is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed and released by Taito 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,

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, PC Engine, and Sega Mega-CD. A sequel with the same name, ''

The Ninja Warriors is a side-scrolling beat 'em up video game developed and released by Taito in 1987. The original arcade game situated one display in between projected images of two other displays, creating the appearance of a triple-wide screen. Ports were rel ...

'', 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 (player 1) or Ninja (player 2) and fight wave after wave of Banglar forces across six levels. Button 1 attacks with a short-range kunai slash, while button 2 fires long-range shurikens that are limited in supply.

Plot

The game is set in a dystopian future where Banglar, the President of the United States 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 Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

'' 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 used a similar format for its '' X-Men'' 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 and Scitron released the two soundtracks 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 to various personal computers: the Commodore Amiga,

, Sinclair Spectrum 128K,

and Amstrad CPC.

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 Sega Mega-CD. 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's Amusement Trades Exhibition International (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's '' Vigilante''; she said it plays similarly to ''Shinobi'', but that ''Ninja Warriors'' has a three-monitor cabinet like ''

'' (1986). She praised the large screen, "great" graphics, and fun gameplay, but said ''Shinobi'' and ''Vigilante'' were more challenging. Nick Kelly of '' Commodore User'' 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'' 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. It's hard to imagine a better assassin than that". In 2006,

Akiman (born July 21, 1964) is a Japanese animator, character designer, game designer and mecha designer, who works under the pen name "Akiman". Yasuda is a former employee of the video game company Capcom (joining in 1985) and has worked on many Capcom ...

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 also known as ''

'', 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