The Legend of Kage

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The Legend of Kage
Screenshot (NES version)
Developer(s)	Taito Corporation
Publisher(s)	Taito Corporation
Release date(s)	^JPN 1985 (Arcade) ^JPN 1986 (consoles) ^NA 1987 (consoles)
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	CERO: A
Platform(s)	Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, MSX, Nintendo Entertainment System, ZX Spectrum, Virtual Console

The Legend of Kage (影の伝説; Kage no Densetsu) is a 1985 arcade game by Taito and was released for several contemporary home computer systems the year after. The NES version was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on December 19, 2006, and in the United States on February 19, 2007.

The object is for a ninja named Kage to rescue Princess Kiri from mystical villains. Kage must fight his way through the forest, along the secret passageway, up the fortress wall and through the castle, rescuing her two times in order to win the game. Each time she is rescued, the seasons change. The player is armed with swords and star knives. Grabbing a scroll causes Kage to stand still and meditate for several seconds while approaching enemies drop to the ground dead. The enemies are:

Red and blue Shinobis, or evil ninja, using swords and star knives. The red shinobis also use bombs.
Yohbohs, or magic monks, including a red Yohboh who has cast a spell on the forest to keep Kage from escaping.
Genboh, the fire-using villain leaders in the summer stage and can split himself in two.
Yuki (Yukinosuke Kiri), an evil ninja, the leader in the autumn stage who uses two swords simultaneously to deflect Kage's knives.
Yoshi (Yohshirou Yukigusa), the evil samurai warlord and leader in the winter stage whose magic confuses Kage, leaving him vulnerable.

[edit] Trivia

In MXC episode 607 The V.G.A.D.D. Awards, Vic and Kenny were playing Legend of Kage.
The game is #9 on Seanbaby's "20 Worst NES Games of All Time" list.
Taito released a pseudo-sequel called Demon Sword in 1989.
In the Manga version of Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo, Bo-Bobo, Don Patch, and Jelly Jiggler use a move called "Legend of Kage Jump" during their fight with Kanemaru. Bo-Bobo even says, "Hey you, give me back my princess".