The Last Ninja
System: NES
Release Date: February 1991
Developer: Beam Software
Publisher: Jaleco
Genre: Adventure
Show modern day New York City not to mess with the Last Ninja! When I saw this title coming up, I thought that I would finally get to play a title I could get nowhere with on an Apple IIGS back in the early 90s, but this isn’t that game. Instead, this is a port of the Last Ninja 2. The master ninja Armakuni has been transported from 9th century Japan to 20th century America! His quest? To bring down the evil shogun Kunitoki who has transported here himself somehow.
The Last Ninja was famous for its isometric 3D looking graphics. Those graphics are indeed here, forcing you to walk diagonally in incredibly unnatural ways. The ninja kicks with the B Button and punches with the A Button. You need to get comfortable with this, because there are plenty of enemies that you’re going to run into. If they get the jump on you with a thrown shuriken, you’re likely to lose a life. If you succeed at taking them down, it’s only momentary, as their life will regenerate and they’ll get back up on their feet. If you have the nunchaku, staff, or shuriken, or sword, you can cycle through them by pressing the Select and B Buttons. Items are scrolled through with the Select and A Buttons.
The first level is difficult to get the hang of. The ninja can do a flipping somersault jump as he’s moving and this will be invaluable for getting away from enemies and hopping platforms. There are items all over the place and each is important and useful… well, almost. The nunchaku are found in pieces in two different women’s bathrooms. I found this while stumbling through the level. This allowed me to become a menace to the enemies I encountered. I started to feel good about myself and the game, when I came to the boat. This is the worst jump you’ll ever have to make in a video game ever. It is the definition of requiring pixel perfection. I hit the water 55 times before I touched that boat for a split second. Three more tries and I got on that boat… before missing the jump to the other side… The secret is jumping from the stone pavers on the edge, I think. Just under half my playthrough was spent before making that jump.
The rest of the game was a cakewalk in comparison. Really it involves walking around the level, picking up anything you find. Things you can interact with will flash momentarily when you enter a screen. And, of course, killing enemies if you can’t run past them. The downside is the cheap deaths. A bee swarm is out for your blood. You’ll get run over by a motorcycle if you cross the street at the wrong time. A lady will try dropping a flower pot on your head. Choose the wrong door and die. Miss your jump. Touch a wine rack. Fall down an elevator shaft. Fall off a window ledge. You’ll spend more time learning what you have to avoid before you can make one flawless run.
Two things you need to make sure you have before moving on to a later level are the shurikens in level one and the molotov cocktail in level two. The flaming bottle gets you past the alligator in the sewers and the shuriken is necessary to disable Kunitoki in the final battle so you can light the candles and send him back to the spirit world. I found it best to light a couple candles, drop him with the shuriken in the middle of the star, and then light the rest before he could regenerate. Congratulations.
Graphics: 2.0
The graphics aren’t good, but they are a novelty and for that I find them interesting.
Sound: 2.0
The overall sound design isn’t bad, but I can’t say it’s my favorite or anything.
Gameplay: 1.0
The controls are god awful and the trial and error gameplay with pixel perfection required is not a good style for the NES.
Difficulty: 1.0
The manual gives some cryptic hints that might be helpful to some, but will annoy others.
Fun Factor: 1.0
After I got out of the first level, it was only okay at its best times.
Overall Rating: 1.4
The Last Ninja earns a D+. Is this the worst game on the NES? No. Far from it. But it certainly isn’t anything that I would ever recommend someone play.