Ninja Spirit Appreciation/Commiseration

[jperryss]

FWIW,
Ninja Spirit was the pack-in hucard game for the Turbo Duo… it was just a loose hucard with sleeve and manual…

The pack-in game changed a few times, Ninja Spirit was only one of several that were offered. If you purchased it on it's own, it did come in a complete case with manual, like most other TG16 releases.

[TurboGenesis]

The pack-in game changed a few times, Ninja Spirit was only one of several that were offered. If you purchased it on it's own, it did come in a complete case with manual, like most other TG16 releases.

I wasn't aware of a different hucard pack in? but I am the only person I know who had bought a Turbo Duo when they were new… and it had pack-in's of Gate of Thunder/Bonk, Ys book I & II (which the disc is different than the retail release), and Ninja Spirit hucard…
what other hucards were there as pack-in's?

I am aware of the stand alone retail release… I bought mine new 21 years ago… still have the cardboard box too!

[R.Sakai]

Waaaaaaay back when, I went for the deal TurboZoneDirect had and traded up my Turbo and CD for a brand new Duo.
It came with the standard pack-ins, and a complete brand new copy of Splatterhouse.

[jperryss]

I wasn't aware of a different hucard pack in? but I am the only person I know who had bought a Turbo Duo when they were new… and it had pack-in's of Gate of Thunder/Bonk, Ys book I & II (which the disc is different than the retail release), and Ninja Spirit hucard…
what other hucards were there as pack-in's?

I am aware of the stand alone retail release… I bought mine new 21 years ago… still have the cardboard box too!

The hucard pack-in was apparently random. From the Wiki (I know, I know):
"The system was also packaged with one random HuCard game which varied from system to system (Dungeon Explorer was the original HuCard pack-in for TurboDuo, although many titles were eventually used, such as IREM's Ninja Spirit and NAMCO's Final Lap Twin, and then eventually a random pick)."

And a user in this thread on PCEngineFX mentions Ninja Spirit, Splatterhouse and DE1.

[stargate]

I picked up Ninja Spirit way back in the day. It was/is probably one of the best games on the TG16. The graphics are simply gorgeous and made the Genesis look bland by comparison. Pretty much everything about the game; sound, feel, playability just rocked. I remember thinking it was like Ninja Gaiden on steroids.

One of the few glimmers of hope for a doomed system.

My only complaint is that I beat it in a few sittings. The default mode was just about a walk through. They could have upped the difficulty just a bit on the default mode and it may, in fact, have been the perfect game.

[old man]

Every great game system has a great ninja game. Ninja Spirit is the TG16's.

[treismac]

Every great game system has a great ninja game. Ninja Spirit is the TG16's.

Great quote, old man!

[Dire 51]

Just thought I'd add to the Ninja Spirit love: next to Splatterhouse, it's my favorite HuCard. I have to play through it at least once a year.

[sheath]

Ninja Spirit was one of the first games, if not the first game, I bought with my TurboGrafx-16. It is an awesome game all the way through, really shows off what the Turbo can do with its 2-layer backgrounds and gobs of sprites/objects on screen, not to mention huge well animated bosses. If it wasn't more like Legend of Kage I would put Ninja Spirit right up there with the early Shinobi games. As it is, Ninja Spirit is a totally unique high quality 16-bit ninja title.

[Oldskool]

Excellent game. Love it. When I first owned it on the TG16 back when it was fresh, I initially wasn't too impressed. But it grew on me. In fact, the older I get the more I love it. Especially the music. When I hear Ninja Spirit music from the TG16 version, I think to myself "That IS TG16 music". It has a sound that only the TG16 seems to be able to produce.

[VicViper28]

Great game, me and my friend actually sat down one afternoon and beat this bad boy. It wasn't too hard, but that damn part where you had to drop down past all the other ninjas was pretty terrible. we had to go online to see how to get past that mess.

[timewarpgamer]

Thank you for starting this thread. My introduction to Ninja Spirit began with the purchase of a heavily-discounted Turbo Duo ($99). To this day, it remains one of the best ninja games that has ever been created. Long before Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon it captured the absurdly gigantic leaps we all apply to ninja tradecraft. Legend of Kage sucked. Ninja Spirit rocked. I love the colors, the huge bosses, the various weapons, the two different modes of gameplay. I'd pop it into my TurboDuo right now if the HuCard hadn't mysteriously disappeared from my parents' house. In short, this game is the bizzomb. Good call.

[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."

[XYXZYZ]

If you have a spare TG16 case from another game, I have a Sparky's spine sticker for Ninja Spirit I could send you that will turn it into a Ninja Spirit case.
PM if interested, no charge.

Thanks, but I don't have a spare TG16 case.

and it had pack-ins of Gate of Thunder/Bonk, Ys book I & II (which the disc is different than the retail release), and Ninja Spirit hucard…

Man, that was one hell of a package, wasn't it? It's like they were eager to prove how awesome the Duo was, just in case you made the mistake of not being interested in those games.