16-bit Ninja Side-scrollers

**NeoZeedeater** · 01 Dec 2003, 04:28 PM

For ninja action gaming, there was no better time than the 16-bit era. This thread is devoted to ninja or ninja-like side-scrollers on the TurboGrafx, Genesis and SNES.

Ninja Warriors(Taito, PC Engine, 1989)
A port of the arcade game made to fit a single TV screen unlike the three-screen arcade machine.
http://www.vgmuseum.com/images/tg16/02/ninjawarr.html

Shinobi(Asmik, PC Engine, 1989
This port was a mixed bag. The graphics were closer to the arcade than other ports but the gameplay was off and levels were missing. It's a damn shame Sega has never released an arcade perfect version of the game. It's 2003, the SMS version shouldn't still be the best home port.
http://www.pcengine.com.br/cards/shinobi/shinobi.htm

Revenge of Shinobi(Sega, Genesis/Sega CD, 1989/1992)
Sega took Musashi into new territory with the Super Shinobi series on Genesis. I wouldn't say it was necessarily better than the first Shinobi but it was still excellent at the time.

Strider(Sega, Genesis, 1990)

Ninja Spirit(Irem/NEC, TurboGrafx, 1990)
An excellent port of the arcade game. Ninja Spirit followed the tradition of Taito's "mega jumping through the trees" NES games like Legend of Kage and Demon Sword.

Shadow Dancer(Sega, Genesis, 1991)
This wasn't a port of the arcade game but it was similar in design in that you rescued hostages, jumped straight up and down to different floors, and used your dog to disable enemies.

Strider Returns(U.S. Gold, Genesis, 1992)

Ninja Gaiden(Hudson, PC Engine, 1992)
A port of Tecmo's NES game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time(Konami, SNES, 1992)

Ninja Gaiden(Sega, Mega Drive, 1992)
A mediocre beat 'em up.

Ninja Warriors(Taito, Mega CD, 1993)
I haven't played this version but it's supposed to be a solid port. It included an option for a remixed soundtrack.

Shinobi III(Sega, Genesis, 1993)
Shinobi 3 perfected everything done in Revenge by adding new moves(dash, wall jump), level variety(horseback riding, surfboarding) and best of all getting rid of those damn movie/comic rip-offs(Rambo, Terminator, Spiderman).

Iga Ninden Gaiou(Nichibutsu, PCE Super CD, 1993)
http://www.pcengine.com.br/ingaiou/ingaiou.htm

Run Saber(Atlus/Hori, SNES, 1993)
I don't know if this counts as a ninja game but it's worth noting. Run Saber was a poor man's Strider but at least it filled a void in the SNES' line up. I still liked the game and it had some nice Mode 7 effects.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist(Konami, Genesis, 1993)

Ninja Warriors Again(Taito/Natsume, SNES, 1994)
Natsume's Ninja Warriors sequel had some of the best graphics on the system. The gameplay is still super shallow although good for a quick action fix.

Hagane(Hudson/Red, SNES, 1994)
Finally, the SNES got a ninja action game that could compete with the best ones on the other consoles. It felt like a cross between Strider and Shinobi.

Kaze Kiri(Naxat, PCE Super CD, 1994)
I have a feeling this is the best 16-bit game I haven't played.

Strider(NEC Avenue, PCE SCD, 1994)
http://www.pcengine.com.br/strider/strider.htm

Ninja Gaiden Trilogy(Tecmo, SNES, 1995)

Your thoughts on 16-bit ninja side-scrollers? I'm sure a forgot a few.

JM · 01 Dec 2003, 04:33 PM

I don't have anything to add other than Ninja Warriors Again & Hagane are both in my SNES top 10 list. Great games.

JM

**Cheebs** · 01 Dec 2003, 04:39 PM

Shinobi III will always rule all 16 bit ninja games (when it is on vacation from ruling 16 bit games altogether).

And trust me, you're not missing a thing with Kaze Kiri. Very mediocre and repetative.

**Rocca** · 01 Dec 2003, 04:46 PM

NW-Again was a pure classic to me, looked great and i didnt find the gameplay shallow at all. Great post NeoZ.

**soundwave** · 01 Dec 2003, 05:00 PM

Personal faves are definitely the Shinobi series. Those are the type of games that after 100s of run throughs you can blow through them in minutes and look awesome doing it. Even years later I can still 1 credit these games (or almost anyway). favorite part in Shinobi III is the stage with the falling rocks/platforms. frustrating at first but so cool when you get it down.

**Recap** · 01 Dec 2003, 05:27 PM

Where're SFC Super Ninja-kun, Shounen Ninja Sasuke and Ganbare Goemon series?

**DOVESKI** · 01 Dec 2003, 05:30 PM

NINJA SPIRIT!!!

The only saving grace I had from my Genny owning friends in 6th grade.

I gad a knack for choosing the losing systems....SMS...then TG16....then the Saturn....then the Dreamcast....hahaha!!! Fucking video games.