As we go about beginning the process of getting another event put together, we thought it would be wise to discuss some of these games before we actually begin the show. Unlike with Mario, not all of these ninja games will be universally known among the masses. Hell, even I haven’t heard of some of them and I am a huge nerd. And that is another point: also unlike the Mario Marathon, about half of these games are games that none of us have played. It should make for an exciting time. But I digress, LET’S TALK ABOUT NINJA SPIRIT.
Most of the information about to be imparted to you comes from the friendly people over at Wikipedia; well, at the very least the information comes from some dude who catalogues ninja games in his basement and uploads that information to Wikipedia. Ninja Spirit was originally released in Arcades but made its way to the TurboGrafx-16, which is the version we will be playing (emulated on the Wii).
The story we are presented with does not give us a whole lot of information, but from we do know this game means business. It’s all about revenge. Apparently there is a young, spry ninja named Moonlight who has lost his father to a “mysterious half-man half-beast creature.” If there’s any reason to get some revenge, then that is it my friends. And if the video above is of any indication, our young ninja hero gets a ton of revenge.
Gameplay-wise, this sounds like a standard side scrolling affair. What makes this game stand out is that our hero uses a sword called Righteous Cloud, which can only mean it’s awesome. The sissier the name of your Katana/Wakizashi, the more amazing it actually is. “Leaping Tiger?” Yeah, that sword is ok, I guess. “Azure Lilly?” That sword will F YOU UP. In addition to Righteous Cloud, Moonlight gets an assortment of great named items: Swirling Leaf, Bamboo Thunder, and Rising Dragon. There are descriptions of what those things actually are at Wikipedia, but I want to simply believe their names are as literal as they can get. “So sorry I cut your face off with my Swirling Leaf, but, you know, this is just how ninja do it.”
It turns out that Ninja Spirit was the first game to get a perfect 10 in the dead-but-resurrected gaming magazine EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly). As of now we will just have to take their nearly two-decades-old word for it, but Ninja Spirit sounds like it should be a torso-slashing good time, or as Nintendo’s description puts it: “That’s what ninja action is all about.”
More information:
Wikipedia
Nintendo
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