The Ninja Warriors Again
Encyclopedia
Ninja Warriors is a beat 'em up
video game developed by Natsume and released by Taito Corporation
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
in 1994. The game is loosely based on the 1987 Taito's in-house arcade game
The Ninja Warriors
, but features a highly altered gameplay
.
n future where the U.S.
population has been oppressed by the military and brainwashed by the tyrant known as Banglar. The only hope for this broken society is a small underground resistance with plans of assassinating Banglar using three ninja androids. Development of the androids was a lengthy process and the resistance was quickly falling to Banglar's forces, so it has no choice but to dispatch the androids untested.
beat 'em up. The player can pick from the strong Ninja
, the balanced Kunoichi
, or the fast Kamaitachi
. Each character is played in a different way and has its own set of moves: a combination of ground attacks, jumping attacks, and throws. They can also assume a defensive posture and charge a power bar that allows them to unleash a blast that attacks all enemies.
The player will advance through nine levels fighting large numbers of enemies, often being stopped from advancing until all enemies on the screen are defeated. Enemies can approach the player from the left and right sides of the screen and have the ability to move off screen, while the player cannot. At the end of each level, as common in beat 'em up games, the player must defeat a boss.
The U.S. and Europe
an versions of the game was censored (changes made to the original Japanese version include removal of the female ninja enemies and green color of blood). The European version, published by Titus Software
, is also noticeably slower and easier than the other two.
preview, "the only bad part" about this game was the lack of the two-player cooperative mode. It was given the scores of 90% by GamePro
("Ninja Warriors is great, but it falls one difficulty level short of GREAT!") and 82% by EGM ("This is the best side-scrolling fighting game yet!"). Nintendo Power
reviewer praised its easy play-control system and "cool" characters, but the game was regarded to be neither very challenging nor inventive.
In addition, Kunoichi was ranked as #6 on the list of "Top Ten Fighting Women" by EGM in 1993 and as the #1 best ninja assassin in the history of video gaming by GamesRadar
in 2008.
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
video game developed by Natsume and released by Taito Corporation
Taito Corporation
The is a Japanese publisher of video game software and arcade hardware wholly owned by publisher Square Enix. Taito has their headquarters in the Shinjuku Bunka Quint Building in Yoyogi, Shibuya, Tokyo, sharing the facility with its parent company....
for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
in 1994. The game is loosely based on the 1987 Taito's in-house arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
The Ninja Warriors
The Ninja Warriors
is a side-scrolling beat'em up video game developed and released by Taito in 1988.-Story:The game is based in a dystopian future where Banglar, the President of the United States in 1993, issues martial law on the nation, with the military having total control over the law. A group of anarchist...
, but features a highly altered gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
.
Story
Ninja Warriors is set in a dystopiaDystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n future where the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
population has been oppressed by the military and brainwashed by the tyrant known as Banglar. The only hope for this broken society is a small underground resistance with plans of assassinating Banglar using three ninja androids. Development of the androids was a lengthy process and the resistance was quickly falling to Banglar's forces, so it has no choice but to dispatch the androids untested.
Gameplay
Ninja Warriors is a single-player, side-scrollingSide-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
beat 'em up. The player can pick from the strong Ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
, the balanced Kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
, or the fast Kamaitachi
Kamaitachi
is a Japanese yōkai, most common in the Kōshin'etsu region.There are several conceptions of how it looked or operated, but the most common is one of a trio of weasels with sharp claws, riding on a gust of wind and cutting people's skin on the legs...
. Each character is played in a different way and has its own set of moves: a combination of ground attacks, jumping attacks, and throws. They can also assume a defensive posture and charge a power bar that allows them to unleash a blast that attacks all enemies.
The player will advance through nine levels fighting large numbers of enemies, often being stopped from advancing until all enemies on the screen are defeated. Enemies can approach the player from the left and right sides of the screen and have the ability to move off screen, while the player cannot. At the end of each level, as common in beat 'em up games, the player must defeat a boss.
The U.S. and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an versions of the game was censored (changes made to the original Japanese version include removal of the female ninja enemies and green color of blood). The European version, published by Titus Software
Titus Software
Titus Software, later known as Titus Interactive S.A., was a long-running French software publisher that produced and published video games for various formats over its lifetime....
, is also noticeably slower and easier than the other two.
Reception
Ninja Warriors was mostly very well-received; according to an EGMElectronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
preview, "the only bad part" about this game was the lack of the two-player cooperative mode. It was given the scores of 90% by GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
("Ninja Warriors is great, but it falls one difficulty level short of GREAT!") and 82% by EGM ("This is the best side-scrolling fighting game yet!"). Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
reviewer praised its easy play-control system and "cool" characters, but the game was regarded to be neither very challenging nor inventive.
In addition, Kunoichi was ranked as #6 on the list of "Top Ten Fighting Women" by EGM in 1993 and as the #1 best ninja assassin in the history of video gaming by GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
in 2008.