Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Encyclopedia
is an action game
released in Japan
on November 15, 1985 by Jaleco
for the Famicom and in 1986 for the MSX
.
It was released for Nintendo
's Japanese Virtual Console
on December 26, 2006 and in PAL regions on September 21, 2007 as part of Ninja Week for the Hanabi Festival promotion. It was released on the North American Virtual Console on October 22, 2007 and was the first time the game made its release outside Japan, in their respective regions. It was the primary inspiration behind Robot Ninja Haggleman, an 8-bit style game in Retro Game Challenge
for the Nintendo DS.
In the game, the player starts with three lives and can only run, jump and throw shurikens. The game is divided into stages, each with four floors and eight enemies. Sakura-Hime and Damazu are placed, unreachable, at the top of the screen. Enemies use various projectiles, one of which will cause the player to lose a life. If JaJaMaru-kun lands on top of an enemy, it will simply be temporarily stunned and vice versa. Once an enemy is defeated and offscreen, a spirit will appear and ascend to the top of the screen. It can be collected before it has disappeared to receive points, which vary depending on the enemy. Sakura will sometimes drop petals that the player can collect, and Damazu will sometimes run around, dropping bombs. To advance to the next stage, the player must defeat all eight enemies by using shurikens.
Some bricks yield items. They include:
If all three types of power-ups are collected, Gamapa-kun, a giant frog, will be summoned, which is completely invincible and able to eat all enemies. If three of Sakura's petals are collected, the player will go to a bonus stage in which JaJaMaru-kun is on the bottom and Damazu at the top. Damazu drops bombs, and the player throws shurikens upward. If the player manages to hit Damazu, bonus points are awarded. If the JaJaMaru-kun is hit by a bomb, he goes on to the next stage.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on November 15, 1985 by Jaleco
Jaleco
is a Japanese video game publisher and developer established in 2006.The original Jaleco Ltd was founded in 1974. In 2006, it decided to become a pure holding company by renaming itself Jaleco Holding and splitting its video game operations into a newly created subsdiary that took its former name...
for the Famicom and in 1986 for the MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
.
It was released for Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Japanese 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...
on December 26, 2006 and in PAL regions on September 21, 2007 as part of Ninja Week for the Hanabi Festival promotion. It was released on the North American Virtual Console on October 22, 2007 and was the first time the game made its release outside Japan, in their respective regions. It was the primary inspiration behind Robot Ninja Haggleman, an 8-bit style game in Retro Game Challenge
Retro Game Challenge
Retro Game Challenge, known in Japan as , is a Nintendo DS game developed by indieszero and published by Namco Bandai Games. It is based on the television series Retro Game Master . Shinya Arino himself gave much input into the game creation process...
for the Nintendo DS.
Story
The game stars the brother of Ninja-kun (from Ninja-Kid). Princess Sakura has been kidnapped by Damazu-Dayuu, and because Ninja-Kun is away on a journey, the task falls to young JaJaMaru-kun.Gameplay
Some bricks yield items. They include:
- A cart that temporarily makes JaJaMaru-kun invincible and faster. Projectiles and enemies will also be destroyed if touched.
- A bottled substance that makes JaJaMaru temporarily invincible and able to walk through enemies.
- A red ball that increases speed.
- Bombs (which must be avoided).
- Coins that yield various amounts of points.
- An extra life.
If all three types of power-ups are collected, Gamapa-kun, a giant frog, will be summoned, which is completely invincible and able to eat all enemies. If three of Sakura's petals are collected, the player will go to a bonus stage in which JaJaMaru-kun is on the bottom and Damazu at the top. Damazu drops bombs, and the player throws shurikens upward. If the player manages to hit Damazu, bonus points are awarded. If the JaJaMaru-kun is hit by a bomb, he goes on to the next stage.
External links
- Ninja-kun/Ninja JaJaMaru-kun series at Hardcore Gaming 101
- Official Virtual Console page