Ninja Spirit Appreciation/Commiseration

[treismac]

In short, this game is the bizzomb. Good call.

My pleasure. Ninja Spirit captures the essence of ninja in a way that other retro 2D platform ninja games didn't. As you pointed out, the gameplay with its gravity defying jumps gave us the ninja feel, but I think the game's atmosphere is a large part of why this game is so amazing all these years later. If you took the hero from Ninja Spirit and placed him in a modern/generic setting, the game would have suffered greatly. From the run-down temples, to the bamboo forests, to the lightning streaked mountain tops, filled with enemy ninjas, staff wielding monks, and samurai ghosts, Ninja Spirit took you into the mythical world of the ninja like no other. F*cking love that game, man.

I do have two other awesome ninja game recommendation- both modern- that capture something of the "feel" and the atmosphere of the shinobi: Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii) and Ninja Senki (downloadable game for Windows). Here is a video for Ninja Senki:



If you check 'em out, let me know what you think?

[timewarpgamer]

My pleasure. Ninja Spirit captures the essence of ninja in a way that other retro 2D platform ninja games didn't. As you pointed out, the gameplay with its gravity defying jumps gave us the ninja feel, but I think the game's atmosphere is a large part of why this game is so amazing all these years later. If you took the hero from Ninja Spirit and placed him in a modern/generic setting, the game would have suffered greatly. From the run-down temples, to the bamboo forests, to the lightning streaked mountain tops, filled with enemy ninjas, staff wielding monks, and samurai ghosts, Ninja Spirit took you into the mythical world of the ninja like no other. F*cking love that game, man.

I do have two other awesome ninja game recommendation- both modern- that capture something of the "feel" and the atmosphere of the shinobi: Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii) and Ninja Senki (downloadable game for Windows). Here is a video for Ninja Senki:



If you check 'em out, let me know what you think?

Thanks for the recs. I've already got Demon Blade--loving it--but I'll have to check out the other one.

[sidnotcrazy]

I love Ninja Spirit. The TG-16 had some really great games, and I am glad that it is appreciated more than when the system was new. I was picked on a lot for having a TG-16, people at my school who even knew what the system was would say "its not 16-bit."

[timewarpgamer]

I love Ninja Spirit. The TG-16 had some really great games, and I am glad that it is appreciated more than when the system was new. I was picked on a lot for having a TG-16, people at my school who even knew what the system was would say "its not 16-bit."

I never got teased, but I got a whole lot of WTF from people whenever I mentioned the Duo. As for that whole "real 16-bit" debate, my #1 comeback has always been: do the games look 16-bit? As soon as I fired up Gate of Thunder and Lords of Thunder for any friend they were awed and realized that the graphics blew at least the Sega Genesis out of the water, and I'd even say that many titles even rival the SNES. There's something about the color encoder in the TurboGrafx that I've never been able to figure out technically, but it produces the most gorgeous, vibrant shades.

[treismac]

There's something about the color encoder in the TurboGrafx that I've never been able to figure out technically, but it produces the most gorgeous, vibrant shades.

True words. The TG16 has gorgeous graphics, regardless of how many bits they are.

[treismac]

Tonight, for no apparent reason, the unshakeable reality that there is no sequel to Ninja Spirit and there never will be one haunted me. Since crying about this to my wife who I'd have to wake from sleep was a poor option, I dug this old thread back up instead. The game deserved a sequel. I wouldn't have cared if it was just the original, more or less, repackaged. We all lived through Mega Man's five sequels on the NES, didn't we? Perhaps one day an unreleased rom of Ninja Spirit's sequel will be unearthed from the Land of the Rising Sun. What a glorious day that would be.

[celerystalker]

Yes. A sequel would have been special. This game was everything Legend of Kage wanted to be. About 15 years ago I ran into a guy with a stack of loose HuCards at a store that wouldn't buy them, so I bought them all for $5 a piece. This was by far my favorite of the bunch. It's probably my very favorite ninja game now. It's a cruel thing how Irem made so many awesome games like this and MetalStorm, but people seem to think of them as just the people who made R-Type.

[treismac]

It's a cruel thing how Irem made so many awesome games like this and MetalStorm, but people seem to think of them as just the people who made R-Type.

I know they made Kung-Fu Master, Metal, Storm, Kickle Cubicle, and, of course, Ninja Spirit, but my first association for IREM is also R-Type, to be honest.

[Gentlegamer]

A spiritual sequel to Ninja Spirit is the type of game an enterprising indie dev could make these days. Rastan got a spiritual sequel in Volgarr the Viking, why not Ninja Spirit?

[celerystalker]

I know they made Kung-Fu Master, Metal, Storm, Kickle Cubicle, and, of course, Ninja Spirit, but my first association for IREM is also R-Type, to be honest.

It is definitely their most popular series, but so many of their other games were really great. Image Fight, arcade GunForce I & II, Vigilante, Holy Diver, In the Hunt, Undercover Cops, Guardian Legend... They did so much cool stuff that is relegated to cult status, and for a prolific developer, they didn't make a ton of clunkers.

[gameofyou]

Ninja Spirit is one of my favorite, and most-played, PC-Engine games. Along with Bloody Wolf, Super Adventure Island, Splatterhouse, and Parasol Stars.