Ninja Gaiden

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Description

Ninja Gaiden begins with a cinematic animation in which two ninjas duel to the death; one goes down. It is revealed that the doomed ninja is the father of Ryu Hayabusa. When Ryu learns of this, he embarks on a quest to find out who killed his father and why. This quest takes him to America to find an archaeologist with whom Ryu's father was working. From there, Ryu becomes embroiled in an evil, supernatural conspiracy involving a villain named Jaquio who has plans to use an ancient castle and some relics to unleash a terrifying evil upon the world.

In comparison to the better known console version this game is a traditional fighting game similar to Double Dragon in which the player walks from left to right while battling numerous enemies. Only if all foes are dispatched of, the player can advance in the level. It's also possible to perform special attacks and use weapons. The latter are either collectable power-ups or environmental objects like phone boots.

Ryu can attack his enemies using his his bare hands and feet or using a sword (for a limited time). He can also perform moves such as a flying neck throw, a back flip and hang kicks, performed while hanging in scenario objects. Throwing enemies against objects such as phone cabins, oil drums or dumpsters will destroy them, revealing power ups such as health items and swords. At some points, Ryu will have to perform acrobatic moves to carry on. He has a life bar starting with five units.

The game takes place in United States' locations such as Las Vegas, North Carolina, Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon and Brooklyn. The enemies in those stages are mostly of the same five kinds, including Jason Vorhees' look-alikes and other masked men. There is a boss fight at the end of each stage.

A two-player co-operative game is also featured. Whenever the player dies, a continue screen will appear showing Ryu chained to a table while a circular saw descends upon him.

Screenshots

Promo Images

There are no promo images for this game

Alternate Titles

• "Shadow Warriors" -- European title
• "Ninja Ryukenden" -- Japanese title

Part of the Following Groups

• Ninja Gaiden series
• Theme: Ninjas

User Reviews

A slap in the face! Ouch!

DOS

Fake Spam (94)

Critic Reviews

Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Amiga	Jun, 1990	93 out of 100	93
Raze	Lynx	Aug, 1991	91 out of 100	91
Power Unlimited	Arcade	May, 2004	87 out of 100	87
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Amstrad CPC	Sep, 1990	86 out of 100	86
All Game Guide	Arcade	1998		70
ASM (Aktueller Software Markt)	Lynx	Mar, 1991	8 out of 12	67
All Game Guide	Lynx	1991		60
ST Format	Atari ST	Jan, 1991	58 out of 100	58
PC Joker	DOS	Apr, 1992	45 out of 100	45
Power Play	Amiga	Sep, 1990	31 out of 100	31

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
Arcade release date	7	vedder (33748) Feb 23, 2014

Trivia

There is no trivia on file for this game.