The Ninja Warriors

[Melf]

Taito released plenty of games for the Genesis, but its Sega CD library wasn't quite as robust. Some of the games that made it onto the add-on seem to have a "B grade" quality to them, and after playing The Ninja Warriors for the Japanese Mega CD, that assessment might actually be too generous. Granted, the source material isn't that deep to begin with, but one questions why the CD technology seemed to only be used for redbook audio. What a waste. Read our full review and then go play some Shinobi III. You'll feel better afterward.

[A Black Falcon]

The Ninja Warriors for Sega CD is an interesting game, on the one hand it's a fantastic port of the arcade game, by far the best port the game got (the PC Engine version is awful in comparison). The two player mode from the original arcade game is intact, and the gameplay is just like it, except on one screen instead of three. Zuntata Mode, aka the noir-style backstory thing, is pretty weird and awesome. The music is fantastic, and almost makes the game worth playing on its own. Between the soundtrack and Zuntata Mode, it kind of feels like Taito was trying to figure out what to do with all the space they had on CDs, so they were experimenting with some new stuff that otherwise would never have been seen, or something like that. It's kind of interesting. So there are a lot of good things about the game, and I'd definitely give it a much higher score than 4, that's way too low.

On the other hand, I do agree that actual gameplay is very simple and repetitive, and gets boring after a while. The game is extremely simplistic, and you just walk right slowly while attacking frequently to kill enemies. There's no real platforming, no multi-layer areas, nothing but just walking right, attacking basic enemies, and periodically fighting bosses. Also, despite the simplicity, the game is hard. I often get game over at the tank boss, either in one or two players. The Ninja Warriors Again for SNES, simply called The Ninja Warriors in the US because the Sega CD and PCE/TG16 versions of the first one never came out here, is a far better game gameplay-wise, with better graphics, much more variety, and lots more moves. It has no multiplayer, which is unfortunate, but in gameplay it's much more fun to play. The Sega CD game is so simple and repetitive...

Oh, and in the SNES game the Kunoichi actually looks female... it's so weird, in the original game, whether you're talking about the arcade, PCE, or Sega CD versions, the Kunoichi looks the same as the Ninja... until you take damage and the upper clothing rips off, and suddenly the Kunoichi's metal shell inside looks different... it's odd. On the SNES they fix that problem.

Still, it's not a BAD game, just simple. The port is great, the music fantastic, all of the voice acting in the cutscenes is in English so understanding it is no problem even though the game was only released in Japan, and more. For a score, I'd probably give it a 7, 7.5, somewhere around there. Sure, I would like if it had more to it, like the SNES sequel/remake/whatever it is, but there's enough there in the Sega CD game to make it perhaps worth a try, I think. I think it's interesting, anyway, for the whole package particularly.

[Phantar]

Is it just me, or do the background graphics seem to have been, uh, "inspired" by Double Dragon?

[A Black Falcon]

Is it just me, or do the background graphics seem to have been, uh, "inspired" by Double Dragon?

Taito published Technos' Double Dragon in 1987 in the arcades and then their own The Ninja Warriors in 1988, so that really wouldn't be too surprising if true... but really they seem fairly generic city/military base stuff to me, I don't know if it's that close.

[Aarzak]

Only two words I have to say about this boring, repetitive game (whose SNES sequel/remake blows it out of the water:

DADDY MULK.



Zuntata and Hisayoshi Ogura's funky compositions were often the only redeeming factor of some late '80's Taito games like this, the first two Darius games and *groan* Rastan Saga II/Nastar Warrior.

[A Black Falcon]

Rastan Saga II? I don't know if even Zuntata music saves that one, that game is just awful...

[Aarzak]

The soundtrack (in the original coin-op, emulated on "Taito Legends 2") is pretty good, but yes, not even that saves Rastan Saga II.

[ApolloBoy]

Just realized I made a mistake in my comment on the review. It should be "That is all" and not "That it is all".

Anyway, I actually really like this game, mainly because there aren't too many games I know of where you can play as a ninja robot. That, and I've been hooked on the arcade soundtrack for a few months now. Yes, the soundtrack is that awesome. I seriously don't understand why the hell this game gets so much flack.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Awesome, AWESOME game. Anyone who says it is boring is boring themselves. Definitely doesn't deserve a 4. Maybe an 8.

[McMasters]

Awesome, AWESOME game. Anyone who says it is boring is boring themselves. Definitely doesn't deserve a 4. Maybe an 8.

I don't think we played the same game. Did you grab a piece of masking tape, write Ninja Warriors on it, and slap it on a Shinobi 3 cartridge?

[Nintega Grafx-16]

I don't think we played the same game. Did you grab a piece of masking tape, write Ninja Warriors on it, and slap it on a Shinobi 3 cartridge?

Why people here are comparing NW to Shinobi? NW is a side scrolling beat 'em up and Shinobi games are platformers. Apples and freaking oranges.