is a

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

laserdisc video game An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, o ...

first developed and released by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, Toy, toys, arcade cabinets, and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, Vending machine, vending machines, and Juk ...

and Malone Films for arcades in Japan and the United States. The game was later ported to the

Sega CD The Sega CD, known as in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory and format for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. Originally released in November 1991, it ca ...

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

as ''Revenge of the Ninja'' in 1994.

Arcade game

The game tells the story of a skilled and daring teenage

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 ...

named Hayate, infiltrating an evil castle in an attempt to rescue a princess he loves. Hayate must survive a collection of deathtraps and defeat a variety of mythological creatures and other adversaries on his quest to save the princess and destroy the castle. The game draws players to guide Hayate with a

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 ...

for moving him around and one button for using weapons through 15 different stages that take place in

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...

-based areas. There are three difficulty levels. Like earlier laserdisc games such as

Don Bluth Donald Virgil Bluth ( ; born September 13, 1937) is an American filmmaker, animator, video game designer and author. He came to prominence working for Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions before creating his own film studio in ...

's ''

Dragon's Lair ''Dragon's Lair'' is a video game franchise created by Rick Dyer. The series is notable for its film-quality animation by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, and complex decades-long history of being ported to many platforms. It has also been adapte ...

'', ''Ninja Hayate'' contains traps and creatures that requires players to dodge or attack them at specific moments, by watching for the warning buzzer (like ''Dragon's Lair'') in addition to flashing objects (e.g. arrows, buttons, light, etc.). If a player makes a mistake, one life decreases, and when players run out of lives, the game ends. Unlike Don Bluth's laserdisc games, ''Ninja Hayate'' is animated with

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

drawings by

Toei Animation is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...

. Another difference is that the game flashes the buttons that need to be pressed directly on the screen. Sometimes it also flashes multiple possible button presses on screen, indicating different paths that the player can take. Another difference is that some traps are randomly generated, so that the game is not identical every playthrough.

Home versions

The Sega CD version was published by Renovation Products,

Telenet Japan was a Japanese Video game developer, video game and software developer founded in October 1983 by Kazuyuki Fukushima. The company had several video game divisions including: Wolf Team, Laser Soft, Renovation Game (Japanese publishing division), ...

's North American subsidiary. Renovation sent "Master of the Ninja Arts" diplomas to players who mailed them photographic proof that they had beaten the game on hard mode. ''Revenge of the Ninja'' was also later converted by Ecseco to the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

and

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

. These versions were released only in Japan as part of a double bill with '' Time Gal'', another animated laserdisc arcade game conversion made by Taito, as ''Interactive Movie Action - Time Gal and Ninja Hayate''.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Ninja Hayate'' on their January 15, 1985 issue as being the fourth most-successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of the month. The following month, it was the top-grossing upright/cockpit arcade unit in February 1985. ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' gave the Sega CD version a mixed review, considering the game to be inferior to ''

'' and '' Time Gal'' with the gameplay lacking in "dramatics" and with "grainy and soupy looking" graphics. They said players "won't be disappointed" if they "like these types of games" but if they don't, they should avoid the game. The five reviewers of ''

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 ...

'' gave it a 32 out of 50 (8, 7, 5, 6 and 6 out of 10), commenting that the gameplay relies more on memorization than anything else. Although positive to game's animation, they said that it is more a treat to watch than to play.

Legacy

The original arcade version had no music except opening and ending theme. Entire music played on the Sega CD version were newly composed.

References

External links