Ninja Spirit
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
What an awful day poor Moonlight has had. The unfortunate
young man was simply going about his daily Ninja business
when some awful villain decided to come along and murder his
noble Pop for no reason at all. Not one to just sit around
and let people kill off his beloved relatives, Moonlight
took up his sword and set out to settle the score. He may
have a sissy name, but Moonlight's got skills, strength...
and a few friends called 'Ninja Spirits'.
Ninja Spirit is one of those titles that makes you realize
just how much potential the Turbografx-16 really had. It's
the type of gem that comes along only once in a blue moon -
the kind of game that excels in every facet. Well-drawn
graphics, superb music, exciting and high-flying game play,
intense action - you name it, and it's a good bet that Ninja
Spirit's got it. It's unfortunate that so few people had the
opportunity to play it; if this game had been released for
the Genesis, everyone would still remember it to this day.
As mentioned above, Ninja Spirit thrusts you into the role
of Moonlight, a young Ninja who seeks revenge for the death
of his father. This is all-out, side-scrolling action, and
the evildoers that stand between you and revenge won't
begrudge you an inch - unless, of course, you make them.
You'll have four types of potent weapons at your disposal: a
sword, throwing knives, a sickle and chain, and bombs. Each
weapon can be powered up a number of times, and each one has
its own unique strengths and weaknesses. For instance, your
sword has reasonable attacking power and can be used to
defend against many of the weapons used by your enemies, but
its range is extremely limited. On the other hand, bombs can
be thrown as far as you want and have incredible attacking
power, but you will be very prone to enemy attacks while
they are equipped. Each weapon also controls in a slightly
different manner. Learning how to accurately hurl bombs at
your enemies is a completely different affair than becoming
adept at swinging your sickle and chain. Mastery of all four
weapons will be necessary if you are to successfully
complete your quest for vengeance.
In addition to the four normal weapons, Moonlight can
acquire alter egos - or 'Ninja Spirits' - to aid him in
his quest. Ninja Spirits basically line up behind Moonlight
and imitate every single action that he performs (they are
very similar to the option ships that appear in most
shooting games). You can be joined by up to two Spirits at
any one time, and you'd be wise to attain them as quickly as
possible. After the first couple of levels, the extra
firepower provided by the Spirits becomes a necessity.
The game consists of seven stages, and while each level is
of reasonable length, Ninja Spirit shouldn't take very long
for any seasoned gamer to complete. While many of the
tougher enemies can slay you with one blow, most of them are
also highly vulnerable to simple tricks. Placing your
spirits in the proper locations right before a boss appears
can often allow you to defeat the enemy before he even has a
chance to attack you.
Despite its relatively low level of difficulty, Ninja Spirit
is of such high quality that you'll almost certainly return
to it again and again. The high replay value somewhat makes
up for the lack of challenge in the game. The controls are
simple and solid, as one button is used to swing your weapon
and the other is used to jump. Remember Legend of Kage for
the NES, and the amazingly high leaps that the protagonist
of the game was capable of? Well, Moonlight may very well
have taken lessons from Mr. Kage, because he is capable of
the exact same kind of unbelievable jumps. The high-flying
feel of the game lends to the excitement of the adventure,
although too many reckless jumps will eventually land you in trouble.
The graphics in Ninja Spirit are nicely done overall,
although they tend to be a bit dark and drab, and most of
the sprites are quite small. The incredibly enormous boss
characters somewhat make up for the nondescript regular
enemies, however. The spectacular, fast-paced music is
perfectly suited for the game (the theme that plays during
boss encounters is incredibly intense).
One gripe that I have about Ninja Spirit is that the text
that appears during the ending sequence disappears in a
matter of seconds! It's extremely frustrating to play
through an entire game and then not even be able to enjoy
the ending. On the positive side, however, you'll likely
play through the game so many times that you'll be bound to
piece that text together at some point or another!
Overall: 9 out of 10
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