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is a 1990
side-scrolling A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling grap ...
beat 'em up A 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 Side-scrolling video game, scrolling, 2D c ...
video game developed by
Alpha Denshi , formerly known as , was a Japanese video game developer founded in 1980. ADK began as a developer of arcade games and is best known for their library of SNK Neo Geo (system), Neo Geo titles, including for its home consoles, produced in partner ...
and published by
SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...
. It was one of the launch titles for both the
Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...
MVS (arcade) and AES (home) systems.


Gameplay

The journey takes the ninja heroes from an
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
to the top of a tower. Along the way, they must survive endless attacks from the members of Kage Ichizoku and their minions. The protagonists Joe and Hayabusa use
shuriken A is a Japanese concealed weapon used by samurai or ninja or in martial arts as a hidden dagger or '' metsubushi'' to distract or misdirect. History The origins of the ''bo-shuriken'' in Japan are still unclear, despite continuing researc ...
as their primary weapon, although other weapons that aid them along the way are
nunchaku is a traditional East-Asian martial arts weapon consisting of two sticks (traditionally made of wood), connected to each other at their ends by a short metal chain or a rope. It is approximately (sticks) and (rope). A person who has pract ...
, maces, ratchets, battle axes, spiked clubs, and
katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
swords. A special
somersault A somersault (also ''flip'', ''heli'', and in gymnastics ''salto'') is an acrobatics, acrobatic exercise in which a person's body Rotation#Sports, rotates 360° around a horizontal axis with the feet passing over the Human head, head. A somersau ...
attack can be used to knock down multiple enemies in a row. As an art of ''ninpo kairou'', a fire dragon (Joe) or lightning strike (Hayabusa) can be summoned to destroy all enemies on the screen.''Ninja Combat'' user's manual (Neo Geo AES, US) The heroes die if their life force runs out or time expires. Per 1,500 points scored or they pick up a gold capsule, they earn an extra life. There are seven levels in all.


Plot

The story, set in the year "199X", follows the twin
ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
warriors named Joe (ジョー) and Hayabusa (ハヤブサ, lit. "Falcon") (not to be mistaken with
Joe Musashi is a series of hack-and-slash games created by Sega. The ninja (''shinobi'') Joe Musashi is the protagonist of the original series of games ('' Shinobi'' to '' Shinobi III''). The first ''Shinobi'' was released in 1987 as an arcade video game. ...
or
Ryu Hayabusa is a fictional character and the protagonist of Koei Tecmo's '' Ninja Gaiden'' action game series. He is a human-dragon hybrid who wields an ancestral weapon called the Dragon Sword, and is the leader of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan. One of Tecmo's m ...
), who are waging a battle against an evil ninja clan Kage Ichizoku (影一族, lit. "Shadow Family"). Their mission is to fight their way into the enemy home fortress, the Ninja Tower (ニンジャタワー, "Ninjatawa"), which has emerged from the ocean in the center of
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, to once and for all defeat the Shadow Family and its leader, the long thought-dead demon sorcerer Genyousai. When defeated, three of the minibosses: Musashi (ムサシ), Kagerow (カゲロウ, lit. "Mayfly") and Gembu (ゲンブ), become allies and fight alongside Joe and Hayabusa as optional player characters. If the heroes are victorious, Genyousai is destroyed and the Ninja Tower crumbles.


Release

''Ninja Combat'' was originally released in Japanese arcades on July 24, 1990. Its home version was released internationally for the
Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...
in 1991 and for the
Neo Geo CD The is a home video game console produced by SNK Corporation, released on September 9, 1994. The system is the same platform as the cartridge-based Neo Geo released four years earlier, but converted to the cheaper CD media format which reta ...
on October 31, 1994 in Japan only. The original
soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
for both ''Ninja Combat'' and ''
The Super Spy is an early Neo Geo game released by SNK in 1990. It is a first-person shooter and beat 'em up game with action role-playing elements in which players move through the many floors of an office building shooting terrorists. It is a first-person ...
'', along with the arranged versions by SNK Sound Team and KONNY, was published by
Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese company, established on October 1, 1966, which distributes music, films, home video, and video games. It is affiliated with the Japanese media group Fujisankei Communications Group. Pony Canyo ...
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 ...
on November 21, 1990. ''Ninja Combat'' was re-released through
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
's
Virtual Console The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable retro video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems. The Virtual Console lineup consisted of titles originally released on pa ...
download service in Europe and Australia on October 26, 2007, and in North America on June 2, 2008. It is also one of the five games ported to the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
in the game compilation '' ADK Damashii'' in 2008.


Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed the game on their December 15, 1990 issue as being the eighteenth most-popular arcade game at the time. It was more successful in North America, where it was an arcade hit. The ''RePlay'' arcade charts listed ''Ninja Combat'' as the second most-popular software conversion kit from November to December 1990, and then the top-grossing software conversion kit in January 1991. The game has received mixed reception from critics since its release in arcades and other platforms. ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...
''s four reviewers commended the audiovisual presentation and playable characters having their own fighting style but criticized the Neo Geo AES version for using unlimited continues, short length, easy difficulty and repetitive gameplay. ''
Raze Raze may refer to: * Demolition **Slighting * Raze, Haute-Saône, a town in France * Raze (Underworld), a fictional character in the Underworld films * Raze (magazine), a videogame magazine published by Newsfield Publications from 1990-1991 * ''Ra ...
''s Julian Boardman also shared a similar opinion, stating that the use of unlimited continues hampered both gameplay and challenge. However, ''
ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
''s Tony Dillon argued with this sentiment by claiming on his review that the unlimited continue feature was a hardware design flaw on the first batch of AES systems. Dillon praised the game's audiovisual presentation, stating that "this game is fulfilling what the Neo Geo promises - a standard arcade machine for the home" but criticized its short length. French magazine ''
Joystick A joystick, sometimes called a flight stick, is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. Also known as the control column, it is the principal control devic ...
'' regarded ''Ninja Combat'' as one of the best beat 'em ups on consoles and comparing it with ''
Double Dragon is a beat 'em up video game series originally developed and published by Technōs Japan. It began with the release of the arcade game '' Double Dragon'' in 1987. The series features twin martial artists, Billy and Jimmy Lee, as they fight again ...
'' and ''
Final Fight ''Final Fight'' is a series of beat 'em up video games by Japanese publisher Capcom, which began with the arcade release of '' Final Fight'' in 1989. Set in the fictional Metro City, within the '' Street Fighter'' universe, the games focus on ...
'', praising the audio and visuals as well as the sprite animations and controls highly but criticized the overall short length. ''Superjuegos'' Alberto Pascual praised the game's ability to recruit defeated minibosses as playable characters and two-player mode but felt mixed in regards to the originality on-display. ''
Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...
Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. History In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...
'' compared the title with '' Shadow Warriors'', commending the audiovisual presentation but criticized the gameplay for being dull and boring to play, easy difficulty and short length. In a similar manner, Italian publication ''Consolemania'' also compared it with ''Shadow Warriors'', praising the graphics but criticized certain aspects of both audio and playability.


Retrospective

Retrospectively, the Neo Geo and Wii releases hold a 38% score on the video game review aggregator ''
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
'', based on three reviews. ''
AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...
''s Kyle Knight heavily criticized its overall design, unacceptable graphics, audio, controls, technical issues and cheap gameplay, stating that "''Ninja Combat'' is a poorly conceived, poorly executed game." ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
''s Dan Whitehead claimed ''Ninja Combat'' to be a "rip-off" of other titles in the beat 'em up genre such as ''
Shinobi A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...
'' (1987), ''
Ninja Gaiden is a media franchise based on action video games by Tecmo featuring the ninja Ryu Hayabusa as its protagonist. The series was originally known as in Japan. The word " gaiden" in the North American ''Ninja Gaiden'' title means "side story" in J ...
'' (1988) and ''
Streets of Rage ''Streets of Rage'' (titled ''Bare Knuckle'' in Japan) is a series of side-scrolling beat 'em up video games. It centers on the efforts of several ex-police vigilantes trying to rid the fictional American metropolis of Wood Oak City of a crime ...
'' (1991), praising the graphics and ability to recruit additional characters but criticizing the collision detection, stiff animations, poor controls, lack of ideas and short length. ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
''s Lucas M. Thomas called it "a profoundly unappealing gameplay experience," opining that "anything potentially innovative or interesting about ''Ninja Combat'' gets totally defeated by its terribly stiff control and overly difficult programming." ''
Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
''s Damien McFerran criticized the visuals for being uninspired and character designs, while stating that its gameplay is not comparable to ''Streets of Rage'' or ''Final Fight''.


See also

* '' Gang Wars'' * ''
Ninja Commando is a vertically scrolling run and gun video game developed by Alpha Denshi and published by SNK for the Neo Geo (console), Neo Geo arcade and home systems in 1992. It was released for the Neo Geo CD in 1994. Gameplay The overall gameplay is ...
''


Notes


References


External links


''Ninja Combat''
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GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Ninja Combat''
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Giant Bomb ''Giant Bomb'' is an American video game website and wiki that includes personality-driven gaming videos, commentary, news and reviews, created by former ''GameSpot'' editors Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The website was voted by ''Time (maga ...

''Ninja Combat''
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Killer List of Videogames Museum of the Game, which includes the Killer List of Videogames (KLOV), is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and h ...

''Ninja Combat''
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MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...
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