The Last Ninja

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The Last Ninja

Developer(s)	System 3, Eclipse
Publisher(s)	System 3, Activision, Superior Software
Platform(s)	Commodore 64, Apple IIGS, BBC Micro/Acorn Electron, MS-DOS, NES, Atari ST, Amiga, Acorn Archimedes, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, (demo), Virtual Console
Release date	1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
Genre(s)	Action-adventure game
Mode(s)	Single Player
Media	Tape, Floppy, Cartridge, Download from the Wii Shop Channel
Input methods	Joystick, keyboard

The Last Ninja is an action-adventure computer game that was developed and published by System 3 in 1987 for the Commodore 64. As the first in The Last Ninja Series, it set the standard for the unique look and feel for its sequels; Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance (1988), Last Ninja Remix (1990) and Last Ninja 3: Real Hatred is Timeless (1991).

Other format conversions were later released for the Apple IIGS, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron and Acorn Archimedes in 1989. Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions were planned, and in progress, but never appeared. The Commodore 64 version was released to the Wii Virtual Console in Europe on April 25, 2008.

The game was one of the most successful games released on the Commodore C64, achieving sales in excess of two million copies world wide. It also won many awards and gained positive reviews from the gaming journalism.

1 Plot
2 Gameplay
- 2.1 Levels
3 Development
4 Reception
5 Port comparisons
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Plot

After two hundred years of Fujiwara Clan rule, whose lifestyle was the most extravagant of any Shogunate, the farmers and common men decided to leave their homes and travel to the Togakure mountains where they established the Ninjutsu, The Mystic Shadow Warriors. Four centuries later the Ninjutsu had become the most feared warriors of their day, feared by even the powerful Samurai. Their mastery of weapon craft and mind control ensured swift and complete victory over their enemies from the years of arduous training that forged mind and body into a death-dealing machine.

Kunitoki, the evil Shogun of the Ashikaga Clan, has long envied the powers of the Ninja brotherhood and would do anything to acquire their knowledge. To this end he has sworn an oath to their total destruction. Once every decade all Ninjutsu must travel to the Island of Lin Fen where they pay homage to the Shrine of the White Ninja and receive further teachings from the Koga Scrolls.

Seizing the opportunity Kunitoki summoned forth all the spirits from the depths of the Nether World and flung their full force against the amassed Ninjutsu. None escaped the wrath of Kunitoki. Nothing stood in the way of the Shogun achieving his ultimate goal, the knowledge of the Ninja. He set sail for the island of Lin Fen with an elite force of his Palace Guards and Samurai officers to begin the arduous training of his troops and thereby creating a new era of Ninja under his control.

Unknown to Kunitoki, Armakuni, the last Ninja, had escaped his wrath. When all his brethren had left for the pilgrimage he had been ordered to stay and guard the Bunjinkan Shrine. This tradition had existed since the dawn of the Ninja as a safeguard should any natural disaster befall the brotherhood when it amassed at Lin Fen. Armakuni was not pleased he had been left alone for he was to be granted the next level of honour at the reading of the scrolls; now he would have to wait. Word soon reached Armakuni of the unnatural disaster that had slain his brothers and gathering all his courage he swore to wreak a terrible and bloody revenge on the Shogun and all his followers.

The Island of Lin Fen is a natural fortress with unassailable cliffs surrounding its coast. Having visited the Island when he was a young acolyte he knew the secret passage that would lead him to the Palace of Lin Fen. Armakuni's confidence was short lived as he discovered the pathways were not as he remembered them; what unforeseen hazards lay in wait for him?^[1]

[edit] Gameplay

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The Last Ninja contains a blend of exploration, puzzle solving and combat. The object of the game is to journey to the palace of the evil Shogun Kunitoki to destroy him and retrieve the sacred scrolls. As the player progresses, Kunitoki's henchmen become more challenging as they learn the ways of the ninja.

The interface consists of the opponents' energy and collected inventory (on the right) and player's health (on the bottom). The world is viewed in an isometric perspective allowing the player to move in eight directions. Movements are relative to the direction Armakuni is facing but restricted to predefined paths (the scenery being inaccessible). Composure and precision must be used when navigating and jumping around obstacles, traps and fatal features of the terrain. By approaching and kneeling at certain landmarks, such as shrines to Buddha and water fountains, an indication of what to collect next is revealed. These items are often hidden in trees or bushes and flash shortly after entering a new screen.

Attack moves are executed by combinations of directional controls with the fire button for attacking the opponent's head, torso and legs. Weapons like the sword, nunchaku, staff, shuriken and smoke bombs, can be equipped.

[edit] Levels

The island of Lin Fen is split into six distinct enclosed sections. They have to be tackled in a sequential order, each with their own unique challenges and items to collect.

The Wastelands (C64)

The Wastelands is set in bright green grassland surrounded by a rocky landscape consisting of 25 screens. Armakuni has to somersault from rock to rock to cross a swampy pit to find critical items like the pouch and key to complete the game. This level also features a fire-breathing dragon.
The Wilderness has mountain ranges, caves and a small bamboo forest contained within 27 screens. Armakuni has to claw his way up and then down a steep cliff and execute pin-point jumping.
The Palace Gardens paints a picture of tranquility with flying white doves, magnificent waterfalls and flower beds over 25 screens. It also features a blue dragon and a ruined Buddha shrine.

The Dungeons (C64)

The Dungeons. A trap door drops Armakuni into an abandoned, dreadful place filled with torture chambers and dead ends over 24 screens. This eerie place is inhabited by scurrying spiders, rats, ghosts and skeletons that jump to life.
The Palace is decorated by Asiatic furniture and is full of highly trained guards over 15 screens. Down the hall is a sword throwing statue that is particularly difficult to pass, requiring the player to stay close to the wall.
The Inner Sanctum has a secret passage and a threatening archer statue within 15 screens that lead up to the final confrontation. The journey ends with a tough duel with the armoured Kunitoki. After his defeat the scrolls are revealed.

[edit] Development

Other format conversions were published by Activision in 1987 for Apple IIGS and in 1988 for the Atari ST, MS-DOS. Superior Software published conversions for the BBC Micro, Acorn Electron in 1989 and Acorn Archimedes in 1992. The Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum versions never appeared despite being in production.^[2]. A TRS-80 Color Computer 3 version was also announced in the 1989 Computer Catalogue,^[3] but it was also never released.

Designer and Concept
Mark Cale
Storyboard and Additional design
Tim Best
Programming
John Twiddy (C64)
Marc Rosocha, Klaus-Peter Plog, Lothar Becks (Atari ST & Amiga)
Peter Fokos (Apple II & MS-DOS)
Peter Scott (Acorn Electron & BBC Micro)
Graphics
Hugh Riley (C64)
Hugh Riley, Erik Simon, Tim Lange (Atari ST & Amiga)
Erol Otus (Apple II & MS-DOS)
Peter Scott (Acorn Electron & BBC Micro)
Original music
Ben Daglish, Anthony Lees (C64)
Jochen Hippel (Atari ST & Amiga)
Russell Lieblich (MS-DOS)
Robert Kelly (Apple II)

[edit] Reception

"Last Ninja was the most successful original game ever on the Commodore C64. In Europe the sales for the C64 version alone were in excess of 750,000 units and international multi-format sales exceeded 2,000,000 units. It won almost every award available and was critically acclaimed everywhere as an original, ground-breaking game. There is no C64 gamer that has not heard of Last Ninja. Even today, people still talk about the impact it had on the gaming world."^[4]

[edit] Port comparisons

Originally designed for Commodore 64, its music was composed by Ben Daglish and Anthony Lees on the SID chip that set the game apart from the other conversions. Featuring 11 full-length songs, each lasting between two and five minutes, when most games for the C64 had only one or two tunes).
The Amiga version Ninja Remix was a direct port from the Atari ST, developed by Eclipse Software Design. Although it was faithful and highly playable despite lacking some of the sound atmosphere and fulfilment of its Commodore 64 predecessor. Furthermore, the opponents were seen as easy to kill in comparison to the Commodore 64 release.
The Apple IIGS, had colourful graphics, but at a lower resolution. The in-game music was virtually non-existent, with music only played before the start of a new level. Poor controls were the biggest issue, with inputs coming from either the keypad with open-apple as the fire button or toggling over to the joystick (Apple-J). However, unlike the Commodore 64 version, the player could save (Control-S) and restore (Control-R) their current position in the game.
The MS-DOS conversion had relatively primitive EGA graphics and was unable to match the unique 16 colour palette of the Commodore 64.
The Acorn Electron and BBC Micro versions used only 4 colours instead of 16 and sprites instead of the complicated distortion routine the C64 used to change 2D base graphics into 3D. The changes were required to squeeze the game into 25k per load (instead of the 60k available to the C64).
The Color Computer version was never released, but a nearly finished development version was displayed at the 2007 CoCoFest near Chicago. According to one of the developers, the game was based on the C64 graphics.