More than anything, retro gaming should be about preserving the history of the industry. While there is little chance of Sonic or Alex Kidd being forgotten in time, there is every chance that The Ninja or similar games could. The type of games which were never good enough to gain the praise of most gamers. The type of game who only a mother could love. However insignificant they may seem, they remind us of a time where developers could get away with making a bad game. Luckily for us, The Ninja is one of those "so bad it's good" games. This could very well be the Master System's "Showgirls".

It really has a lot to offer. Horribly confused outfits, guys with turds for heads, impossibly hard to find yet essential items, ninjas that can spit fire, ninjas that like frogger. If you find yourself asking why the final boss is dual wielding pistols this is not the game for you. If the marriage of fun gameplay and silliness appeals to you, you are in for an 8-bit treat.





The Ninja is a port of the arcade title Sega Ninja, a game identical in most ways. The biggest difference is that the main character in Sega Ninja is a woman. For some reason they changed the Master System's protagonist to a male named Kazamaru, a ninja who rebels against the evil warlord Gyokura. Gyokuro seized power of the once peaceful province of Ohkami, kidnapping the ruling princess and confining her to the dungeon in Ohkami castle. Kazamaru's goal is to raid the castle, rescue the princess, and restore peace to Ohkami. Hardly ground breaking stuff but people who look for depth in a game like this should probably direct their attention to the ninjas who throw boomerangs.

Kazamaru begins his adventure outside the gates of the castle armed with only his trusty ninja throwing knives. The castle is protected by a humorous array of martial art baddies armed with throwing stars, samurai swords, and the ability to transform into some sort of dog-bear-pig thing. However they were never equipped with AI. Every enemy on screen does what any good ninja does and runs directly at you. Like any good zombie film, the lack of strategy is balanced by the sheer number of bodies coming at you. At the end of each level is an absurd looking character sporting a nifty vest-pants combo and throwing a magical floating baton.



The simple controls contribute to the game's fun factor. It handles like any top down run and gun, one button for shooting in the direction you are moving and the second for shooting directly up no mater which direction you are running. Pushing both buttons at the same time turns Kazamaru invisible for a short period. It appeals to same part of the brain which is aroused by shmups, strafing around the bottom of the screen and killing everything that appears at the top of the screen. Upgrading the throwing stars allows them to travel through the enemies killing several with one star. Seeing the ninja stars rip through the enemies is amazingly satisfying considering how simple the animation seems. Dead ninjas are simply replaced by a white outline in the style of Alex Kidd. And everything uses the same human outline, even the wolf things.

That isn't the only cheesy graphic in the game. Kazamaru has a silly looking two frame running animation, enemy ninjas hide inside rocks a quarter of their size, the boulder stage has rocks that seem to be made of rubber, if ninjas can't run at you they simply fly in a circle. Despite the lack of really detailed animations the game still has a very unique and appealing visual style. Everything is is amazingly colourful and has that great MSPAINT look. The levels are very well designed and show a large variation in settings, courtyards, desert, rivers, wall climbing, and inner castle levels are just some of the locations. The trees, ground, and structures all have excellent detail and fit together well.



The Ninja has the type of music that gets burned into your head for 2 decades. Maybe it's the cheese, maybe it's the fact there are only a couple of songs in the game. It isn't the pinnacle of what the Master System has to offer but it is catchy and it sticks with you.

This game may not be held as highly by others as it is by me, it's short, it's stupidly hard, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it is an example of what gaming will probably never be again. The days when you could make a game about a ninja and dress him as a samurai are over.


More gems:
Golden Axe Warrior
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Action Fighter