Developer: Natsume
Publisher: Taito
Genre: Beat 'em up
Release: 1994
Currently available on: cartridge only
About the game: In Ninja Warriors, you take on the role of three androids to combat a tyrannical overlord in a dystopian future. Yeah, the plot here is typical, but the gameplay is what makes this game so great. Each android plays differently. Kunoichi is the female ninja who is the most balanced, using a katana sword and knives. Kamaitachi is the fastest and uses sickles on chains as his weapon. Ninja uses nunchaku and is the slowest of the bunch. The game has eight stages, most levels being some kind of base of operations that you must infiltrate. This is a side-scrolling game that plays on one plane, meaning it's different from most beat 'em ups, but that's not a problem at all. There's quite a variety of enemies, and some of them can really tough, such as the huge robots that you can only harm from the back. The protagonists have a lot of cool moves when fighting, and the bosses are really great. The only downside here is that the game is only single player.
Why I love it: This is another one I played on an emulator, but I have since then bought the cartridge (it was expensive). I love beat 'em ups, and this is one of my favorites. Beating up enemies in this game is really satisfying. The presentation here is good too. When you beat a boss, the screen says "Mission Accomplished," which actually feels like you accomplished something great. The game is hard, but thanks to the unlimited continues, you can beat it with enough persistence. Taito recently released an enhanced port of the arcade game in Japan, and hopefully we will see it released here soon. This port is for PS4 and Switch, and is two players! I'm so glad Taito has not forgotten about this series.
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