Ninja Gaiden (arcade game)

Did You Know?

• The player controls a ninja hired by the United States government to defeat an evil cult led by Bladedamus, a descendant of Nostradamus.
• Bladedamus has kidnapped the President and acquired codes for launching the nation's ICBMs.
• The cult has flooded the streets of the United States with criminals released from Alcatraz.

Gameplay

In this arcade beat-'em-up, the first player takes control of a blue-clad ninja, while the second player uses an orange one. To advance through each stage, players must defeat all enemies in the area. The game uses an eight-way joystick with a built-in top button, plus two separate buttons for attacking and jumping. Pressing the top button lets a ninja grab and hang from overhead bars or tightropes. By combining joystick movements and button presses, players can perform five primary techniques, one of which becomes a sword attack if the ninja is armed. Certain objects like telephone booths, signposts, and dumpsters can be destroyed by knocking or throwing enemies into them, revealing hidden items that grant bonus points, health, time extensions, or an extra life. One special item gives the player a sword that works for up to ten hits before reverting to punches and kicks. The first five stages take place in American locations such as Los Angeles, New York City, Las Vegas, North Carolina, the Grand Canyon, and a transcontinental railroad. The sixth and final stage is the enemy hideout. Recurring bosses include a sumo wrestler, a tag team resembling the Road Warriors, and a trio of masked acrobats with claws. The final boss, Bladedamus, attacks with two swords and a fire breath.

Ports

The arcade version of Ninja Gaiden hit cabinets around the same time as its NES counterpart, but the two are distinct games sharing only minor elements. The arcade game’s designer is listed as “Strong Shima,” though NES developer Masato Kato later revealed this was a pseudonym for a Mr. Iijima. In 1990, Ocean Software ported the game to five home computers—Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and Amstrad CPC—under the name Shadow Warriors. Hi-Tech Expressions handled the IBM PC release, while BlueSky Software built a single-player version from the ground up for the Atari Lynx. The original arcade title reappeared as a secret bonus in 2005’s Ninja Gaiden Black for Xbox. It later arrived on Wii as a Virtual Console Arcade download in 2009, with staggered releases in Japan, PAL regions, and North America. Hamster Corporation brought it to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2019 as part of their Arcade Archives lineup.

Reception

Ninja Gaiden was a big hit in North America, where it became the top-selling arcade conversion kit of 1989. In Japan, Game Machine ranked it as the second most popular table arcade unit in March of that year. Critics generally liked the arcade version. Nick Kelly from Commodore User described it as a step forward for fans of Double Dragon, complimenting the controls, the variety of backgrounds, and the two-player mode, though he found the graphics a bit faded and the continue screen too gory. Computer and Video Games called it a polished beat 'em up similar to Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, praising its smooth visuals and non-stop action in two-player mode, even if it wasn't very original. For the Atari Lynx port, Robert A. Jung of IGN noted that the story didn't matter and the game was a stripped-down version of the original. He liked the graphics but concluded that it wasn't bad, yet not particularly good either. Rob Swan, also writing for Computer and Video Games, said the Lynx version matched the arcade exactly and found it addictive, though just short of excellent. Les Ellis gave it a thumbs-up in Raze. ST Review called the Atari ST version one of the better arcade conversions, saying it had aged well. Your Sinclair praised the ZX Spectrum version for its bright colors and interactive backgrounds. Crash appreciated the animation but admitted to being bored with the genre. Sinclair User noted that Shadow Warriors offered no originality but still presented a tough challenge. When reviewing the Amiga and Spectrum versions, Computer and Video Games singled out the music and sound effects for praise.