Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

As someone who has been gaming for nearly all of my life, it's easy for me to consider myself jaded. As the years pass, I find myself on fewer and fewer launch day lines. The anticipation I used to feel when awaiting a new arrival just isn't there. The thrill is gone. It's just not the same and there are a lot of reasons for that. I have a job, a full time school schedule, a serious relationship, and though I'm doing my damnedest to fight it, I find myself becoming a responsible adult. But more than that, as technology advances at an exponential rate and developers find themselves with deeper and deeper pockets, production values are so high across the board that it's hard for a game to really stand out and wow me. Somewhat ironic than that the first game to bring that feeling back for me in a long time is running on hardware roughly equivalent to 8-bits.

Having been sucking down more than my share of Nintendo flavored Kool-Aid during the heyday of the TurboGrafx-16, I can hardly be blamed for having Ninja Spirit slip beneath my radar. Because the truth is that the only reason I can rationalize such a gem of an action title remaining hidden from my sight for so long is that it was running on hardware doomed to relative obscurity. Make no mistake about it, had this game been running on a Genesis or an SNES, it'd be impossible not to mention it in the same breath as the Contras, Ninja Gaidens, and Shinobis of our generation. Not quite like any other game I've ever played and maintaining a Gunstar-esque level of intensity throughout, Irem's Ninja platformer is one for the ages. It's just a damn shame that nobody seems to remember.

But enough with the hyperbole. I'm not quite clear on the game’s plotline, but the premise involves a murder, a man-beast and, having to do with ninjas, a hearty dose of vengeance. More than enough justification for me; Ninja Spirit wastes little time in tossing you into your first melee, which maybe is a little underwhelming at first. Your character is small and moves along at little more than a jog. Your sword doesn't extend too far out in front of you and your jumps are about as floaty as any game characters that I can recall. But before long, your at first underwhelming sword attack is powered up into a massive crescent slash, and those floaty jumps lend the game the feel of an over the top Hong Kong action movie as you meet enemies head on in the air, flying through the night sky and leaving nothing but destruction in your wake. The action is so satisfying in this state that had that been all there was, Ninja Spirit would have been a damn fine little platformer regardless. But we're just getting started, merely grazing the tip of a gigantic iceberg of gameplay goodness.

You are capable at any time of switching between any one of four primary weapons, something quite innovative for a platformer made in 1989, I'm sure. The first is the sword that you start with. Capable of being swung in four directions and being able to destroy enemy projectiles in a most satisfying manner, this is probably the most useful of the four. The second is a deceptively powerful shuriken, the third a bonafide boss killer in the form of a throwable explosive, and finally, a hook and sickle capable of being swung around in 360 degrees. Each weapon, like the sword, can be powered up from its base state by collecting red orb powerups dropped by fallen foes. The second facet of gameplay being worthy of note is the game's namesake, the ninja spirit. Upon picking up a specified powerup, a shadow figure mimicking your own movements and actions appears on the screen. Pick up another and they stack as you become a three man wrecking crew, the screen turning into a virtual train wreck as you and your ninja posse plow through. A similar idea was also seen in Ninja Gaiden 2, but the difference here is that (aside from coming out first) the over the top ‘floaty' gameplay coupled with the ginormous amount of respawning enemies on screen means that there is a ridiculous amount of ass to be kicked. The action never lets up.

But what makes the above concept so effective, I think, is that it is implemented as a staple gameplay feature, and not merely as a special ability. This means that the game is designed in a way that is quite aware of the fact that you're ridiculously overpowered and compensates nicely. For one, the focus isn't so much on individual enemies as it is on their sheer number. Ninja Spirit is a war of attrition because with three sets of swords slashing it's not uncommon to be slicing up foes you weren't aware were present in the first place. But while this might mean the action would degenerate down into mindless button mashing in the hands of a lesser developer, Irem, the kings of intelligent game design, use your seemingly over-powered nature to add a unique spin to the action platform genre. Namely, most of your time will be spent deflecting and quelling the relentless attack from the enemy which comes from all sides. In a welcome twist, your immense offense is best used to form an impenetrable defense. Complicating things, however, is the matter of one hit kills. On the default difficulty setting, some attacks will not kill you in one hit, but most will. This lends a certain urgency to the gameplay as you jump up into the air to meet an oncoming enemy and all of a sudden see one of those one hit kill attacks hurling up at you from below, as you fight against your momentum and struggle to direct your attack downwards to deflect the blow. Of course there's the hard difficulty setting, in which anything kills you in one hit so this dynamic is lost somewhat and is replaced by an ever present paranoia as anything, from anywhere, at anytime, can spell game over. Also engaging, if only in a masochistic sort of way.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
8.5	+ Little flicker, breakup, or slowdown with all the massive amount of carnage on screen. + Solid boss designs and great effects on the weaponry. - Backgrounds tend to be a little sparse and repetitive.
8.0	+/- Fitting, though largely unmemorable soundtrack. + Sound effects are very well done.
9.4	++ Fiercely original take on a familiar genre, captures the invincible ninja vibe better than almost any game I can think of.
9.0	+ Solid feudal Japan theme carried throughout. Excellent.
8.5	+ Four weapons and two difficulty modes add a bit, but basically what you see is what you get.
9.4	++ A solid action platformer, amongst the best I have ever seen. Gameplay that still stands up to 95% of the games currently on store shelves. Possibly Irem's best work this side of R-Type.

	Ninja Spirit
	Platform: TurboGrafx-16 • Developer: Irem • Genre: Action • ESRB Rating: N/A • Words: Man9child