GOTD 5/26/2016: Ninja Combat (Neo Geo)
Ninja Combat for the Neo Geo is a beat 'em up from ADK that tasks two daring ninjas with bottomless pockets full of shuriken and eager dispositions to infiltrate the Ninja Tower with the help of ninja friends who call themselves the Ninja Force. Yes, it says that shit on the box; I'm not just seeing how many times I can fit the word "ninja" into one post. With the help of secret ninja arts and weapons, superior agility, and an entire roll of quarters, they just might stand a chance! Um... ninja.
At the beginning, both players can only play as palette swapped ninjas Joe and Hyabusa, whose primary offense comes from hucking wads of shuriken at the opposing... ninjas. These fire out in a spread pattern with limited range and weak power, but can be powered up by collecting green scrolls that increase the amount, size, distance, and potency of the weapon. They can theoretically be powered up multiple times if one were able to stay alive long enough. They can also perform a flip for quick evasion, and can lunge forward out of it into a diving attack that soars all the way across the screen, doing modest damage. They can pick up weapons such as an axe, three-section staff, and tetsubo with which to pummel baddies, though their range is limited and they have a longer swing before hitting anything. Lastly, you can use secret ninja arts by holding the attack button down until your "POW" meter fills, then release to unleash a character-specific elemental attack at the cost of a quarter of your health.
One thing Ninja Combat does really well is provide variety in its locations. Every stage is broken up into different areas with unique, colorful backgrounds with lots of scaling effects and enemies approaching from all sides. For the first few levels, you'll encounter a mini-boss with which you can become friends by the only method ninjas have ever used to cultivate relationships: beating the shit out of them. These characters have their own unique weapons to use, and cannot grab the ones dropped from the ubiquitous exploding barrels. Kagurow, a ninja princess of sorts, is easily the strongest of the three additional characters, as she has power and range, whereas Musashi, a samurai, is decent, and Gembu, a... well, just a big dude, kinda sucks.
The graphics are wonderfully colorful, and there are lots of different enemy types. However, Ninja Combat is seven stages long, and in this case, it's a bit much. You can only suffer a couple of hits each life, and enemies are everywhere... by stage three, most enemies are sponges, soaking up shuriken like water while killing you in two hits. Your jump attack is exactly the same as your standard attack, and there are no grabs or throws, which severely limits the variety of combat. The game ends up being absurdly difficult and repetitive, and is one of the only games I've ever played that I don't think I'll ever be able to beat on one credit. I do enjoy the game co-op, though, and have it on AES, MVS, and PS2 on the ADK Tamashii compilation. It's crude, but at least it's action packed. This is the ultimate quarter muncher, but it is mindless fun to go a slaughtering in for an afternoon, and it's one of the least expensive non-fighters on the system.
Played this one? Anybody finish it in a single credit? Ninja?
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