Ninja Kid
A Bandai action game adapted from GeGeGe no Kitarō.
Ninja Kid, known in Japan as GeGeGe no Kitaro - Yōkai Daimakyō, is an action game for the NES made by Tose and published by Bandai. The American release swapped the protagonist and enemies for generic characters, stripping out all ties to the GeGeGe no Kitarō manga and 1985 TV series, which were obscure outside Japan. It sold 1,250,000 copies in 1986, ranking eighth on the Famicom charts.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Tose
- Publisher
- Bandai
- Series
- GeGeGe no Kitarō
- Platforms
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Released
- April 17, 1986 (JP); October 1986 (NA)
- Genre
- Action, platform
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
The game begins on an overhead map with several arches, each leading to a different side-scrolling mission identifiable by the arch's shape. At a mission's end, two doors appear: one returns to the map, the other leads to a vertically scrolling tower with a mini-boss. Items appear randomly during missions; some grant a temporary speed boost or an owl that reveals the correct door back to the map. Collecting a scroll allows entry to the hut in the map's center to unlock the fortress and fight the boss. During boss fights, crouching in the far left corner with a collected whistle summons a familiar.
Ninja Kid / GeGeGe no Kitaro - Youkai Dai Makyou
The Japanese version differs significantly from the American release. The protagonist is Kitarō, who uses his hair as a main weapon instead of darts; his sub-weapons are a flying finger, his vest, and a geta, which function identically to Kyo's shuriken, feather, and boomerang but with different sprites. The fireball sub-weapon is unchanged. Levels feature western film monsters such as Frankenstein's Monster and Count Dracula, with Back Beard as their boss. The scroll that unlocks the fortress is a crystal ball. Familiars are characters from the manga: Nurikabe, Konaki Jiji, and Sunakake Babaa. Minor enemies differ, including Nezumi Otoko as a Pirate Ninja, and Kitaro rides Ittan Momen during Dog Fight levels.
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