Retro Arena: Arcade Ninja Games

[Leon Retro]

Shinobi - 1987
Ninja Warriors - 1987
Ninja Spirit - 1988
Dragon Ninja - 1988
Shadow Warriors - 1988
Strider - 1989
Shadow Dancer - 1989
Ninja Combat - 1990
Ninja Kids - 1990
Ninja Commando - 1992
Mystic Warriors - 1993
Ninja Baseball Bat Man - 1993

Here we have a collection of classic arcade games featuring ninjas. Choose 3 that you like the most.

[QualityChimp]

Yeeeeah boiiii! I flippin' love ninjas!

I'll have a think of my top 3...

[112]

No Teenage Mutant NINJA Turtles?

Nice list btw, definitely a trip down memory lane...

112

[Team Andromeda]

1) Strider - One of the most amazing games ever, just so utterly wonderful and the Japanese Mega Drive box art is increabile; I wanted to Strider he was so cool

2) Shinobi - The perfect Ninja game, the gameplay is perfection. Played this game so much in Dirty Duck porthcawl, back inthe day

3) Shadow Dancer - More of the same with some amazing visuals and backrounds, just didn't play quite as good

[Leon Retro]

No Teenage Mutant NINJA Turtles?

I've included them a few times in previous Retro Arena threads, so I decided not to include them again. I felt like putting some less talked about titles in the mix to maybe make things more interesting.

1) Strider - One of the most amazing games ever, just so utterly wonderful and the Japanese Mega Drive box art is increabile; I wanted to Strider he was so cool

Yeah, a wonderful game that's full of creativity. It felt truly magical at the time -- and offered something truly distinct and inspiring.

2) Shinobi - The perfect Ninja game, the gameplay is perfection. Played this game so much in Dirty Duck porthcawl, back inthe day

Sega managed to deliver a ninja game that felt really good to play -- and is also full of memorable design. Such a classic.

[QualityChimp]

I must say that I find it hilarious that arcade ninjas totally abandon all element of stealth.

They're all walking brazenly into enemy territory in the middle of a sunny, sometimes without even a headmask and usually in day-glo colours.
Look at the dudes in those examples!

I recently saw on QI that it's believed they either wore disguises like a peasant, soldier or monk, but if they did wear an outfit it was most likely navy blue for low-light night missions

The idea of ninjas wearing black came from Kabuki plays where the stage hands (Kuroko) wore black to blend in with the backgrounds and were an element of surprise for the audience.

I digress.

Ninjaaaaas!

I've barely played these, so can't really comment.
Mystic Warriors - 1993
Ninja Baseball Bat Man - 1993
Ninja Spirit - 1988

Can anyone tell me why I think Taito's Dynamite Dux and Sega's Ninja Kids are related?
The style, format and art seem really similar. Do they share an artist or something?
Maybe it's the bug eyes?



Ninja Kids is good and is surprisingly gory, but doesn't make my list, despite the inventive enemies and bright colours.

Shadow Warriors is great graphically, as discussed in the recent Ninja Gaiden thread. It's too tough to be fun, so doesn't make my list.

Strider is an amazing game, one of my all time faves, but is he a ninja? Only because they're telling me he's one, so doesn't make my list.

Shadow Dancer is great. Love the design and dog mechanic, but personally, I don't think it does anything new that the original didn't do. I love the MD game, but that not what we're talking 'bout (Willis), so this doesn't make my list.

Ninja Commando looks and plays ace, but you never really feel like a ninja. It's more like Mercs or Shock Troopers. You're cut!

Ninja Combat very nearly made the grade. Love the chunky sprites and the bonkers KKK bad guys. The bit with the enemy riding the roller coaster in the hope to hit you is hilarious.



So, my final list from the options are:

Shinobi - 1987
Oh man, what a game! I probably love Rolling Thunder a tad more, which predates Shinobi by a year, but this still has loads going for it and still plays great.
This is like a blueprint for side-scrolling shooters of the time and it just felt so natural to be ducking and changing level, jump-shooting shurikens at unsuspecting soldiers and firing off ninja magic to weaken the bosses.
Not sure about the ninja lore of picking up a grenade launcher when you power-up, but who knows?
The bonus level that had the ninjas bouncing around while you flung ninja stars at them looked great and was a brilliant and effective attract screen.



Ninja Warriors - 1987
Okay, so this is a pretty basic game. You walk from left to right either stabbing or punching seemingly endless enemies with your kunai. To play on PS4 classics or MAME is alright, but the beauty of this game was playing it in the arcade.
There were only a handful of triple-screen cabs like this, X-Men and Darius, so the impact was amazing when you saw it.

Not only that, but the screens looked crazy hi-res when you saw them. It was actually achieved by having one central screen reflected and two either side. Tony Gonzalez worked at Romstar who distributed the cabinet in America and he revealed in an interview that the cabinet was actually designed to fit on the back of his 88 Toyota shortbed truck! He also claimed Romstar wrote a plot, but it was cut because of sex and drugs and violence.



It's pretty visceral as you're slicing and dicing with splashes of blood.
The enemies are pretty stupid, just running up and down looking around for the ninjas.
Apart from the tank boss, which you have to keep stabbing. Like that would work.

However, as you take damage, you don't see wounded skin, you see... metal?!
Wait a minute, you're playing as ROBOT NINJAS ?! H'amaze!




Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja - 1988
I'm not 100% I should include this as you don't play as ninjas, you just beat loads of them up, but I love this game so much that I had to include it.
Loads of things I like about this: Shouting "I'm bad!"; "President Ronnie has been kidnapped" says some Arnie clone; the varied move set; "Got it!"; nunchakus; Karnov Easter egg; the cloning ninja boss; learning the places to stand; boss rush on the final level; the truck level; holding down attack for a flame punch and so on.



The ninjas are pretty sweet too, and they're generously colour-coded so you know the blue ones are grunts and the red ones are going to throw down some caltrops.



I'm seriously tempted to get a tiny My Arcade...



So, those are my three choices and why. Thanks Leon!

[Leon Retro]

The idea of ninjas wearing black came from Kabuki plays where the stage hands (Kuroko) wore black to blend in with the backgrounds and were an element of surprise for the audience.

I digress.

Didn't know that.

Strider is an amazing game, one of my all time faves, but is he a ninja? Only because they're telling me he's one, so doesn't make my list.

He seems like a ninja to me(I also noted that other people refer to him as a ninja), so I would say he qualifies.

Ninja Commando looks and plays ace, but you never really feel like a ninja. It's more like Mercs or Shock Troopers. You're cut!

Yeah, it could just be a Shock Troopers game. But I still get a bit of a 'ninja' vibe from the game. It's easily one of favourites from this selection.

The bonus level that had the ninjas bouncing around while you flung ninja stars at them looked great and was a brilliant and effective attract screen.

Yeah, those features helped to make the game stand out as something special.

Ninja Warriors - 1987

There were only a handful of triple-screen cabs like this, X-Men and Darius, so the impact was amazing when you saw it.

They had the triple-screen version on Brighton pier. It looked absolutely amazing, and as you say, there was a hi-res sheen about the graphics.

Bad Dudes Vs. Dragon Ninja - 1988
I'm not 100% I should include this as you don't play as ninjas, you just beat loads of them up, but I love this game so much that I had to include it.

It has the word 'ninja' in the title and loads of ninjas to defeat, so I thought "what the hell" and included it.

I really liked the arcade version back in the day -- it looked really nice and played well. The Amiga version is pretty good, but I always found jumping between the trucks difficult. I need to go back to it.

[QualityChimp]

Not saying Strider isn't a ninja, just explaining why I didn't choose him for your strict "pick 3" request.
I played it for years without realising he's a ninja. I think it's a combination of the robots, futuristic setting and the Russian locations.
Amazing game, just didn't fit my "ninja" checklist.

I played the arcade cab at the weekend and it's still brilliant. I mentioned before how eclectic the missions are and how much they cram into it. Level 2 has wolves chasing you through a Siberian forest, then you have to slide under a door, then there's a giant robot gorilla, then the floor catches fire and you have to climb up a sheer slope with bladed robots racing up and down, then you're in a mine, swinging off studded carts, you escape to be faced by a jetpack mid-level boss, then race down a slope peppered with landmines, more wolves, a power station that flashes dark with lightning, then little transporters and parachuting bombs until you reach a flying battle ship that had turrets and turbines and deadly platforms and finally the triple kung-fu girls.

All of that is ONE level!

[wakka]

Haha I love how much QC loves ninjas.

The only ones I've played of these are Strider and Shadow Dancer. Is that bad?

[QualityChimp]

Haha I love how much QC loves ninjas.

The only ones I've played of these are Strider and Shadow Dancer. Is that bad?

My emotions reading that post:

[wakka]

And they weren't even the arcade versions! Master System and Megadrive respectively!

I'll leave now.

[QualityChimp]

And they weren't even the arcade versions! Master System and Megadrive respectively!

I'll leave now.

[Leon Retro]

Not saying Strider isn't a ninja, just explaining why I didn't choose him for your strict "pick 3" request.

Yeah, I get why you wouldn't necessarily think of it as a 'ninja' game. I wasn't sure if people referred to the character as a "ninja" but some did so I went with it.

All of that is ONE level!

It delivered an amazing spectacle that really inspired gamers. I loved how the best arcade games managed that. Strider was not only cutting edge, but also creatively brilliant.

[DeathAdder]

Shinobi is by far my favourite of these games. A classic.

[Leon Retro]

Shinobi is by far my favourite of these games. A classic.

And spawned some great sequels for the Mega Drive.



Any more fans of ninjas?