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SAIGO NO NINDŌ : NINJA SPIRIT
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最後の忍道 NINJA SPIRIT
©1990 IREM Corp. / Vol.4
Release : 1990-07-07 (¥7000)
HuCard (4 Mbits) IC02004
Action / Platform game
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Released in America as
NINJA SPIRIT
( TGX040050 )
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Saigo no Nindō: Ninja Spirit is a ninja action game by Irem, conversion of
their own arcade game released in 1988. Almost like in the true 'Ninja Tradition',
the game features a fearless ninja with mystical beast-powers
on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army of
demons who killed his father. Tsukikage, our hero, has four weapons to choose from and
can switch from one to another at will. They include the traditional katana blade,
the fast throwing stars, the powerful hand grenades and a neat hook type weapon.
These weapons greatly expand the range of available options and the player is often
challenged with situations where a specific weapon has to be used.
These weapons can also be upgraded by collecting special bonuses left behind
by red colored Ninjas. Other special items, such as shields or multiple-shadows
can also be collected. The game offers an Arcade and PC Engine modes, the
later gives the player five lives (or hits) instead of one.
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Saigo no Nindō: Ninja Spirit, aka Ninja Spirit in the west, was released
in the arcades in 1988 (pictured on the right). The game was ported for many systems of the time
such as the Atari ST (1988), C64 (licensed by Activision, 1990), Amiga (1990),
PC Engine & TurboGrafx 16 (1990), Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1990),
Ninja Spirit: Saigo no Ninmichi (Game Boy, 1993). The PC Engine
version was added to the Wii Virtual Console's library in 2007.
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Teaser text from the American version:
Your father has been killed by a Ninja spirit who has escaped in the shape
of a wolf. Your search for vengeance plunges you into a supernatural world
of evil! The terrible forces of the Dark Side attack you from all directions!
Unleash your incredible weapons against Honzo the Fiend and the Two-Axed
Ogre. Call on the mystical power of your Alter Egos... shadow figures of your
own avenging spirit who fight by your side! You will find the vengeance you
seek...or your own destruction!
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Add your Pov here !
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Ninja Spirit is a fun and intense Ninja game and this conversion
is surprisingly close to the original arcade game. Sprites are rather
small but each stage is literally swarming with demons and evil Ninjas
of all kinds. Bosses are also often impressive and are usually
based on feudal Japanese culture which brings an unusual and satisfying mystical feel to the game.
The hero of the game also has some interesting wolf-powers
that really confused the hell out of me when I was a kid...
The gameplay and controls are excellent and the game sometimes plays like a shooter
rather than a platformer. Sadly, Ninja Spirit badly
slows down and flickers when a lot of sprites are displayed on screen,
but this annoying flaw doesn't really affect the gameplay in any ways.
All in all, a fantastic conversion that any fans of the genre shouldn't miss!
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