Developer: Irem Publisher: NEC Release: 1990 Genre: Action
I love ninja action games. Ever since Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden this specific category of action games has been one of my favorites. For as much as I like the Turbo Grafx though it has only the bare minimum in the genre. Shinobi is a solid arcade port but the better game is undoubtedly Ninja Spirit. Irem’s port of Ninja Spirit captures the magic of the arcade game beautifully and is one of the better action titles for the system. The only reason it does not have a higher profile is the system it is on which is a shame.
Stop me if you have heard this before: a young ninja witnesses the death of his father and swears revenge on the half man/half beast responsible. This is the premise of countless games but in this specific case it is a little too similar to Ninja Gaiden. To be fair both games debuted within months of each other but still.
Ninja Spirit differs from most other action games in that you have every weapon from the start. Moonlight has four weapons: a katana, shuriken, bombs, and kusarigama, a chain and sickle. You can freely switch weapons at any time and each has strengths and weaknesses. The katana has the shortest reach but can block projectiles. Shuriken are weak but can toss them in any direction and have a wide spread. Bombs are similar but more powerful and slower. The kusarigama is like the sword but with longer reach. In addition it can swing in a wide arc that once powered up covers a significant portion of the screen.
There are a number of secondary weapons and items that make you significantly overpowered. The best item in the game is alter ego, which creates two shadow clones. These clones follow your every move and attack and at full power it is insane. Sacred treasures power up your weapons individually with some changing dramatically. Full power shuriken become ersatz spread shots, the katana leaves a trail in its wake while the chain and sickle increases its range to ridiculous proportions. The wheel of fire is a temporary shield and rounding out the arsenal is screen clearing destruction magic. The game is fairly generous with power-ups yet somehow is still tough.
Even though Ninja Spirit is a hack and slash it has the pacing of a run and gun. Once the game starts enemies attack like Crash Test dummies relentlessly. You rarely get a moment’s rest. Despite that your weapons are so strong it is rarely overwhelming. The level design is straightforward for the most part aside from the few instances of platforming. In these instances it borrows from Legend of Kage with its exaggerated super jumps. They are a welcome but brief from the relentless chaos. To an extent there is a strategic element to managing your weapons in any given moment. Choosing the right weapon at the right time goes a long way toward managing the chaos and is satisfying. Every weapon has at least one or two moments to shine. Even with that Ninja Spirit is an arcade game at heart and you know what that entails.
In the arcade Ninja Spirit was especially brutal. The enemies never stop spawning, even when you are idle. At first it feels measured. But by the third level it becomes borderline ridiculous. Unfortunately despite how good the port is it suffers from crippling slowdown and flickering in these instances. Enemies straight up disappear briefly in the most turbulent moments leading to cheap deaths. If you can believe it there are fewer enemies than in the arcade! The cheap deaths reach their apex in the final level where you need ridiculous memorization to reach the final boss. The single hit deaths make the game seem like it was designed around the shadow clones. If you can finish the arcade mode without cheating consider it a badge of honor.
The ridiculous difficulty masks the fact that Ninja Spirit is short. Even though there are seven levels the game can be completed in twenty minutes once mastered. It will take a while to reach that point though. This home port contains a PC Engine mode. This mode is more lenient in a few ways. You have five hit points and the game rebalances around that. Most enemies deal single damage but there are a few that can kill in a single strike. This makes the game much more tolerable and accessible for novices. While I like it is a missed opportunity to add additional content like new stages and such to make the game longer.
In Closing
Ninja Spirit is an excellent action game that combines intense combat, memorable atmosphere, and superb game design. Its shadow-clone mechanic remains distinct, its controls are razor-sharp, and its presentation still impresses decades later. If you are building a list of must-play TurboGrafx-16 games, Ninja Spirit belongs near the top. Granted it is not a long list but still.
