Last Ninja

Last updated

Last Ninja
LastninjaRX-c64 cover01.jpg
C64 cover for Last Ninja Remix
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Developer(s) System 3

Last Ninja is a series of video games published by System 3. The first game in the series titled The Last Ninja , was released in 1987 for the Commodore 64 and was one of the most successful games for the system. In 1988, System 3 released Last Ninja 2 , and in 1991 the third game in the series, Last Ninja 3 . In 1990, Last Ninja Remix was released for 8-bit systems. This was Last Ninja 2 with new music, a new introductory sequence, slightly changed graphics (most notably the screen border) and fixed bugs. Confusingly, the 16-bit versions of the original The Last Ninja game were also released in 1990 as Ninja Remix.

Contents

Plot

The protagonist of The Last Ninja series is Armakuni, the sole survivor of a ninjutsu clan that was destroyed by an evil shogun named Kunitoki. This struggle leads Armakuni to the island of Lin Fen (in the first Last Ninja) to modern-day New York City (in Last Ninja 2) and to the mystical Buddhist temple in Tibet (in Last Ninja 3). In each of the games, Kunitoki is the final adversary and every time eludes death after a somewhat decisive victory from Armakuni.

Gameplay

Each game is divided into a number of self-contained locations, with the original game containing six such 'levels'. Each level is loaded separately, in sequence as the game progresses. The game overtakes the player back to the start of the current level. Each location was presented as a map of static isometric screens, with the player's character restricted to predefined paths (the scenery was inaccessible). By 8-bit standards, the graphics were very detailed, and on many platforms, the screen would take a second or so to draw itself when entered.

The gameplay generally consisted of fighting, exploration, and puzzle-solving. Movement and fighting were done on the joystick, and the keyboard was used to select items and weapons that the player had to acquire. The player could select one active weapon and one item at any given time. Many map screens contained opponents which the ninja could avoid (by exiting a screen before they caught him) or fight using his selected weapon (in later Last Ninja games defeated enemies would revive after a certain amount of time). Items would flash briefly when a screen was first entered and could be picked up when standing close to them, usually triggering a crouching animation that was also often employed when using the object. Most of the puzzles were of the item-finding or precision-jumping variety.

Games

Generally the games had been made with Commodore 64 as the lead platform, with other platforms getting less attention (sometimes the porters didn't even receive the C64 version's data, and had to reconstruct the entire game from scratch). Versions of The Last Ninja for the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron and Acorn Archimedes/RISC OS computers were published by Superior Software, while Activision published it for the Apple IIGS.

One novel feature on the C64 version was the use of very distinctive oriental music in loading and in-game music for each level. These original music pieces on the first Last Ninja were composed by C64 musician Ben Daglish doing five tunes and Anthony Lees doing six tunes. In the sequel, Last Ninja 2, Matt Gray composed all the tunes. What separated The Last Ninja series from most other games was that in C64 version all three SID sound channels were dedicated to music playback, meaning that there were no in-game sounds. Reyn Ouwehand provided the new music used in the C64 version of Last Ninja Remix.

Last Ninja 4

In 1993, John Wells created a series of previews, music and a map for one level of a fourth game which he tried to convince System 3 to make. System 3 turned him down. [2]

Originally set for an early 2004 release, a new Last Ninja game was shown at the E3 2003 Expo in Los Angeles, but has since been delayed. Released screenshots showed a game looking very similar to Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden , also in development at the time (released in early 2004). [4] Retro Gamer reported they "that Play It is to release the original Last Ninja trilogy on PS2. The graphics will be enhanced, but the gameplay and puzzles will remain intact. Again, this will be released in the next few months and priced at a very economical £10. It will also serve as a perfect appetiser for the fully 3D'd up Last Ninja 4, due out next year". [5] A new game has also been said to be cancelled at least three times, only to return to development. In 2007, System 3 CEO, Mark Cale, said the fourth Last Ninja was scrapped because it "simply wasn't good enough" and stated that Last Ninja would be returning in the form of a remade trilogy for Nintendo DS and Wii. [3] Cale said: "We've scrapped the fourth game. I felt it wasn't representative of the market. For Last Ninja 4, I think you need to do something that recreates that kind of 'wow' factor of the original game, and in my mind it wasn't good enough to wear that badge – so why cash in on a great name? We may as well leave it as it is. There will definitely be a fourth game. It'll either be a retro version with updated graphics but the same gameplay, or something that's going to be an epic, like a Final Fantasy game but with a more arcade feel". [6] No news of the game have been made and the project appears to be shelved.

Reception

In 2010, GamePro included Armakuni in their article "Top Ten video game ninjas". [7] Virgin Media included him on the list of top ten video game ninja heroes, but commenting the series itself "hasn't aged all that gracefully". [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Qix</i> 1981 arcade game

Qix is a 1981 puzzle video game developed by husband and wife team Randy and Sandy Pfeiffer and published in arcades by Taito America. Qix is one of a handful of games made by Taito's American division. At the start of each level, the playing field is a large, empty rectangle, containing the Qix, an abstract stick-like entity that performs graceful but unpredictable motions within the confines of the rectangle. The objective is to draw lines that close off parts of the rectangle to fill in a set amount of the playfield.

<i>Defender of the Crown</i> 1986 video game

Defender of the Crown is a strategy video game designed by Kellyn Beeck. It was Cinemaware's first game, and was originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1986, setting a new standard for graphic quality in home computer games.

<i>Spy vs. Spy</i> (1984 video game) 1984 video game

Spy vs. Spy is a video game written by Michael Riedel for the Commodore 64 and published by First Star Software in 1984. A port for the Atari 8-bit family was released simultaneously. It is a two-player, split-screen game, based on Mad magazine's long-running cartoon strip Spy vs. Spy, about the slapstick antics of two spies trying to kill each other with improbably elaborate traps and weapons.

<i>Paradroid</i> 1985 video game

Paradroid is a Commodore 64 computer game written by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson Consultants in 1985. It is a shoot 'em up with puzzle elements and was critically praised at release. The objective is to clear a fleet of spaceships of hostile robots by destroying them or taking them over via a mini-game. It was later remade as Paradroid 90 for the Commodore Amiga and Atari ST home computers and as Paradroid 2000 for the Acorn Archimedes. There exist several fan-made remakes for modern PCs. In 2004 the Commodore 64 version was re-released as a built-in game on the C64 Direct-to-TV, and in 2008 for the Wii Virtual Console in Europe.

<i>Paperboy</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Paperboy is an arcade action game developed and published by Atari Games, and released in 1985. The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a street on his bicycle. The arcade version of the game featured bike handlebars as the controller.

Thalamus Ltd was a British computer game developer that published titles for a number of 8-bit and 16-bit platforms during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

<i>Stunt Car Racer</i> 1989 video game

Stunt Car Racer is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in the United States, respectively. The game pits two racers on an elevated track on which they race in a head-to-head competition, with ramps they must correctly drive off as the main obstacle.

<i>Exile</i> (1988 video game) Single-player action-adventure video game first published in 1988

Exile is a single-player action-adventure video game originally published for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988 by Superior Software and later ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga, CD32 and Atari ST, all published by Audiogenic. The game was designed and programmed by Peter Irvin and Jeremy Smith. It is often cited as one of the earliest examples of a Metroidvania game and featured "realistic gravity, inertia and object mass years before players understood the concept of a physics engine... an astounding level of AI, stealth-based gameplay, a logical ecosystem governing the world's creatures and a teleportation mechanic that feels startlingly like a predecessor to Portal".

<i>Impossible Mission</i> 1984 video game

Impossible Mission is a video game originally written for the Commodore 64 by Dennis Caswell and published by Epyx in 1984. The game features a variety of gameplay mechanics from platform and adventure games, and includes digitized speech. Impossible Mission, which casts the player in the role of a secret agent infiltrating an enemy stronghold, is widely considered one of the best games for several platforms.

<i>Nebulus</i> (video game) 1987 video game

Nebulus is a platform game created by John M. Phillips and published by Hewson Consultants in the late 1980s for home computer systems. International releases and ports were known by various other names: Castelian, Kyorochan Land, Subline, and Tower Toppler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tynesoft</span> Former software developer and publisher

Tynesoft Computer Software was a software developer and publisher in the 1980s and early 1990s.

<i>Bone Cruncher</i> 1987 video game

Bone Cruncher is a puzzle video game for the Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, and Commodore 64 first published by Superior Software in 1987. It uses the "rocks and diamonds" mechanics of Boulder Dash. An Amiga version was released in 1988.

<i>The Last Ninja</i> 1987 video game

The Last Ninja is an action-adventure game originally developed and published by System 3 in 1987 for the Commodore 64. It was converted to the Apple IIGS, MS-DOS, BBC Micro and Acorn Electron in 1988, the Apple II series in 1989, the Amiga and Atari ST in 1990, and the Acorn Archimedes in 1991.

<i>Beach Head</i> (video game) 1983 video game

Beach-Head is a video game developed and published in 1983 by Access Software for the Atari 8-bit family and Commodore 64 home computers in the US. Versions for the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and Acorn Electron were published in Europe by U.S. Gold in 1984, followed by versions for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 16 and Plus/4 in 1985.

<i>Gridrunner</i> 1982 video game

Gridrunner is a fixed shooter video game written by Jeff Minter and published by Llamasoft for the VIC-20 in 1982. It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Commodore PET and Dragon 32. Many remakes and sequels have followed, including versions for the Atari ST, Amiga, Pocket PC, Microsoft Windows, and iOS.

<i>Last Ninja 3</i> 1991 video game

Last Ninja 3 is an action-adventure video game that was developed and published by System 3 for the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST in 1991. It is a sequel to the 1988 game Last Ninja 2.

<i>Last Ninja 2</i> 1988 video game

Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance is an action-adventure video game developed and published by System 3 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1988 as a sequel to the 1987 game The Last Ninja. The Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, 1990: Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS and NES ports followed in 1989. The NES version of the game was named simply The Last Ninja. In 1990, the Last Ninja Remix edition of the game was re-released for 8-bit systems.

<i>Judge Dredd</i> (1991 video game) 1991 video game

Judge Dredd is a 1991 platform shoot 'em up video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by Random Access and published by Virgin Mastertronic. It was released in Europe in 1991, for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Critics found the gameplay repetitive.

<i>Pink Panther</i> (video game) 1988 video game

Pink Panther is a 1988 video game based on the character of the same name. It was developed by German company Magic Bytes and published by Gremlin Graphics. It was released in Europe for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. Pink Panther was criticized for its control and difficulty, although the Amiga and Atari ST versions received praise for their graphics.

References

  1. ↑ "Ninja Without A Half-Shell". The One. No. 27. emap Images. December 1990. p. 28.
  2. 1 2 Review – Last Ninja 4 – Games That Weren't 64 (GTW64)
  3. 1 2 3 LN4 News – Last Ninja Archives
  4. ↑ Last Ninja 4 screenshots
  5. ↑ Retro Gamer 7, page 6.
  6. ↑ Retro Gamer 18, page 57.
  7. ↑ Top Ten video game ninjas, GamePro, 6 August 2010.
  8. ↑ Armakuni (The Last Ninja) – Top ten ninjas – Pictures – Games – Virgin Media
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.