The Legend of Kage

Video Game Critic, The (B+) (83%)

Legend of Kage is challenging and so addicting you'll keep coming back to beat your high score. Give it a try and you'll see why so many kids spent countless hours playing this back in the day.

Amtix! (68 out of 100) (68%)

On the whole this is a very playable game but it's a shame the graphics are not of the same standard.

Zzap! (63 out of 100) (63%)

Playable - but nothing special.

Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library ( ) (60%)

Unlike a lot of earlier games, this does not loop infinitely and will give you a brief ending after beating all four seasons. Control feels a bit loose until one gets accustomed to it, but overall this an often overlooked title that is good, quick fun.

VideoGame ( ) (60%)

Um guerreiro Ninja deve usar toda sua sabedoria e domínio das artes marciais para libertar a princesa de seus inimigos. É necessário também derrotar o senhor de cada fase para prosseguir.

Questicle.net (C+) (58%)

At least in Kung Fu, the sheer simplicity of the game dictated the game’s shortness. But with this spiritual successor, I felt that, perhaps there should have been more to do than just hack, slash, and avoid enemy projectiles. It’s cool to be able to climb trees and jump super high, while throwing out shurikens in four different directions, but if those features don’t add anything to the game besides just being cool effects, why give players the option? Despite the initial thrills and the piles of ninja corpses left in my warrior’s wake, I wanted more.

Pixel-Heroes.de (5 out of 10) (50%)

Von "The Legend of Kage" gibt es auch einige Konvertierungen für Heimsysteme, von denen mir die C-64- und die NES-Version bekannt sind. Beide unterscheiden sich natürlich am meisten in den technischen Aspekten von der Arcade-Version. Die C-64-Version ist extrem grobpixelig und weist eine relativ zögerliche Steuerung auf, wofür ich ihr noch einen Punkt in der Wertung abziehen muss. Aber dafür wartet sie mit dem wohl am besten klingenden Kage-Song auf, der wie ein Shuriken sofort in die Gehörgänge fliegt. =) Dadurch übt das Spiel doch einen gewissen Reiz aus. Die NES-Konvertierung sieht grafisch ebenso mager aus, die Animationen wirken aber am flüssigsten. Das Design ist dagegen etwas kindgerechter ausgefallen, was allerdings nicht negativ auffällt.

Commodore User (5 out of 10) (50%)

Graphically this game is awful: poorly defined sprites, the dullest of dull backdrops. Sound is sparse, no in-game tune. The theme is a much worn out one. It is over-priced. Six good reasons why this isn't a wise buy.

Pixel-Heroes.de (4 out of 10) (40%)

Von "The Legend of Kage" gibt es auch einige Konvertierungen für Heimsysteme, von denen mir die C-64- und die NES-Version bekannt sind. Beide unterscheiden sich natürlich am meisten in den technischen Aspekten von der Arcade-Version. Die C-64-Version ist extrem grobpixelig und weist eine relativ zögerliche Steuerung auf, wofür ich ihr noch einen Punkt in der Wertung abziehen muss. Aber dafür wartet sie mit dem wohl am besten klingenden Kage-Song auf, der wie ein Shuriken sofort in die Gehörgänge fliegt. =) Dadurch übt das Spiel doch einen gewissen Reiz aus. Die NES-Konvertierung sieht grafisch ebenso mager aus, die Animationen wirken aber am flüssigsten. Das Design ist dagegen etwas kindgerechter ausgefallen, was allerdings nicht negativ auffällt.

Just Games Retro ( ) (40%)

The Legend of Kage starts out like reading a page from the Videogame Plot Handbook. You are Kage, a fearsome ninja, and a group of evil ninjas captures your girlfriend. You must fight to rescue her. Whoa... look out, I smell movie rights. It's a lame excuse for some martial arts action, and this is in no way a deep game anyway.

Classic-games.net (4 out of 10) (40%)

As an arcade port the Legend of Kage is faithful to the source material. But as a game it isn’t very interesting. You are better off watching Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon than playing this. Legend? No my friends, this is a short story.

Tilt (7 out of 20) (35%)

Ce logiciel d'action est bien peu convaincant. L'animation et les graphismes sont aussi simplistes que le scénario...

Thunderbolt Games (2 out of 10) (20%)

The game is supposed to be an epic (if not utterly cliched) tale of a lone ninja tracking down a kidnapped princess and cutting up whoever gets in his way. The guy could jump with superhuman agility, sling shurikens and parry projectiles with his sword, and basically embody everything that kids dig about ninjas. But even the best premise can be ruined by its execution, and this game demonstrates it in the worst way. The hit detection, jumping controls, and combat mechanics are so horribly, horribly mangled that it ruins any potential fun whatsoever. The game isn’t challenging because of its half-assed level designs, but because of its flaws. Killing evil ninjas should be fun, not a tedious chore in which you can’t even maneuver your character properly. The designs lack almost any kind of imagination or creativity; aside from the colors used to represent the change of the seasons, the game looks more like a forgotten Atari game. Some legend this turned out to be.

IGN (2 out of 10) (20%)

It's a shame that The Legend of Kage on the NES, and now on the Virtual Console, is such a disappointment. The game actually began life as a serviceably playable arcade coin-op cabinet, published by Taito in 1985. But the downgrade in graphics, sound and feel of the gameplay was so severe in its port to Nintendo's home system that any kind of fun the arcade original may have held was washed completely away. The Legend of Kage is a horrible game. Stay away from it, no matter what.

Nintendo Life ( ) (20%)

After the recent release of the sublime Kid Icarus you might have expected the quality of NES Virtual Console games to rise, but unfortunately The Legend of Kage is an almost catastrophic true drop in standards. No need for rose tinted specs here, retro fans - this game was a stinker back in 1986 and is even worse today!

ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) (0.8 out of 12) (7%)

„Wunderschön“ anzusehen ist dabei die sogenannte Animation der Figuren. Sie „laufen“ so ähnlich wie die Marionetten in der Augsburger Puppenkiste, immer ein Bein nach oben (hoppsassa). Fazit: Das Spiel ist noch nicht mal 10 Mark wert. Darauf sollte man besser verzichten!