Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance

The Good
(I choose the Atari ST version, but I could choose the Amiga or the PC version as well, it's really the same bullshit ported over and over again.)

The Atari ST port has beepy rendition of the loader musics of the C64 game, nothing special, it's decent enough by Atari ST standards, I guess (they may be annoying after a while). It also has some sound effects what everyone missed from the C64 original, although the sound of punches are as cheesy as in Bud Spencer movies.

The graphics in the 16-bit versions of the game is more detailed, enhanced (unsurprisingly). The graphic style is a bit different than the original, (I found the addition of graffitis on New York's streets a nice touch).

Looks like everyone did at least a semi-decent job, except the programmers.

The Bad
So, what can really screw up an isometric adventure game? Yes, the weak collision detection and places with confusing perspective. In addition of the original's clunky control mechanics, it is major annoyance. Picking up objects is a hassle!

The enemies are stupid, often get stuck, or just run through things where they aren't supposed to normally. When get knocked down, their health regenerates really quickly, and stand up to block your way again. They never can get killed permanently here (this pisses me off in LN3 also). If you're not careful take away your health really quickly.

The ninja's movement is really slow, we can move way faster by jumping (somersaulting), especially away from enemies. The sprite animations are laggy. The entire thing just does not play right!

The Bottom Line
The Last Ninja 2 is one of the best in the Commodore 64's game library. What we love that it is an action adventure with a time travelling ninja, who wants to get back the sacred scrolls from his arch nemesis ghost samurai, and has to make his way through the parks, streets, severs, and skyscraper rooftops of modern day New York, chased by drug dealers, cops, and punks, with rocking awesome music setting the mood. Well, it has it's flaws, it falls short on the puzzle solver and also on the fighter side, not to mention the occasional platforming parts. It actually didn't age so well, but if you want to play it, take the C64 version and forget those unplayable ports.