the challenge for Western gamers.
Yoshizawa placed greater emphasis story as opposed to the arcade version, and he wrote and designed the plot that included over 20 minutes of cinematic cutscenes – the first time an NES game contained such sequences. Tecmo called the cutscene system "Tecmo Theater", in which the game reveals the storyline between Acts through the usage of animated sequences. These sequences are used at the beginning of each Act to introduce new characters such as Irene Lew, Walter Smith, and the Jaquio. This feature uses techniques such as close-ups, alternate camera angles, differing background music, and sound effects. It was used to make the game more enjoyable for players. Unlike earlier titles such as Final Fantasy
, the cutscenes consisted of large anime
art on the top half of the screen with dialogue on the bottom half. This made the artistic style more reminiscent of other manga
titles such as Lupin III and Golgo 13. Dimitri Criona, Tecmo USA's director of sales and marketing, said that the advantages of console games over arcade games allowed the creation of a longer game and the inclusion of cutscenes, which Tecmo trademarked as "cinema screens"; he noted the lack of motivation to drop quarters that has allowed this on home consoles, which required a different reward structure than in arcade games.
When the game's text was translated from Japanese to English, the game needed to be reprogrammed in order to accomplish this; different companies handled this process in different ways. Tecmo's Japanese writers wrote rough translations in English, and they would then fax them to the American division. According to Criona, the American division would "edit it and put it back together, telling the story in a context that an American English speaker would understand. This would go back and forth several times." Moreover, the game's text was stored in picture files instead of raw computer text, and because of the NES' hardware limitations, the English text need to be very clear and concise to fall within those limitations; many times, different words with the same meaning but with less characters had to be used. All symbols and objects were scrutinized by Nintendo of America, who had specific rules on what could be included for North American releases; for instance, any Satanic
, Christian
, or any other religious, sexual, or drug-related references were not allowed.
of the arcade version. According to an interview with developer Masato Kato
, the staff, determining how to translate "Ryukenden" into English, went with Ninja Gaiden "because it sounded cool". In Europe, the game was scheduled to be released in September 1990, but censorship issues delayed its release until September 1991. It was retitled as Shadow Warriors – just as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
was renamed Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles – as ninjas were considered a taboo subject in Europe. Its release was a part of many ninja-related video games such as The Legend of Kage, Ninja Warriors, and Shinobi
.
Upon Ninja Gaidens North American release, Nintendo of America, whose play-testers liked the game and gave it high ratings, decided to help with its marketing. It was featured prominently in Nintendo's house organ
Nintendo Power
; according to Criona, it did not take a lot of effort to market the game through the magazine, nor did Tecmo or Nintendo do much else to promote it. The game's demand eventually exceeded its supply. While Tecmo anticipated that the game would be a hit, they did not realize at the time its impact it would have in the video game industry, according to Kohler, "with its groundbreaking use of cinematics". Yoshizawa would go on to develop and direct the other two sequels in the series: Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
(1990) and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
(1991). He directed the development of the gameplay, including a feature that sent players back to the beginning of the sixth Act after losing to any of the final three bosses in the game, which was originally a glitch
. The game's graphics, animations and instruction manual illustrations were done by Masato Kato; Ninja Gaiden was Kato's first project as a video game developer.
Ninja Gaiden has been ported
to several other platforms, including the PC Engine, the Super NES
, the Virtual Console
, and mobile phones. The game was first ported to the PC Engine in 1992 and was published by Hudson Soft
and released only in Japan; it featured an alternate English translation, more colorful and detailed graphics, and difficulty and gameplay tweaks. It appeared as a remake for the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy compilation for the Super NES in 1995. Some reviewers appreciated the redrawn graphics and music in this version, but others found them to be an inadequate effort. Electronic Gaming Monthly
reviewers compared it unfavorably to another updated NES remake, Mega Man: The Wily Wars
; they called the version "an exact port-over with no noticeable enhancements in graphics, sound and play control". Along with the other two games in the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy, the original version was featured as an unlockable game in the 2004 Xbox remake. It was released on Wii
's Virtual Console on in Japan and on in North America. Europeans, Australians, and New Zealanders have been able to purchase the game as part of "Hanabi Festival" on . The PC Engine version was released for Virtual Console on .
Ninja Gaiden received preview coverage in the January–February 1989 issue of Nintendo Power in its "Pak Watch" section, where it "got the highest marks of any title we've [the magazine's staff] seen in a long time", and that it was expected to be No. 1 on their "Player's Poll" quickly. The preview compared Ryu's ability to climb and spring off walls to the gameplay in Metroid
. The game was unveiled at the 1989 International Winter Consumer Electronics Show
in Las Vegas
, and its display featured a demo of the game and a live person dressed as a ninja. Tecmo predicted that the game would be the top-selling third-party title for the NES.
and Super Mario Bros. 2
; it stayed at No. 3 in the following September–October 1989 issue. The game was featured in the "Nintendo Power Awards '89" as one of the top games that year. It was nominated for "Best Graphics and Sound", "Best Challenge", "Best Theme, Fun", "Best Character" (Ryu Hayabusa), "Best Ending", and "Best Overall"; and it won for "Best Challenge" and "Best Ending". In its preview of Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
, the magazine said that "the colorful, detailed and dynamic cinema scenes of the original Ninja Gaiden set a standard for action game narration that has since been widely emulated. These cinema scenes made Ninja Gaiden play almost like a movie."
The game received strong reviews and publicity from other video gaming magazines at the time. In a review from VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, the presentation and gameplay was compared to Castlevania, while the cinematic cutscenes were compared favorably to Karateka
and other computer game
s by Cinemaware
. The review praised the game's animation in these cutscenes and noted Tecmo's usage of close-up
s and body movements. The reviewer said that while the cutscenes were not fluid, they were effective and entertaining and gave important information as to what the player was supposed to do. He appreciated that the game had unlimited continues which slightly offset its difficulty, but he criticized it for having overdetailed background graphics especially in the indoor levels, saying that some bottomless pits and items in these levels become slightly camouflaged. From July to October 1989, the game was listed at No. 1 on Electronic Gaming Monthlys "Top Ten Video Games" list; it fell to No. 2 on the list behind Mega Man 2
in the following November issue. In their "Best and Worst of 1989", it received awards for "Best Game of the Year" for the NES and "Best Ending in a Video Game" for all consoles. The staff said that Ninja Gaiden "proved to be an instant winner" with its cinematic cutscenes and unique gameplay. They added that the game's climax was better than some movies' climaxes at the time and that it established continuity
for a sequel, which would be released the following year. Later in June 1994, the magazine ranked it at No. 4 in a special list of "Top Ten Most Difficult Games" of all time for all consoles.
Ninja Gaiden was featured on the cover of the pilot issue of UK magazine Mean Machines
in July 1990; the magazine was distributed as part of the July 1990 issue of Computer and Video Games
. In its review, Julian Rignall
compared the game to its beat 'em up arcade counterpart
, which was titled Shadow Warriors. He noted that the game has great graphics that feature diverse backgrounds and character sprites; he gave special praise to its usage of cartoon-like animation sequences between Acts in which the game's plot unfolds. He enjoyed the game's difficulty especially with the bosses, but he noted that the game will seem tough at first until players get accustomed to the controls. He criticized the game for its sound, which he said did not fit with the graphics and was "racy", but said that "what's there is atmospheric and suits the action". He highly recommended the game to fans of the beat 'em up and combat genres.
The game (the NES version now officially titled Shadow Warriors in Europe) was reviewed again in Mean Machines July 1991 issue. In the review, Matt Regan and Paul Glancey praised the game's detailed and animated character sprites and its difficulty level. Regan was impressed with the game's high standards of gameplay, sound, and overall depth; he noted the game's frustrating difficulty but pointed out that it has unlimited continues. Glancey compared the game to the 1990 NES version of Batman with the similarities of wall-jumping mechanics; he said that its graphics were not as well-developed as Batmans but were still satisfactory. He praised its detailed sprites and their animations along with the "Tecmo Theater" concept, noting that the cutscenes "help supply a lot of atmosphere". He said that it is of the best arcade-style games on the NES as well as the best ninja-related game on the system.
The game received some praise and criticism in the August 1991 issue of German magazine Power Play. The review praised the game for its attention to detail and challenge and noted that players need to master certain gameplay skills to move on. Criticisms included a "lack of variety" and dullness in gameplay, in which it was compared to a "visit to the tax office". The PC Engine version was briefly mentioned in the December 1991 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly as part of a review of games that have been released outside the U.S. They noted the faithful translation from the NES version as well as the revamped and more detailed graphics; they said that "PC Engine owners should not miss this one!"
and Verizon
mobile phones on both BREW
and Java platforms. The official English Tecmo Games mobile website advertised it for a future release along with a mobile version of Tecmo Bowl
. They planned to release the entire game throughout 2004 in a series of four installments – similar to what Upstart Games did when they ported the NES version of Castlevania to mobile phones. The port featured the same visuals and soundtrack found on the NES version, and each installment was to consist of several levels of gameplay at a time. The first installment, titled Ninja Gaiden Episode I: Destiny, was released on , and it included only the first Act from the NES version but added two new levels. The second installment was planned to be released in North America and was previewed by GameSpot
in September 2004, but it – along with the third and fourth installments – was never released.
The mobile phone port of Ninja Gaiden was met with some praise and criticism. IGN's Levi Buchanan and GameSpot's Damon Brown praised the port for its accurate translation from the NES to mobile phones, saying that the gameplay, graphics, and cinematic cutscenes remain true to the NES version. They praised the game's controls, despite the game's omission of the ability to duck so that pressing "down" on the phone's directional pad could be used for secondary weapons; Brown said the port had better controls than most other mobile phone games at the time. They both criticized the port for its lack of sound quality, but Buchanan said that this was not Tecmo's fault. In a preview of the port, GameSpot's Avery Score pointed to generally inferior American-made handsets as the reason for its sound shortcomings.
Retro Gamer
took a look back at Ninja Gaiden in its March 2004 issue, in the midst of the release of the 2004 Xbox remake. They said that the game broke the mold of conventional video game titles by including a plot with cinematic cutscenes added between gameplay segments. They added that the concept of adding cinematics for a game's introduction, plot, and ending was a new concept which "naturally impressed the gaming public". They noted the game's high difficulty level, saying that the game "threw up an immense challenge even for the veteran gamer, and almost dared you to complete it mentally and physically intact". Chris Kohler, in his 2004 book Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
, said, while it wasn't as far-reaching as Tecmo Bowl
, "it ended up revolutionizing video games with its courageous, unique, and trailblazing use of cinema scenes".
Upon its release on the Virtual Console, Ninja Gaiden was met with high praise, especially for its elaborate story, amount of narrative, and usage of anime
-like cinematic sequences. Some critics have bemoaned its gameplay for being too similar to Castlevania; similarities include identical displays on the top of the screen, items contained in breakable lanterns, and a nearly identical "secondary weapons" feature. A 1UP.com
review noted that the two games have different dynamics and that several actions possible in Ninja Gaiden would be impossible in Castlevania. Contemporary reviews have considered the game "groundbreaking" for its pioneering use of stylized cutscenes, high quality music, and dark atmosphere. One review said that the game makes up for its high difficulty level with good gameplay. IGN said that it is one of the best platforming video games of all time.
Reviewers have criticized the game for its high and unforgiving difficulty level especially late in the game. A review from 1UP.com referred to the latter levels as an "unfair display of intentional cheapness". In his review of the Virtual Console version, GameSpot's Alex Navarro said "the game will beat you to a pulp" and that it "assaults you time and time again with its punishing difficulty, insidiously placed enemies, and rage-inducing boss fights". According to his review, the game starts easy, but the difficulty starts to increase halfway through the second Act and continues through the sixth Act; Navarro describes the sixth Act's difficulty as being "one of the bottom levels of gaming hell". IGN said that this game was one of the most difficult video games of all time, setting the trend for the rest of the series; however, they pointed out that its difficulty and graphics are "defining characteristics [that] have carried over through the years into modern day [Ninja] Gaiden sequels".
Over fifteen years after its creation, Ninja Gaiden has maintained its position as one of the most popular games for the NES. A 2006 Joystiq
reader poll, with over 12,000 votes, listed the game at No. 10 in a list of top NES games. Another reader poll from GameSpot
listed the game at No. 10 in its top 10 NES games list. It was No. 17 on IGN's "Top 100 NES Games" list. In August 2001 in its 100th issue, Game Informer
listed the game at No. 93 in their "Top 100 Games of All Time" list. In 2006 Electronic Gaming Monthly featured a follow-up to their "The 200 Greatest Videogames of Their Time", in which readers wrote in and discussed games they felt were ignored on the list; the game was listed at No. 16 in the top 25 games discussed. At the end of 2005, Nintendo Power ran a serial feature titled "The Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". The list, which included games for all Nintendo systems, had the game at No. 89. In August 2008, the same magazine ranked it the tenth best NES game of all time; they praised the gameplay and described the cinematic cutscenes as revolutionary for its time. The game's music received honorable mention in IGN's list of "Best 8-Bit Soundtracks".
Nintendo Power
honored the game in its November 2010 issue, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the NES. The magazine listed its box art, which depicts a ninja with a burning city in the background, as one of its favorite designs in the NES library. The magazine's Editor in Chief Chris Slate was equally impressed by the game's box art. He also reminisced the game's high level of difficulty with its re-spawning enemies and enemy birds that knocked players into pits, saying this game "may have taught me how to curse". He further praised gameplay features such as clinging on walls and using ninpo techniques, and he noted the game's cinematic cutscenes, including the ominous opening sequence that featured two ninjas who launch into the air at each other and clashing their swords in the moonlight. He said that "Ninja Gaiden was about as cool as an 8-bit game could be, especially for ninja-crazed kids of the '80s who, like me, had worn out their VHS
copies of Enter the Ninja
". In a July 2011 issue, Retro Gamer listed the game's opening as one of the most popular ones at the time. The magazine noted how its usage of cutscenes, animations, and overall presentation put the game above most other action titles at the time. While it lauded the controls and gameplay elements, as with other reviews, it criticized the difficulty, calling it "one of the most challenging games on the console". It noted how defeated enemies re-spawn in certain spots, how enemies are placed on the edges of platforms, and the structure of the final level.
series of NES game adaptations, created and packaged by Seth Godin
under the pseudonym "F. X. Nine". Godin and Peter Lerangis
, under the pseudonym "A. L. Singer", wrote the novelization. As with the other Worlds of Power books, the amount of violence present in the video game was toned down in the novelization, because Godin and Scholastic were concerned that some of the material in the video game was inappropriate for a young audience. The novel did not strictly adhere to the game's storyline; for instance, the ending was changed so that Ryu's father survived. Ryu's father remained alive in the story because Godin believed that the revised ending was consistent with the Worlds of Power character and as real-life fathers Godin and Lerangis felt reluctance to leave Ryu without a father. The book's cover, otherwise a replication of the North American box art, had the kunai
held in Ryu's front hand was airbrushed out, leaving him to prod the air with an empty fist.
A soundtrack CD, Ninja Ryukenden: Tecmo GSM-1, was released by Pony Canyon
in February 1989. The first half of the CD starts with an arranged medley of the game's music. It then continues with enhanced versions of the game's music which utilized stereophonic sound
and additional PCM channels. The remainder of the CD features music from the arcade version.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game. It was developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
; its development and release coincided with the beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
arcade version
Ninja Gaiden (arcade)
Ninja Gaiden, known in Japan as and in Europe as Shadow Warriors, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up originally released by Tecmo as a coin-operated video game. It was first released in North America in and in Japan and Europe in...
of the same name. It was released in in Japan, in March 1989 in North America, and in in Europe. It was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the PC Engine in Japan in 1992, to the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
as part of the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy compilation in 1995, and to mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s in four planned episodic installments in 2004. It was released on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service for all regions in 2007.
The story follows a ninja named Ryu Hayabusa
Ryu Hayabusa
is the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden video game series as well as a player character in the Dead or Alive series, both published by Tecmo. According to the game canon, Ryu Hayabusa is a ninja and the leader of the that has spiritual, physical and magical ties to ancient dragons...
as he journeys to America to avenge his murdered father. There, he learns that a person named "the Jaquio" plans to take control of the world by unleashing an ancient demon through the power contained in two statues. Featuring platforming gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
similar to Castlevania
Castlevania (video game)
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a console video game developed and published by Konami for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in September 1986. A year later, in May 1987 it was ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System followed by a...
and the NES version of Batman, players control Ryu through six "Acts" that comprise 20 levels
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
; they encounter enemies that must be dispatched with Ryu's katana and other secondary weapons.
Ninja Gaiden has been renowned for its elaborate story and usage of anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
-like cinematic cutscenes. It received extensive coverage and won several awards from video gaming magazines, while criticism focused on its high and unforgiving difficulty, particularly in the later levels. Over fifteen years after its release, the game continued to receive acclaim from print and online publications. It was novelized as part of the Worlds of Power
Worlds of Power
The Worlds of Power books are a series of novelizations of video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in the early 1990s. The series was created by Seth Godin and is characterized by the fact that they are mostly "male-oriented titles," that take creative liberties with their source...
NES game adaptations written by Seth Godin
Seth Godin
Seth Godin is an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker. Godin popularized the topic of permission marketing.-Background:...
and Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis is an author of children's and young-adult fiction.-Career:Lerangis's work includes The Viper's Nest and The Sword Thief, two titles in the New York Times–bestselling children's-book series The 39 Clues, the historical novel Smiler's Bones, the YA dark comedy-adventure novel wtf,...
, and it spawned a soundtrack CD. On the NES, Ninja Gaiden has been described as one of the best arcade-style games, and the best ninja-related game.
Gameplay
Ninja Gaiden is a side-scrolling platform gamePlatform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
in which the player takes control of the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
, Ryu Hayabusa
Ryu Hayabusa
is the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden video game series as well as a player character in the Dead or Alive series, both published by Tecmo. According to the game canon, Ryu Hayabusa is a ninja and the leader of the that has spiritual, physical and magical ties to ancient dragons...
, and guides him through six "Acts" that comprise 20 level
Level (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
s. Ryu's physical strength is represented by a life meter
Health (game mechanic)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
, which decreases when he is hit by an enemy or projectile. A "life" is lost when the life meter depletes entirely, when Ryu falls off of the screen, or when the timer runs out. A game over
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
screen appears when all lives are lost; however, the player may restart the level on which this occurred by continuing. At the end of every act, the player fights a boss; bosses have life meters that the player depletes with attacks. A boss is defeated when its life meter is depleted entirely. Each boss is one of the "Malice Four" – evil underlings of the Jaquio, the game's main antagonist. The Malice Four consist of Barbarian, Bomberhead, Basaquer, and their leader Bloody Malth.
Players attack enemies by thrusting at them with Ryu's Dragon Sword – a katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
-like sword passed down from the Hayabusa clan for generations. They can also use "secondary" weapons that consume Ryu's "spiritual strength
Magic point
Magic points are units of magical power that are used in many role-playing, computer role-playing and similar games as an expendable resource that is needed to pay for magic spells and other abilities, such as special attacks...
". Secondary weapons include throwing stars
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
, "windmill throwing stars" which cut through enemies and return like boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
s, a series of twirling fireballs named "the art of the fire wheel", and a mid-air slashing technique called the "jump & slash". When Ryu's spiritual strength meter becomes too low, the player cannot use secondary weapons. Players can replenish Ryu's spiritual strength by collecting red and blue "spiritual strength" items found in lamps and lanterns. Other items found along the way include hourglass
Hourglass
An hourglass measures the passage of a few minutes or an hour of time. It has two connected vertical glass bulbs allowing a regulated trickle of material from the top to the bottom. Once the top bulb is empty, it can be inverted to begin timing again. The name hourglass comes from historically...
es that freeze all enemies and projectiles for five seconds, bonus point containers, potions that restore six units of physical strength, "invincible fire wheels" that make Ryu temporarily invincible to attacks, and 1-up
1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
s.
Ryu has the ability to jump on and off ladders and walls, and by using the directional pad, he can climb up or down ladders. Ryu can spring off walls by holding the directional pad in the opposite direction he is facing and pressing the jump button. He cannot attack while on walls or ladders. Players can use this technique to get Ryu to climb up spaces between walls and columns by holding down the jump button and alternating between left and right on the directional pad. Ryu can also vertically climb a single wall by springing off it and then quickly pressing the directional pad back towards the wall.
Plot
Ninja Gaiden features a ninjaNinja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
named Ryu Hayabusa
Ryu Hayabusa
is the protagonist of the Ninja Gaiden video game series as well as a player character in the Dead or Alive series, both published by Tecmo. According to the game canon, Ryu Hayabusa is a ninja and the leader of the that has spiritual, physical and magical ties to ancient dragons...
who journeys to America to seek revenge for the death of his father, who then finds himself involved in a sinister plot that threatens the entire world. The story opens with Ryu's father Ken being killed in a duel by an unknown assailant. After the duel, Ryu finds a letter written by Ken which tells Ryu to find an archeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
named Walter Smith in America. Before Ryu can find Walter, Ryu is shot and kidnapped by a mysterious woman; she hands him a demonic-looking statue before releasing him. Ryu then finds Walter, and Walter tells him of the demon statues he and Ken had found in the Amazon ruins. Walter tells Ryu of an evil demon that "SHINOBI" defeated and whose power was confined into two "Light" and "Shadow" demon statues. Ryu shows Walter the "Shadow" demon statue given to him from the woman, but during their conversation, a masked figure suddenly breaks into the cabin and steals the Shadow statue. Ryu gives chase, defeats the masked figure, and retrieves the statue; but when he returns he finds that Walter is dying and that the Light statue is missing. Right after Walter dies, three armed men confront Ryu and tell him to come with them.
Ryu is taken to an interrogation room, where he meets Foster, head of the Special Auxiliary Unit of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. Foster tells Ryu about an over 2000-year-old temple Walter discovered in some ruins in the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
. He continues by saying that Walter, one day, mysteriously sealed the ruins, in which nobody has since ventured near. Foster explains to Ryu that they have been monitoring the activity of someone named Guardia de Mieux, also known as "the Jaquio", who recently moved into the temple. Using the statues, the Jaquio plans to awaken the demon and use it to destroy the world. Foster asks Ryu to go to the temple and eliminate him. After making it into the temple, Ryu discovers that the Jaquio is holding captive the woman who handed him the "Shadow" statue earlier. He orders Ryu to give up the demon statue after threatening the woman's life. Ryu is then dropped from sight through a trapdoor
Trapdoor
A trapdoor is a door set into a floor or ceiling .Originally, trapdoors were sack traps in mills, and allowed the sacks to pass up through the mill while naturally falling back to a closed position....
and into a catacomb.
After fighting his way back to the top of the temple, Ryu encounters Bloody Malth, whom Ryu defeats. While dying, Malth tells Ryu that he was the one who dueled with Ryu's father, that his father is still alive, and that Ryu will meet him as he presses onward. When he reaches the temple's inner chambers, he discovers that his father was not killed but was instead possessed by an evil figure. He destroys the evil figure, which releases Ken from its hold. Jaquio, enraged from Ken's release from the possession, shows himself; he immediately tries to kill Ryu with a fiery projectile, but Ken throws himself in front of Ryu and takes the hit. Jaquio is killed during the ensuing fight by Ryu, but then a lunar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes behind the Earth so that the Earth blocks the Sun's rays from striking the Moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, a lunar eclipse can only occur the night of a...
occurs, causing the demon statues to transform into the demon. After Ryu defeats the demon, Ken tells him he does not have much longer to live due to Jaquio's attack. He tells Ryu to leave him behind in the temple while it collapses and to take the woman with him. Afterwards, Foster, communicating via satellite, orders the woman to kill Ryu and steal the demon statues; she chooses to be with Ryu instead of carrying out the order. The two kiss, and the woman tells Ryu her name, Irene Lew; the two watch as the sun rises.
Development
Ninja Gaiden was developed by Tecmo, who also developed the Tecmo BowlTecmo Bowl
is an arcade game developed and released in 1987 by Tecmo. While moderately successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The NES version was considered by many to be the first NES American...
and Rygar series. It was one of the first two games, alongside Tecmo Bowl, to be released by the company for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
(NES). The game was released in December 1988 in Japan under the title Ninja Ryukenden, whose literal translation was Legend of the Dragon Sword. It was developed and released the same time as the beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
arcade version
Ninja Gaiden (arcade)
Ninja Gaiden, known in Japan as and in Europe as Shadow Warriors, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up originally released by Tecmo as a coin-operated video game. It was first released in North America in and in Japan and Europe in...
of the same name; neither of the two games were ports of each other but were parallel projects developed by different teams. According to developer Masato Kato
Masato Kato
is a Japanese video game artist, scenario writer and director. In the early days of his career, he was credited under the pseudonyms of "Runmaru" and "Runmal".- Biography :...
, the term "ninja" was gaining popularity in North America, prompting Tecmo to develop a ninja-related game for the NES at the same time the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden was being developed. The NES version was directed was developed and directed by Hideo Yoshizawa
Hideo Yoshizawa
is a video game developer and director currently employed by Namco. Prior to being employed by Namco, he worked for Tecmo and was involved in the original Ninja Gaiden trilogy for the Nintendo Entertainment System under the name "Sakurazaki".-Games credited:...
(listed as "Sakurazaki" in the game's credits), who led the development teams of both this game and its arcade counterpart.
Drawing inspiration from the Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
series, Yoshizawa kept the same title but changed everything else; it became a platformer
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
as opposed to a beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
as featured in Double Dragon
Double Dragon
is a classic beat 'em up video game series initially developed by Technos Japan Corporation, who also developed the Kunio-kun series ....
; the gameplay was modeled after Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Castlevania
Castlevania (video game)
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a console video game developed and published by Konami for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in September 1986. A year later, in May 1987 it was ported to cartridge format and released in North America for the Nintendo Entertainment System followed by a...
, which Ryu was equipped with a katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
-like Dragon Sword, shuriken
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
s, and ninpo techniques such as fire wheels. In designing the protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, the development team wanted him to be unique from other ninjas. They designed him with a ninja vest in order to place emphasis on his muscles, and they furnished him with a cowl that arched outward. They originally wanted to equip Ryu with sensors and a helmet with an inside monitor to check his surroundings, but that idea was scrapped. They utilized specific locations and environment to justify the need for having a ninja for a main character. In charge of designing the graphics, Kato used the NES' technical limitations to his advantage by placing the background and objects together. The game's difficulty was set at a high level due to Tecmo's policy on increasing the challenge for Western gamers.
Yoshizawa placed greater emphasis story as opposed to the arcade version, and he wrote and designed the plot that included over 20 minutes of cinematic cutscenes – the first time an NES game contained such sequences. Tecmo called the cutscene system "Tecmo Theater", in which the game reveals the storyline between Acts through the usage of animated sequences. These sequences are used at the beginning of each Act to introduce new characters such as Irene Lew, Walter Smith, and the Jaquio. This feature uses techniques such as close-ups, alternate camera angles, differing background music, and sound effects. It was used to make the game more enjoyable for players. Unlike earlier titles such as Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy (video game)
is a fantasy role-playing video game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed and first published in Japan by Square in 1987. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series...
, the cutscenes consisted of large anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
art on the top half of the screen with dialogue on the bottom half. This made the artistic style more reminiscent of other manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
titles such as Lupin III and Golgo 13. Dimitri Criona, Tecmo USA's director of sales and marketing, said that the advantages of console games over arcade games allowed the creation of a longer game and the inclusion of cutscenes, which Tecmo trademarked as "cinema screens"; he noted the lack of motivation to drop quarters that has allowed this on home consoles, which required a different reward structure than in arcade games.
When the game's text was translated from Japanese to English, the game needed to be reprogrammed in order to accomplish this; different companies handled this process in different ways. Tecmo's Japanese writers wrote rough translations in English, and they would then fax them to the American division. According to Criona, the American division would "edit it and put it back together, telling the story in a context that an American English speaker would understand. This would go back and forth several times." Moreover, the game's text was stored in picture files instead of raw computer text, and because of the NES' hardware limitations, the English text need to be very clear and concise to fall within those limitations; many times, different words with the same meaning but with less characters had to be used. All symbols and objects were scrutinized by Nintendo of America, who had specific rules on what could be included for North American releases; for instance, any Satanic
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
, Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, or any other religious, sexual, or drug-related references were not allowed.
Release
Since the game's title was too difficult to read for English audiences, it was renamed when it was released in Western markets. In early 1988 advertisements from Nintendo Fun Club News, Tecmo used Dragon Ninja as a tentative title for the U.S. release. They decided to use the title Ninja Gaiden when the game was released in the U.S. in March 1989; the title literally meant "Ninja Side-Story", but the game was not intended as a spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of the arcade version. According to an interview with developer Masato Kato
Masato Kato
is a Japanese video game artist, scenario writer and director. In the early days of his career, he was credited under the pseudonyms of "Runmaru" and "Runmal".- Biography :...
, the staff, determining how to translate "Ryukenden" into English, went with Ninja Gaiden "because it sounded cool". In Europe, the game was scheduled to be released in September 1990, but censorship issues delayed its release until September 1991. It was retitled as Shadow Warriors – just as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
was renamed Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles – as ninjas were considered a taboo subject in Europe. Its release was a part of many ninja-related video games such as The Legend of Kage, Ninja Warriors, and Shinobi
Shinobi (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released for the arcades in . In Shinobi, the player controls a modern day ninja named Joe Musashi who goes on a mission to rescue his kidnapped students from a group of terrorists...
.
Upon Ninja Gaidens North American release, Nintendo of America, whose play-testers liked the game and gave it high ratings, decided to help with its marketing. It was featured prominently in Nintendo's house organ
House organ
A house organ is a magazine or periodical published by a company for its customers or its employees...
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
; according to Criona, it did not take a lot of effort to market the game through the magazine, nor did Tecmo or Nintendo do much else to promote it. The game's demand eventually exceeded its supply. While Tecmo anticipated that the game would be a hit, they did not realize at the time its impact it would have in the video game industry, according to Kohler, "with its groundbreaking use of cinematics". Yoshizawa would go on to develop and direct the other two sequels in the series: Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, known in Japan as and as Shadow Warriors 2 in Europe, is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was released in Japan on , in North America in May 1990, and in Europe on...
(1990) and Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom
Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, known in Japan as is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed and published by Tecmo. It was released in Japan on for the Famicom and in North America in August 1991 for the Nintendo Entertainment System...
(1991). He directed the development of the gameplay, including a feature that sent players back to the beginning of the sixth Act after losing to any of the final three bosses in the game, which was originally a glitch
Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. It is often used to describe a transient fault that corrects itself, and is therefore difficult to troubleshoot...
. The game's graphics, animations and instruction manual illustrations were done by Masato Kato; Ninja Gaiden was Kato's first project as a video game developer.
Ninja Gaiden has been ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to several other platforms, including the PC Engine, the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, the Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
, and mobile phones. The game was first ported to the PC Engine in 1992 and was published by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
and released only in Japan; it featured an alternate English translation, more colorful and detailed graphics, and difficulty and gameplay tweaks. It appeared as a remake for the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy compilation for the Super NES in 1995. Some reviewers appreciated the redrawn graphics and music in this version, but others found them to be an inadequate effort. Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
reviewers compared it unfavorably to another updated NES remake, Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
Mega Man: The Wily Wars, released in Japan as is a video game compilation by Capcom for the Sega Mega Drive. The game features remakes of the first three Mega Man games that were originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The Wily Wars was released in cartridge format in Japan and...
; they called the version "an exact port-over with no noticeable enhancements in graphics, sound and play control". Along with the other two games in the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy, the original version was featured as an unlockable game in the 2004 Xbox remake. It was released on Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console on in Japan and on in North America. Europeans, Australians, and New Zealanders have been able to purchase the game as part of "Hanabi Festival" on . The PC Engine version was released for Virtual Console on .
Ninja Gaiden received preview coverage in the January–February 1989 issue of Nintendo Power in its "Pak Watch" section, where it "got the highest marks of any title we've [the magazine's staff] seen in a long time", and that it was expected to be No. 1 on their "Player's Poll" quickly. The preview compared Ryu's ability to climb and spring off walls to the gameplay in Metroid
Metroid
is an action-adventure video game, and the first entry in the Metroid series. It was co-developed by Nintendo's Research and Development 1 division and Intelligent Systems, and was released in Japan in August 1986, in North America in August 1987, and in Europe in January 1988...
. The game was unveiled at the 1989 International Winter Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, and its display featured a demo of the game and a live person dressed as a ninja. Tecmo predicted that the game would be the top-selling third-party title for the NES.
Reception
Ninja Gaiden received strong publicity in Nintendo Power in 1989 and 1990. It was featured on the cover of the magazine's March–April 1989 issue and was referenced in the following issue in a Howard and Nester comic strip. It was one of the featured games in both March–April and May–June 1989 issues of the magazine; both issues included a walkthrough up to the fifth Act, a review, and a plot overview. Underlining the game's difficulty, it appeared in several issues in the magazine's "Counselor's Corner" and "Classified Information" help sections. The game debuted at No. 3 on its "Top 30" list for July–August 1989, behind Zelda II: The Adventure of LinkZelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
and Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
; it stayed at No. 3 in the following September–October 1989 issue. The game was featured in the "Nintendo Power Awards '89" as one of the top games that year. It was nominated for "Best Graphics and Sound", "Best Challenge", "Best Theme, Fun", "Best Character" (Ryu Hayabusa), "Best Ending", and "Best Overall"; and it won for "Best Challenge" and "Best Ending". In its preview of Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, known in Japan as and as Shadow Warriors 2 in Europe, is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System . It was released in Japan on , in North America in May 1990, and in Europe on...
, the magazine said that "the colorful, detailed and dynamic cinema scenes of the original Ninja Gaiden set a standard for action game narration that has since been widely emulated. These cinema scenes made Ninja Gaiden play almost like a movie."
The game received strong reviews and publicity from other video gaming magazines at the time. In a review from VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, the presentation and gameplay was compared to Castlevania, while the cinematic cutscenes were compared favorably to Karateka
Karateka (video game)
Karateka is a 1984 computer game by Jordan Mechner, the creator of Prince of Persia. Karateka was Mechner's first hit game, and was designed while he was attending Yale University. The game was renowned at the time for its realistic animations. In the United States, Karateka was published by...
and other computer game
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
s by Cinemaware
Cinemaware
Cinemaware was a computer game developer and publisher that released several popular titles in the 1980s based on various movie themes. The company was resurrected in 2000, before being acquired by eGames in 2005.-Cinemaware Corp...
. The review praised the game's animation in these cutscenes and noted Tecmo's usage of close-up
Close-up
In filmmaking, television production, still photography and the comic strip medium a close-up tightly frames a person or an object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots . Close-ups display the most detail, but they do not include the broader scene...
s and body movements. The reviewer said that while the cutscenes were not fluid, they were effective and entertaining and gave important information as to what the player was supposed to do. He appreciated that the game had unlimited continues which slightly offset its difficulty, but he criticized it for having overdetailed background graphics especially in the indoor levels, saying that some bottomless pits and items in these levels become slightly camouflaged. From July to October 1989, the game was listed at No. 1 on Electronic Gaming Monthlys "Top Ten Video Games" list; it fell to No. 2 on the list behind Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2, known in Japan as , is a platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the second installment in the original Mega Man series. The game was released in Japan in 1988, and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2...
in the following November issue. In their "Best and Worst of 1989", it received awards for "Best Game of the Year" for the NES and "Best Ending in a Video Game" for all consoles. The staff said that Ninja Gaiden "proved to be an instant winner" with its cinematic cutscenes and unique gameplay. They added that the game's climax was better than some movies' climaxes at the time and that it established continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
for a sequel, which would be released the following year. Later in June 1994, the magazine ranked it at No. 4 in a special list of "Top Ten Most Difficult Games" of all time for all consoles.
Ninja Gaiden was featured on the cover of the pilot issue of UK magazine Mean Machines
Mean Machines
Mean Machines was a market-leading multi-format gaming magazine released between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Its style was popular with gamers of the time for its irreverent humor, anarchic editorial tone and style, and its sometimes outrageously outspoken reviews.- Origins :In the late...
in July 1990; the magazine was distributed as part of the July 1990 issue of Computer and Video Games
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
. In its review, Julian Rignall
Julian Rignall
Julian "Muppet" Rignall is a longterm publishing veteran with experience launching and managing numerous video game magazines and websites...
compared the game to its beat 'em up arcade counterpart
Ninja Gaiden (arcade)
Ninja Gaiden, known in Japan as and in Europe as Shadow Warriors, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up originally released by Tecmo as a coin-operated video game. It was first released in North America in and in Japan and Europe in...
, which was titled Shadow Warriors. He noted that the game has great graphics that feature diverse backgrounds and character sprites; he gave special praise to its usage of cartoon-like animation sequences between Acts in which the game's plot unfolds. He enjoyed the game's difficulty especially with the bosses, but he noted that the game will seem tough at first until players get accustomed to the controls. He criticized the game for its sound, which he said did not fit with the graphics and was "racy", but said that "what's there is atmospheric and suits the action". He highly recommended the game to fans of the beat 'em up and combat genres.
The game (the NES version now officially titled Shadow Warriors in Europe) was reviewed again in Mean Machines July 1991 issue. In the review, Matt Regan and Paul Glancey praised the game's detailed and animated character sprites and its difficulty level. Regan was impressed with the game's high standards of gameplay, sound, and overall depth; he noted the game's frustrating difficulty but pointed out that it has unlimited continues. Glancey compared the game to the 1990 NES version of Batman with the similarities of wall-jumping mechanics; he said that its graphics were not as well-developed as Batmans but were still satisfactory. He praised its detailed sprites and their animations along with the "Tecmo Theater" concept, noting that the cutscenes "help supply a lot of atmosphere". He said that it is of the best arcade-style games on the NES as well as the best ninja-related game on the system.
The game received some praise and criticism in the August 1991 issue of German magazine Power Play. The review praised the game for its attention to detail and challenge and noted that players need to master certain gameplay skills to move on. Criticisms included a "lack of variety" and dullness in gameplay, in which it was compared to a "visit to the tax office". The PC Engine version was briefly mentioned in the December 1991 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly as part of a review of games that have been released outside the U.S. They noted the faithful translation from the NES version as well as the revamped and more detailed graphics; they said that "PC Engine owners should not miss this one!"
Legacy
In 2004, Tecmo began releasing low-priced episodic installments of Ninja Gaiden for AT&TAT&T Wireless Services
AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., founded in 1987 as McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc., and now legally known as New Cingular Wireless Services, Inc., formerly part of AT&T Corp., is a wireless telephone carrier in the United States, based in Redmond, Washington, and later traded on the New York...
and Verizon
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
mobile phones on both BREW
Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless
Brew is an application development platform created by Qualcomm, originally for CDMA mobile phones, featuring third party applications such as mobile games. It is offered in some feature phones but not in smart phones...
and Java platforms. The official English Tecmo Games mobile website advertised it for a future release along with a mobile version of Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Bowl
is an arcade game developed and released in 1987 by Tecmo. While moderately successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The NES version was considered by many to be the first NES American...
. They planned to release the entire game throughout 2004 in a series of four installments – similar to what Upstart Games did when they ported the NES version of Castlevania to mobile phones. The port featured the same visuals and soundtrack found on the NES version, and each installment was to consist of several levels of gameplay at a time. The first installment, titled Ninja Gaiden Episode I: Destiny, was released on , and it included only the first Act from the NES version but added two new levels. The second installment was planned to be released in North America and was previewed by GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
in September 2004, but it – along with the third and fourth installments – was never released.
The mobile phone port of Ninja Gaiden was met with some praise and criticism. IGN's Levi Buchanan and GameSpot's Damon Brown praised the port for its accurate translation from the NES to mobile phones, saying that the gameplay, graphics, and cinematic cutscenes remain true to the NES version. They praised the game's controls, despite the game's omission of the ability to duck so that pressing "down" on the phone's directional pad could be used for secondary weapons; Brown said the port had better controls than most other mobile phone games at the time. They both criticized the port for its lack of sound quality, but Buchanan said that this was not Tecmo's fault. In a preview of the port, GameSpot's Avery Score pointed to generally inferior American-made handsets as the reason for its sound shortcomings.
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
took a look back at Ninja Gaiden in its March 2004 issue, in the midst of the release of the 2004 Xbox remake. They said that the game broke the mold of conventional video game titles by including a plot with cinematic cutscenes added between gameplay segments. They added that the concept of adding cinematics for a game's introduction, plot, and ending was a new concept which "naturally impressed the gaming public". They noted the game's high difficulty level, saying that the game "threw up an immense challenge even for the veteran gamer, and almost dared you to complete it mentally and physically intact". Chris Kohler, in his 2004 book Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life
Power-Up: How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life is a 2005 book by Chris Kohler. It explores the video game market in Japan and the history of video games in both Japan and North America. Kohler argues that Japan’s role in the history of video games in America is undervalued...
, said, while it wasn't as far-reaching as Tecmo Bowl
Tecmo Bowl
is an arcade game developed and released in 1987 by Tecmo. While moderately successful in the arcades, the game became and remained widely popular and remembered when it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1989. The NES version was considered by many to be the first NES American...
, "it ended up revolutionizing video games with its courageous, unique, and trailblazing use of cinema scenes".
Upon its release on the Virtual Console, Ninja Gaiden was met with high praise, especially for its elaborate story, amount of narrative, and usage of anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
-like cinematic sequences. Some critics have bemoaned its gameplay for being too similar to Castlevania; similarities include identical displays on the top of the screen, items contained in breakable lanterns, and a nearly identical "secondary weapons" feature. A 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
review noted that the two games have different dynamics and that several actions possible in Ninja Gaiden would be impossible in Castlevania. Contemporary reviews have considered the game "groundbreaking" for its pioneering use of stylized cutscenes, high quality music, and dark atmosphere. One review said that the game makes up for its high difficulty level with good gameplay. IGN said that it is one of the best platforming video games of all time.
Reviewers have criticized the game for its high and unforgiving difficulty level especially late in the game. A review from 1UP.com referred to the latter levels as an "unfair display of intentional cheapness". In his review of the Virtual Console version, GameSpot's Alex Navarro said "the game will beat you to a pulp" and that it "assaults you time and time again with its punishing difficulty, insidiously placed enemies, and rage-inducing boss fights". According to his review, the game starts easy, but the difficulty starts to increase halfway through the second Act and continues through the sixth Act; Navarro describes the sixth Act's difficulty as being "one of the bottom levels of gaming hell". IGN said that this game was one of the most difficult video games of all time, setting the trend for the rest of the series; however, they pointed out that its difficulty and graphics are "defining characteristics [that] have carried over through the years into modern day [Ninja] Gaiden sequels".
Over fifteen years after its creation, Ninja Gaiden has maintained its position as one of the most popular games for the NES. A 2006 Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
reader poll, with over 12,000 votes, listed the game at No. 10 in a list of top NES games. Another reader poll from GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
listed the game at No. 10 in its top 10 NES games list. It was No. 17 on IGN's "Top 100 NES Games" list. In August 2001 in its 100th issue, Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
listed the game at No. 93 in their "Top 100 Games of All Time" list. In 2006 Electronic Gaming Monthly featured a follow-up to their "The 200 Greatest Videogames of Their Time", in which readers wrote in and discussed games they felt were ignored on the list; the game was listed at No. 16 in the top 25 games discussed. At the end of 2005, Nintendo Power ran a serial feature titled "The Top 200 Nintendo Games Ever". The list, which included games for all Nintendo systems, had the game at No. 89. In August 2008, the same magazine ranked it the tenth best NES game of all time; they praised the gameplay and described the cinematic cutscenes as revolutionary for its time. The game's music received honorable mention in IGN's list of "Best 8-Bit Soundtracks".
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
honored the game in its November 2010 issue, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the NES. The magazine listed its box art, which depicts a ninja with a burning city in the background, as one of its favorite designs in the NES library. The magazine's Editor in Chief Chris Slate was equally impressed by the game's box art. He also reminisced the game's high level of difficulty with its re-spawning enemies and enemy birds that knocked players into pits, saying this game "may have taught me how to curse". He further praised gameplay features such as clinging on walls and using ninpo techniques, and he noted the game's cinematic cutscenes, including the ominous opening sequence that featured two ninjas who launch into the air at each other and clashing their swords in the moonlight. He said that "Ninja Gaiden was about as cool as an 8-bit game could be, especially for ninja-crazed kids of the '80s who, like me, had worn out their VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
copies of Enter the Ninja
Enter the Ninja
Enter the Ninja is a 1981 martial arts film directed by Menahem Golan and starring Franco Nero, Susan George and Shô Kosugi. Production was started in the Philippines with Emmett Alston directing, but when Charles Bronson refused to allow Menahem Golan to direct Death Wish II, Golan, a co-principal...
". In a July 2011 issue, Retro Gamer listed the game's opening as one of the most popular ones at the time. The magazine noted how its usage of cutscenes, animations, and overall presentation put the game above most other action titles at the time. While it lauded the controls and gameplay elements, as with other reviews, it criticized the difficulty, calling it "one of the most challenging games on the console". It noted how defeated enemies re-spawn in certain spots, how enemies are placed on the edges of platforms, and the structure of the final level.
Related media
In July 1990 Scholastic Corporation published a novelization of Ninja Gaiden under the Worlds of PowerWorlds of Power
The Worlds of Power books are a series of novelizations of video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System released in the early 1990s. The series was created by Seth Godin and is characterized by the fact that they are mostly "male-oriented titles," that take creative liberties with their source...
series of NES game adaptations, created and packaged by Seth Godin
Seth Godin
Seth Godin is an American entrepreneur, author and public speaker. Godin popularized the topic of permission marketing.-Background:...
under the pseudonym "F. X. Nine". Godin and Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis
Peter Lerangis is an author of children's and young-adult fiction.-Career:Lerangis's work includes The Viper's Nest and The Sword Thief, two titles in the New York Times–bestselling children's-book series The 39 Clues, the historical novel Smiler's Bones, the YA dark comedy-adventure novel wtf,...
, under the pseudonym "A. L. Singer", wrote the novelization. As with the other Worlds of Power books, the amount of violence present in the video game was toned down in the novelization, because Godin and Scholastic were concerned that some of the material in the video game was inappropriate for a young audience. The novel did not strictly adhere to the game's storyline; for instance, the ending was changed so that Ryu's father survived. Ryu's father remained alive in the story because Godin believed that the revised ending was consistent with the Worlds of Power character and as real-life fathers Godin and Lerangis felt reluctance to leave Ryu without a father. The book's cover, otherwise a replication of the North American box art, had the kunai
Kunai
A is a Japanese tool possibly derived from the masonry trowel. Two variations are the and the . It is a good example of a very basic tool which, in the hands of a martial arts expert, could be used as a multi-functional weapon...
held in Ryu's front hand was airbrushed out, leaving him to prod the air with an empty fist.
A soundtrack CD, Ninja Ryukenden: Tecmo GSM-1, was released by Pony Canyon
Pony Canyon
is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966 , which publishes music, DVD and VHS videos, movies and video games. It is a subsidiary of Japanese Media Group, Fujisankei Communications Group.-History:...
in February 1989. The first half of the CD starts with an arranged medley of the game's music. It then continues with enhanced versions of the game's music which utilized stereophonic sound
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
and additional PCM channels. The remainder of the CD features music from the arcade version.
External links
- Ninja Gaiden at OverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...
- Tecmo's Home Page