Ninja Gaiden

aka: Ninja Ryūkenden, Shadow Warriors
Moby ID: 7703
Arcade Specs
Included in See Also

Description official descriptions

In comparison to the better known console version, this game is a traditional beat'em up 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 phonebooths.

The player's ninja can attack his enemies using 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 the player's ninja chained to a table while a circular saw descends upon him.

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Arcade version)

14 People

Director (★監督)
  • H. Iijima (Strong Shima [ストロング 島])
Screenplay (★脚本)
  • H. Iijima (Strong Shima [ストロング 島])
Main Programmer (★メイン·プログラマー)
  • Happy Fuku-dai Ichiro [ハッピー福大郎]
Sub Programmer (★サブ·プログラマー)
  • EXP Ebi [EXP 海老]
Background (★背景)
  • Yamashimizu Akira [ヤマシミズ アキラ]
  • Freedom
  • H. Iijima (Strong Shima [ストロング 島])
Enemy Design (★暗黒軍団デザイン)
  • Norge Miyahiroshi [NORGE 宮洽]
  • H. Iijima (Strong Shima [ストロング 島])
Demonstration Plan (★デモシーソ プラン)
  • Italian Ototaro [ITALIAN 音太郎]
Demo Design (★デモ デザイン)
  • Norge Miyahiroshi [NORGE 宮洽]
  • French Iwaiwa [岩岩]
Musician (★ミュージシャン)
Art Design
Hard (ハード)

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 70% (based on 26 ratings)

Players

Average score: 2.8 out of 5 (based on 47 ratings with 1 reviews)

A slap in the face! Ouch!

The Good
It's the arcade version. Works well on a Tandy 1000 series computer. And the cut-scenes are still here. Has good play control if you have an old joystick lying around.

The Bad
Other than a Tandy 1000 PC, this game can't handle any CPU higher than a 8086. Also, the graphics are simple and there isn't any real sound. The computer is really cheap, and the game is very hard. Also, Hi-Tech used a cheap disk, so make a good copy of it a few times, because after two years, the disk will go bad. Some versions of this game have on-disk copy protection and the later editions don't. There's nothing to indicate which is which from Hi-Tech's programming.

The Bottom Line
See this in a discount bin? Avoid it. Seriously. Avoid it like the plague. I recommend shelling out the bucks for either the Mega Drive version (plays like the arcade, but it isn't the arcade version), getting an Atari Lynx and the game with that portable console (however, 99% of the enemies are Jasons from Friday the 13th on that version), or finding a way to play the arcade original somehow. I'm sure that, in 1989 or whenever the original release was on the PC that this game must've been the cat's meow, but since it can only be played on old Tandy PCs and the like, how can I recommend it?

DOS · by Fake Spam (85) · 2014

Discussion

Subject By Date
Arcade release date vedder (70685) Feb 23, 2014

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 7703
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by ^LutheR^.

Wii added by Lance Boyle. PlayStation 4 added by Rik Hideto. DOS added by etempest. Arcade added by FatherJack. Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST added by Martin Smith. Antstream added by lights out party. Nintendo Switch added by Terok Nor. Amstrad CPC added by LepricahnsGold. Lynx added by Jeanne.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, Dwin1118, FatherJack.

Game added November 6, 2002. Last modified February 19, 2024.