is a side-scrolling

beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

video game developed and released by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

in 1987. The original

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

situated one display in between projected images of two other displays, creating the appearance of a triple-wide screen. Ports were released for home systems including the

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, though ...

, and

Sega Mega-CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...

. A sequel with the same name, '' The Ninja Warriors'', was developed by Natsume and released in 1994, followed by its enhanced remaster '' The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors'' released in 2019.

Gameplay

''The Ninja Warriors'' presents side-scrolling hand-to-hand combat. Players take control of

Kunoichi is a Japanese cant term for . In popular culture, it is often used for female shinobi or practitioner of ninjutsu (''ninpo''). The term was largely popularized by novelist Yamada Futaro in his novel ''Ninpō Hakkenden'' (忍法八犬伝) in 1964 ...

(player 1) or

Ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...

(player 2) and fight wave after wave of Banglar forces across six levels. Button 1 attacks with a short-range

kunai A is a Japanese tool thought to be originally derived from the masonry trowel. The two widely recognized variations of the kunai are short kunai (小苦無 shō-''kunai'') and the big ''kunai'' (大苦無 ''dai-kunai''). Although a basic tool ...

slash, while button 2 fires long-range

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they were ...

s that are limited in supply.

Plot

The game is set in a dystopian future where Banglar, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 1993, has declared martial law nationwide.''Crash'', Issue 1.90, page 52.
/ref> A group of anarchist scientists led by Mulk decide that it is time to revolt against the government. Knowing full well that fighting the military themselves would be suicidal, the scientists create two powerful androids to carry out the mission for them. The robots, code-named "Kunoichi" (red female) and "Ninja" (blue male), are sent by the scientists to end Banglar's tyranny once and for all.

Development and release

The game's arcade cabinet is unique due to its three contiguous screens (one screen in the usual place for an arcade game, and two more screens in the cabinet below, reflected by mirrors on either side of the middle screen) which created the effect of a single, "triple-wide" screen, depicting ninjas.''Your Sinclair'', Issue 1.90, page 91.
/ref> The same cabinet was also used for '' Darius'' and ''

Darius II Darius II ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ), also known by his given name Ochus ( ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 423 BC to 405 or 404 BC. Artaxerxes I, who died in 424 BC, was followed by h ...

'' and

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

used a similar format for its ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' arcade release (six players). The music was composed by

Hisayoshi Ogura is a former member of Taito Corporation's "house band" Zuntata. He is best known for his musical compositions in the '' Darius'' arcade series. His musical style is often experimental electronica. However, in '' Zoids Infinity Ex'' he focused on ...

and Taito's in-house band

Zuntata is the "house band" of Japanese video game developer and publisher Taito. The band consists of sound director Katsuhisa Ishikawa, bassists Yu Shimoda and Shohei Tsuchiya, and drummer Masaki Mori. Zuntata is Taito's core sound department, and has ...

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...

and

Scitron is a Japanese record label that publishes video game music albums. List of video game albums released A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z ...

released the two

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s for the game in 1988 and 1991, while further arrangements were released in 1993 and by Zuntata Records and Taito in 1988 and 2009. The game was

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...

to various personal computers: the

Commodore Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

, Sinclair Spectrum 128K,

and

Home console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...

versions of the game were released exclusively in Japan for the

NEC PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC, NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth genera ...

and

. A version for the ''

Arcade Archives is a series of emulated arcade games from the late 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch, published by Hamster Corporation. A sub-series called is focused on rereleasing Neo Geo ...

'' series on the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

was released in September 2017. A new port based on the 1994 version titled ''The Ninja Warriors: Once Again'' was released in 2019 on

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

. It features new artwork and two new playable characters.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''The Ninja Warriors'' on their April 1, 1988 issue as being the third most-successful upright arcade unit of the month. It went on to become Japan's eighth highest-grossing dedicated arcade game of 1988. The arcade game received positive reviews. Clare Edgeley of ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' reviewed the arcade game upon release, noted that it was one of several popular "

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

simulation" games at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Amusement Trades Exhibition International The Amusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) is the major UK trade show for the coin-op and amusements trade. See also * BACTA (British Amusement Caterers Trade Association) * Coinslot ''Coinslot International'' is a UK trade magazin ...

(ATEI) show in January 1988, along with

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

's ''

Shinobi A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 21� ...

'' and

Data East , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The Am ...

's ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

''; she said it plays similarly to ''Shinobi'', but that ''Ninja Warriors'' has a three-monitor cabinet like '' Darius'' (1986). She praised the large screen, "great" graphics, and fun gameplay, but said ''Shinobi'' and ''Vigilante'' were more challenging. Nick Kelly of ''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

'' rated it 8 out of 10, also noting similarities to ''Shinobi'', but preferring ''Ninja Warriors'' for its graphics and large screen. He said it was highly playable, "gorgeous looking" and technologically "a successful step" forwards. ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' gave it a brief positive review, recommending readers to look "out for it." The home conversions also received mostly positive reviews, especially its 16-bit versions such as the ones for the Amiga. In 2010,

CraveOnline Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...

featured the game (the arcade, SNES and Sega CD versions) on the list of top ten ninja games of all time. In 2008,

GamesRadar ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...

featured Kunoichi as the best assassin in the video game history: "She cut a memorable figure, rocking the huge blonde

ponytail A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that point ...

and bright-red '' shozoku''. On top of that, she wasn't just a ninja - she was a ninja

Terminator Terminator may refer to: Science and technology Genetics * Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription * Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...

. It's hard to imagine a better assassin than that". In 2006, Akiman drew her as his girl of the month for the Japanese magazine ''GAMAGA''. Robert Workman of GameZone included Ninja and Kunoichi on his 2011 list of "best video game ninjas": "These guys are due for a return – and hopefully a better hyped one than '' Kage'' got a few years ago on DS?"

Legacy

Natsume developed a 1994 follow-up for the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...

also known as '' The Ninja Warriors'', or ''The Ninja Warriors Again'' in Japan. An enhanced remaster of the Super NES game for the

and

was released in 2019.

References

External links

* * * * ''The Ninja Warriors'' - Lost In Translation @ ExoticA
Hardcore Gaming 101: ''The Ninja Warriors''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ninja Warriors, the 1987 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Arcade video games Arcade video games with multi-monitor setups Atari ST games Commodore 64 games Dystopian video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Video games about ninja Romstar games Sega CD games Side-scrolling beat 'em ups Square Enix franchises Taito beat 'em ups TurboGrafx-16 games Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games scored by Hisayoshi Ogura Video games set in 1993 Virtual Console games ZX Spectrum games Hamster Corporation games