Ninja Gaiden Trilogy is a compilation of the Ninja Gaiden series that first appeared on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System.  They are classic, side-scrolling, platform games published by the software company, Tecmo, who are also known for their acclaimed Tecmo Bowl series.  The first of these games was published twenty years ago in 1989 and the cartridges that held them are a long dead format.  But the advent of the emulator era, and perhaps even more importantly the Wii Virtual Console, have seen these games accessible to players whose parents were still worrying about pimples, AIDs and what was happening on 90210 at the time of their release.  Players whose parents were still wondering, “Does it hurt the first time?” and “How will I know which hole is the right one?” before they committed the grand mistake of pregnancy when these games were released now have total and easy access to many of the video game industry’s second golden era’s finest works.  Thus, these games bear reviewing all over again.  Ninja Gaiden Trilogy is one of these games.

     The Trilogy itself was released in 1995 a full four years after the last of the series was created in 1991.  It was given a slight makeover for the 16-bit platform, the Super Nintendo, including enhanced graphics and (thank God) a password system.  It is for the latter feature that I direct you to the 16-bit compilation of these games rather than their 8-bit originals.  This helps ease the blow of playing a game that even by the standards of the masochistic, gritty, and determined gamer of the 8-bit era, was considered difficult.  Now, not too difficult, mind you.  In fact, I think this is a perfect introduction to the classic platformer genre.  Not as easy as the cloying, bopitty, checkpoint-laden Super Mario World and not as hair- greyingly difficult as the evil, unforgiving, “Fu*k you, I’ll see you in Hell!!” Ghosts and Goblins.  Somewhere in between those two lies a place that is not too forgiving, yet not too pampering, a place with interesting bosses and level design filled with challenges just hard enough to make you feel good about getting through them, with a few doozies along the way that can earn you bragging rights with your weak, 128-bit era friends or just some respect amongst the grizzled veterans of the hardcore crowd.  Games like the first two Ninja Gaidens (the third is a beast) Mega Man 3, Mickey Mouse’s Magical Quest and Castlevania 3 fit the type (to name a few).  Although if you are a Nintendo DS gamer and have strode through the maniacal difficulty of the Mega Man Zero games then you may find these titles laughably easy and I suggest moving on to more brutal pastures such as the aforementioned Ghost and Goblins, Demon’s Crest, or even the sheer madness that is the later Mega Man X’s.  Although the third Ninja Gaiden is fit to hang with that crowd of bruisers, its lack of design quality and general fun set it apart from that crowd.   More on that later though, as for now, we start with the first Ninja Gaiden.

     One of the things that set Ninja Gaiden apart from its other platforming brethren was that it had a story that was told-in game, between levels, in the form of cinematic style cut scenes.  This was unheard of at the time and the noir style story really added a level of immersion and intrigue that was missing in too many of the other games in the genre, whose only story was in a short paragraph you’d find in the instruction booklet.

Another unique quality the game had was that instead of say some sort of cuddly animal, a rotund plumber, or knight in shining armour, the character you played was a NINJA.  That’s right: a freaking ninja.  And this was right on the heels of the great ninja craze in the late eighties.  Tons of ninja movies were being released as Sho Kosugi reveled in his fat American paychecks and Ninja magazine was finally in the black for a whole year!  Unlike their historical counterparts who worked in large numbers and relied heavily on teamwork , the pop culture ninja was an unstoppable one-man army.  This helped the ninja’s popularity in the West.  Ryu Hayabusa, Ninja Gaiden’s protagonist, is one such ninja.

     Controlling Ryu in the game is a pretty simplistic affair: you use a Directional pad to move and two buttons.  One slashes with your ninja-to (sword) and the other sends you flipping through the air.  And since Ryu’s a ninja, when you jump onto a vertical surface, he sticks to it, like a fly, or a ninja,maybe.  Now, once on the surface, you cannot move except to jump off it, but by doing this on two parallel vertical surfaces you can scale them.

     Also at his disposal is Ryu’s special ninja magic.  Throughout the game are various objects hanging from the walls or in midair that upon hitting with your sword, drop goodies.  These goodies are usually magic points that allow Ryu to use his ninja magic. Ninja magic includes throwing stars, invulnerability (limited time), whirlwind jump(think screw attack via Metroid), fire wheel and my personal favorite, the windmill shuriken.  Also dropped are the spells themselves, which you can only have one of at a time so picking up a different spell will have you losing your old one, and the very rare health boost.  Ryu’s health is very important as once it’s gone, you're dead and have to start the level over.  This also happens when you fall into a pit.  You do have a limited number of lives but this is no problem with the SNES version as you collect passwords for levels and on the Wii console you have unlimited continues, though you’ll still be starting back at the level’s beginning, which is what makes this game tough.

     Also what makes this game tough is a few rough spots on the way through.  Level 2-2 can be nasty for beginners and may send some of you weaker ones home early with a bad case of the sniffles.  There area lot of pits as well as enemies who throw stuff at you when trying to jump across them.  Did I mention you fly backward into a hole almost every time they hit you?  Another rough spot is on level 5-2 where there is a jump that requires particular skill and care to pass.  It is often referred to as, “that one jump in Ninja Gaiden” and anyone who has played the game will instantly know what you are talking about if you mention it.

     Other than those couple of things, the game is fairly easy.  Except for the game’s final boss, who is an absolute terror.  Yes of course there are bosses: it’s a classic platformer for crud’s sake!  At the end of each main stage is a boss.  Most of them are just tall guys wearing weird clothes and wielding various ninja weapons like the kusari-gama or shuriken.  There are a couple of demon dogs to mix things up and the second to last boss, Bloody Malth is kind of cool looking with his red mask and lightning hands.  He also seems harder to beat than he really is (hint: stand there and stab the shit out of him).  But none of these compare to the final boss and the game’s primary antagonists: Jaquio and the demon he summons.

     I once knew a kid in high school who loved to get into fights.  He hated everybody and everything except for a few close friends and his girl and well, fighting.  He was terrible at it too.  He always picked the toughest jocks to combat and would always end up a bloody, but smiling wreck when it was over.  In fact most of his foes usually just gave up and went home because they got tired of dealing out punishment.  He would be on the ground, getting his face smashed into a curb repeatedly and then his body would go limp.  His enemy would then stand up and turn around to head home when my pal would get up and say with a big, bloody grin” Is that all you’ve got?”  That’s the kind of mentality you have to have if you are going to beat Ninja Gaiden’s final boss.

     Ninja Gaiden 2’s final boss isn’t near as diffcult, but I’d say over all the levels are a little harder and one in particular, the second to last substage, is just brutal.  It’s filled with tons of pits and flying enemies who shoot at you and God, it would almost not be worth the trouble except that Ninja Gaiden 2 really steps it up in the story department, and although it’s not Citizen Kane, it’s way better than the first game.  What I’m saying, is it is worth the trouble to finish it to see the final cinematics (except for the very ending which is cliché).

     Other improvements include the graphics (lighting effects and weather),  and the addition of a few new ninja spells, including one which adds extra, ghost-like ninjas to help you on your journey.  Basically they follow you around, mimic your previous movements and its fun to position them in perfect spots to ambush oncoming enemies or to hit bosses while you are well out of the way of fire.  Oh yeah, the bosses are a lot better too.  First off is a zombie-like beast called Dando. Later on you fight a water dragon, a demon and even a guy in some kind of flying robotic suit whose name is Funky Dynamite.  Also, Jaquio returns and he is much cooler looking this time around, and you’ll fight the nifty looking Ashtar, who appears as the game’s main antagonist in the beginning.  Although both he and Jaquio are pretty pathetic as boss fights.

     Oh, and one final thing I have to mention about Ninja Gaiden 2 is that this time, when you are sticking on a vertical surface: you can actually climb up and down!  This almost entirely negates the difficult jumping from wall to wall that you had to master in order to clear the first game.  This addition is also in Ninja Gaiden 3.

     *sigh*- Ninja Gaiden 3.  We had such high hopes for you, instead you let us down with your clunky control, stupid futuristic setting, idiotic story, dull graphics and insane, unquenchable lust for gamer death.  Now, to put things into perspective I have to admit with more than a modicum of shame, I have never finished Ninja Gaiden 3.  It is one of those few games that I let bring me to my knees, never to pick it up again, leaving me crying, naked in the bathtub, smearing GoJo all over my violated body.  I will also say this: It is reviled amongst most Ninja Gaiden fans and widely regarded as one of the toughest games in existence (although still leagues away from Undead Line).  Part of this is because for some jacked reason, the developers decided to massively increase the amount of damage that certain, regular enemies do in the game, making each one a serious threat.  Also, there are a lot of them.  And the bosses suck.  Okay, yeah I am pouting now, but one cannot help but feel angry at this game, doing injustice to one of the greatest platform series of all time.  Now I will say that there are a few out there who find this Ninja Gaiden to be the best of three, and whether they are just poseurs trying to rankle us all or actually the elite of the elite, is certainly a valid question.  But to those readers who have mastered this wicked game, I bow to you, but unfortunately for me, I remain its pissed bitch.

Aside from the final title I recommend this game to those seeking a bit of platforming, or just video game history in general, or to those who want to know what it was like to play a game when you couldn’t save just anywhere, or to those wondering if all that talk about the old games being challenging is true, or even to those of us who forgot what a real challenge was like.  If none of that sounds appealing, then I have one word left with which to entice you:  NINJA!

                                                                                              -jr

Score 8 Great