Game Review: Ninja (Commodore 64, Entertainment USA)

Ninja did seem to have a case of mistaken identity when released.  It was programmed by Steve Coleman at Sculptured Software, and was packaged as an Entertainment USA release for that reason, and yet when enhancements were made for the UK release, such as the cassette loading screen, that clearly indicated MAD instead.  In addition, review copies for the magazines did not have the Rob Hubbard music in (a fact confirmed for the Zzap! 64 review copy by Julian Rignall) which is why at the time the sound rating was so low.

The Penultimate Ninja

Ninja’s plot is straightforward according to the inlay.  You must rescue Princess Di-Di, the Pearl of the Orient, as she is a prisoner in the Palace of Pearls.  The ninja must also gather idols that she has dropped to prove his worth.  The ninja can find a sword, shuriken stars and a dagger, but these are also in the hands of the enemy ninjas who will use them to guard the doorways and the idols along the way.  All sounds promising as the game loads, and before long you will be transported to Torii in the Sea for the game to begin.

Moves Like Ninja

The ninja has many moves at his disposal.  Without the fire button pressed, you can walk, jump, or duck, and if underneath a hole in the ceiling when you are in the temple, you can press up to reach these temple levels.  That was added last minute in the instructions, incidentally.   With the fire button pressed and facing right, you can do three types of kick with up-right, right, and down-right, two punches (jump or crouch punch) with up or down, left to throw and up-left to use the sword.  These are mirrored when facing left and using the fire button pressed (so up-right become use sword, up-left, left, and down-left for the kicks and so on.  That is sensible, and does allow you on the first couple of screens to get accustomed to the controls before you go into any serious battle.

I Got Some Idols

As you progress along through to the shrine and find the entrance to the upper levels of the temple, you come across several different enemies, and the in-game music stops with a clang sound and just some background noise as you battle. These range from the very easy thug to the more difficult karateka, and the evil ninja.  These are usually more difficult to kill, although you will find that hardly anyone throws a shuriken at you (unless you throw one first) and that there is one move above all else which is by far the best move to dispose of an enemy, along with the overhead slash of the sword if close enough too.  Once you have worked those out and how close to stand, the game becomes considerably easier as a result, meaning that you can progress.  You do have a limited amount of energy and only one life, although when you do pick up an idol, your energy is topped up.  The entrance to the seventh idol, in Akuma’s Chamber, where a horde of karatekas and ninjas await, only shows when you have collected six.

Ninja Master

Once you have collected the seventh idol – and ask the question of “Well where is the princess?”, with the answer that she is not in the game after all, you then need to battle back through the temple to its lower exit, and walk along the bottom sections until you return to your starting point of Torii in the Sea, so that you can complete the game.  Any vanquished enemies on previous screens may re-appear meaning that effectively you must get back to the start, after collecting the seventh idol, with just one set of energy and no chance to top up.   This can sometimes prove a little tense if one of the karatekas gets a couple of body blows in.  The other thing is (not mentioned in the instructions) that pressing down when the ninja is over one of the holes will descend.  This can be multiple screens at times rather than  heading off to the left or right when going up, so something to be careful of.  Once you do arrive back at the starting point, the screen flashes with the word WINNER at the bottom of the game – and that is all you get.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in Ninja are simplistic for the backgrounds, with the temple, shine and inside rooms of the temple all reasonable, with splashes of colour in the aptly named rainbow room.  The ninja and enemies are reasonably animated with each move having its own animation, and the enemies likewise that you come across.  The sound effects when you fight are standard kick and slash effects, with a quiet noise of sound as you battle.  At other times you do get a rather nice Rob Hubbard soundtrack that does at least have some Oriental feel to it.  It may not be his best by some way, but it does add to the atmosphere well and at least gives you an incentive to get further when you listen to it, so there is that.

Final Thoughts

Ninja to this day is still a game that people either like or they loathe, with hardly any in between.  Although you can complete the game in around five minutes once you have mastered the right moves and are able to swiftly move up and down the temple, this also does mean that for your younger brother or sister this may have been an easier game to pick up and play, and do well in, and I do remember exactly that happening at my house back then.  It certainly is not the most complex game, and there are some good moves, but for a quick blast and some entertainment it is worth a go, just to see how quickly you pick it back up again.  And it is a lot better than Firebird’s awful Ninja Master, so if you wanted a budget ninja game, Ninja may be the one for you.

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