Ninja Spirit

Little did you know when you bade your father goodnight that evening that those simple words would be the last he would ever hear you speak. That night a hideous wolf-like animal creeps into the camp and attacks your father. Unable to help, you're forced to watch helplessly as he dies a brutal, painful death. The creature disappears without a trace, but holding back your grief, you strike out into the darkness to search for your father's murderer.

You and Your Shadows

Ninja Spirit from IREM is a seven level, two player (non-simultaneous) tale of revenge. From the onset you wield an incredible variety of weapons including a sword, dynamite, shurikens, and a grappling hook. Each weapon has three levels of power, and you can easily change weapons anytime by simply punching Select.

In addition to the standard ninja gear, you also command "spirits." Spirits are shadow warriors that mirror your image and your moves. You get them by grabbing special power-up orbs. You can control up to two spirit shadows at once. More importantly, though, you can position them above, behind, or in front of you to serve as shields. They also use the same weapon you do.

Flying Moon-doggies

The first leg of your journey (Stages 1, 2, and 3) takes you through the ruins of a temple, a dark forest, an expansive valley, and, finally, a spooky moonlit swamp, complete with ghostly foes! Dogs, evil ninjas, animated temple statues, and tree-spirits are just a few of the enemies who attack you from every direction, including from under the ground!

Beyond the Den of the Demons

The next leg of your journey takes you through yet another three levels of terrifying danger. First, you find yourself in a subterranean passageway where the ceiling threatens to crush you. Next, you climb the side of a sheer cliff while being pelted by the Evil Wind. Finally, it's up and over the top of the cliff and right into the heat of a raging thunderstorm, where ghost warriors rain down on you from the sky.

Clan of the Cave Ninjas

In the seventh and final part of the journey, appropriately dubbed the Bloody Battle, you'll find yourself inside the belly of an eerie stalactite-encrusted cave. It's here that your nemesis awaits you. Getting to him presents a serious problem, however, as you must jump off a cliff to reach his hideaway. And, that's the simple part! As you free-fall downwards, ninjas with swords charge upwards, right at you. You'll have a heck of a time figuring out their flight patterns, but it can be done.

Superior Spirit

Ninja Spirit is by far one of the finer Tur-boGrafx-16 games to hit the streets this year. As always, the graphics are incredibly detailed, colorful, and pleasing to the eye. The Spirits add a unique dimension to the game, but although they're easy to maneuver, it can get confusing when all three ninjas are jumping around at once. Some of the big bosses are a bit on the easy side, too. In the overall picture, however, the great gameplay easily overcomes these minor drawbacks. And, if you're really a hot-shot, try tackling the Turbo-Mode. In this mode you begin the game with just one life, as compared to the five you start off with in the Standard Mode. Lots of luck!

THE SHADOW NINJAS HAVE COME...

Many years ago, as written in the ancient scrolls, the Orient was ruled by a very powerful tong. The people of the kingdom lived in fear as the emperor and his followers believed only in violence and cared little about their subjects. Many times the people would band together to overthrow the ruler but his forces were masters of the ancient art of ninjitsu and were more than a match for any army. That is until now. You also possess that skill and even more as you are able to create the illusion of the shadow ninja. Armed with these abilities you alone must penetrate the enemy's defenses and silence the evil ruler once and for all.

Ninja Spirit is NEC's newest ninja-type action game. Set in a side view perspective, you must fight your way through 7 grueling stages of intense action against an army of enemy warriors using only your wits and your martial arts weapons including the katana (sword), shur-iken (throwing stars) and the kusar-igama (sickle and chain). Beginning in the ruins of an ancient temple you must search for and gather up the various power ups along the way. Red capsules add strength and distance to your weapons while others give you helpful phantom shadow ninjas or inflict damage to all of the enemy on the screen or others which give you the deadly fire shield. All of your weapons will have to be powered up when you confront the huge and powerful full screen end of round bosses.

Your Father Is Murdered Right Before Your Eyes, But Who Was That Half-Man/Half-Beast Ninja? There's No Time For Mourning, Just Time For Avenging His Death. You Play Moonlight in This Translation of the Arcade Game of the Same Name. You Must Guide Moonlight Through the Seven Stages As You Try to Find and Annihilate the Evil Ninja Who Murdered Your Father.

What's a young ninja to do? Your father was murdered right before your eyes by another evil ninja in the guise of a wolf (your average ninja in wolf's clothing). As Moonlight, your quest is to seek out the beast that killed your father and tear him, as well as his cronies, limb from limb.

Ninja Spirit is a horizontally scrolling martial-arts fighting game that originally appeared in the arcade. Game play is divided into seven areas, each filled with followers of the dark side of ninja magic. the backgrounds consist of dark temples and stormy nighttime landscapes and provide a perfect backdrop for the action. Wind-blasted trees, steep cliffs and rocky outcroppings must be carefully navigated while keeping alert for enemies. in the temple and cave areas, your character may actually move along the ceiling to evade the dark ninja's attacks. A variety of weapons are at your disposal. Each stage is designed so that a specific weapon will be most effective throughout, but weapon changes are still needed often. the sword is the standard weapon. You'll also attack with throwing stars, a bamboo bomb and a sickle and chain for long distance attacks. All of the above weapons are avail-able immediately and don't have to be collected. Changing weapons is as simple as pressing the SELECT button anytime during play.

Along the way, certain ninjas will appear that, when killed, provide power-ups. One type of power-up increases your weapon power, while another acts as a smart bomb, clearing the screen of enemies. Another power-up provides up to two additional "shadows" of yourself that copy your movements exactly (including all jumps and shots taken) but cannot be hurt. the last power-up surrounds your characters with a shield of yellow fire, helping to protect you from enemy shots for a short time.

As each level is completed, a boss must be defeated (standard operating procedure). Some may be hurt only with certain weapons, and each requires some strategy and practice to defeat.

Both one- and two-player modes are available; the two players alternate as one or the other dies. Two modes of play are possible: the first is like the arcade version in that, if your player is hit, he dies. the second version allows your player to be hit five times before kicking off. An on-screen indicator in the upper-left and -right corners show your current weapon and the number of hits remaining, if applicable. The game provides unlimited continues, and believe me, you'll need them. It takes some time to figure out which weapons to use where and devise a strategy that will get you through an area alive. Even if you know how to get through an area, the game play is so frantic that you will most certainly be kept on your toes.

If you want an idea of how the NEC version looks and plays, check out the arcade version. the translation to the TurboGrafx-16 is practically flawless. the graphics are excellent, as are the sound effects and music. the animation is smooth, and flicker is evident only when the screen is really packed. Don't expect any cartoonish graphics and action here. Dragon Spirit is a great example of the TurboGrafx-16's abilities.