Shadow of the Ninja

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Shadow of the Ninja gameplay.

Shadow of the Ninja is a side-scrolling action video game published in 1991 by Natsume for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and was originally released under the title KAGE in Japan. "Kage" means "shadow" in Japanese. The object of the game is to save the world from an evil emperor by defeating enemies throughout progressing levels in order to reach and defeat him. The game supports up to two players. Because of the content regulations in Europe at the time concerning the depiction of Ninjutsu and violent martial arts, the game was retitled as Blue Shadow in these countries.

[edit] Plot

The game is set in the year 2029 A.D. An evil, oppressive emperor named Emperor Garuda has taken over New York City, causing the deaths of many people. In response to the oppression, two 'shadows' (or Ninjas) by the names of Hayate and Kaede rise up to stop him.

[edit] Gameplay

The player can select one of two ninjas: male (a blue ninja named Hayate) and female (a red ninja named Kaede). Each ninja can run, attack, jump, duck, and hang from railings. Both ninjas start out with a short sword, but there are "weapon-pods" in each level that can be broken to obtain new weapons. Powerups to the sword are available, as well as health powerups. The player's health bar decreases when falling in a pit or getting hit by an enemy's attack. If a player loses all of their health, he or she will have five chances to continue. However, in two-player cooperative mode, the continues are shared between the two players.