Well, I think that my ass has healed enough after getting kicked so much by Ninja Gaiden III, so I think it is about time that we jump back into another Ninja Gaiden game, but this time, on handheld! Of course, at this point, we already had the original NES trilogy of games, which are all great in their own right, and many consider them to be classics of the system to this very day. So, logically, as with every other franchise at the time, the next title would inevitably be made for a handheld system, and it would come to us on the Game Gear, which was Sega’s answer to the Game Boy, as well as the system that your parents would get you instead of a Game Boy if they genuinely hated you. Not only that, but the game would not be developed by Tecmo themselves, but instead by Japan System House, a company that would go on to also develop games like… Tails’ Skypatrol... oh god, this is gonna suck, isn’t it?
So, after playing it again, as well as recollecting memories on when I beat the game the first time around, I can say that Ninja Gaiden on the Game Gear is actually surprisingly alright, and that’s saying something given Japan System House’s later track record. It is without a doubt nowhere near as good as the NES Ninja Gaiden games, and Ninja Gaiden Shadow would outshine it later in terms of a quality handheld title in the series (at least from what I remember), but for what we do have here, it could’ve been a lot worse then this.
The story is simple, but of course, in the traditional Ninja Gaiden fashion, it is made more in-depth and engaging with plenty of cutscenes throughout, and while they aren’t on the same level as the NES games, it is still pretty good here, the graphics are… odd, to say the least, but given what they had to work with, it ain’t all that bad, the music is ok, but a lot of the tracks do blend into each other, the control is easy to pick up right away, and it works well here, and the gameplay is what we have come to expect from the series, except shrunken down onto a handheld.
The game continues the regular 2D-action-platforming that we are used to, where you move throughout several levels at a fast pace, defeating enemies along the way, gaining different power ups, health items, and subweapons along the way to help you take down enemies, and defeat challenging bosses… or not challenging, depending on which boss we are talking about. Again, it is all stuff we are plenty used to, but in terms of how it works on a handheld, it works pretty well, and it can be fun at points. Yeah, it is a little awkward, given how things look, play, and feel different from the original, but for what its worth, it gets the job done, and that’s all one can ask for. And I will give the game credit, it does change things up sometimes, such has having an entire stage where you climb up the side of two buildings while taking down enemies, rather then the usual running from left to right, which was a nice change of pace.
However, in the tradition of Japan System House games, there are problems that need to be addressed. To get one obvious complaint out of the way, the game is pretty damn short, with only 4 levels in total, and it doesn’t take long to beat them at all if you know what you’re doing, which can be a bummer, but it is expected, seeing as it is a Game Gear game. In addition, this game is also pretty easy in comparison to the original Ninja Gaiden games, and if there is one thing Ninja Gaiden SHOULDN’T be, it’s easy. Sure, it isn’t the easiest game in the world, and some parts can be pretty tough if you aren’t ready, but all in all, it does not hold a candle to some of the hardest challenges of the original games.
Where the difficulty truly shines, though, is part of Japan System House’s trademark element that they implement into every game they make: bullshit enemy placement and level design. Yes, Ninja Gaiden games have always been known for their difficulty and hard as hell enemy placements, but most of the time, if you are prepared and have the right weapon, you can take out the enemy no problem, but here, it just feels like there are parts in the game that are deliberately meant to fuck with the player and hurt or kill them at some points. For example, in Stage 2, there are these guys with guns that sometimes, when they appear on screen, they will shoot towards you, and they are usually placed near a large gap, and you can’t help but to get hit by it if you aren’t aware that it is coming, which you most likely aren’t. And speaking of gaps, the gaps in this stage are stretched out so far that you BARELY are able to jump over them, only making it to the other side by a mere inch, which makes me wonder why didn’t they make that more, I dunno, fair?
In addition to this, there are other minor things that can mess up your run, such as with a lack of invincibility frames, meaning that you will get hit quite a lot in succession if you aren’t careful, and there’s also the time limit, which is usually fair most of the time, but in the final stage, you can just BARELY finish it with only a few seconds left, given how much you have to do in said stages, as well as with the short amount of time they give you in the first place. It can get pretty annoying, but all in all, none of these things made me really hate this game, or have that bad of a time with it, and that is saying a lot considering what other games this company has made.
Overall, despite a lot of questionable design choices and a difficulty that doesn’t match where Ninja Gaiden should be at, it is still a passable, and somewhat enjoyable attempt at making a handheld game in the series. Again, it isn’t all that spectacular, and there are better handheld games in the series, but like I mentioned earlier, this could’ve been done A LOT worse. On a side note, I am not looking forward to replaying through Tails’ Skypatrol again to review it. I genuinely hate Tails’ Skypatrol with every fiber of my being, so I am dreading that day.
Game #224
So, after playing it again, as well as recollecting memories on when I beat the game the first time around, I can say that Ninja Gaiden on the Game Gear is actually surprisingly alright, and that’s saying something given Japan System House’s later track record. It is without a doubt nowhere near as good as the NES Ninja Gaiden games, and Ninja Gaiden Shadow would outshine it later in terms of a quality handheld title in the series (at least from what I remember), but for what we do have here, it could’ve been a lot worse then this.
The story is simple, but of course, in the traditional Ninja Gaiden fashion, it is made more in-depth and engaging with plenty of cutscenes throughout, and while they aren’t on the same level as the NES games, it is still pretty good here, the graphics are… odd, to say the least, but given what they had to work with, it ain’t all that bad, the music is ok, but a lot of the tracks do blend into each other, the control is easy to pick up right away, and it works well here, and the gameplay is what we have come to expect from the series, except shrunken down onto a handheld.
The game continues the regular 2D-action-platforming that we are used to, where you move throughout several levels at a fast pace, defeating enemies along the way, gaining different power ups, health items, and subweapons along the way to help you take down enemies, and defeat challenging bosses… or not challenging, depending on which boss we are talking about. Again, it is all stuff we are plenty used to, but in terms of how it works on a handheld, it works pretty well, and it can be fun at points. Yeah, it is a little awkward, given how things look, play, and feel different from the original, but for what its worth, it gets the job done, and that’s all one can ask for. And I will give the game credit, it does change things up sometimes, such has having an entire stage where you climb up the side of two buildings while taking down enemies, rather then the usual running from left to right, which was a nice change of pace.
However, in the tradition of Japan System House games, there are problems that need to be addressed. To get one obvious complaint out of the way, the game is pretty damn short, with only 4 levels in total, and it doesn’t take long to beat them at all if you know what you’re doing, which can be a bummer, but it is expected, seeing as it is a Game Gear game. In addition, this game is also pretty easy in comparison to the original Ninja Gaiden games, and if there is one thing Ninja Gaiden SHOULDN’T be, it’s easy. Sure, it isn’t the easiest game in the world, and some parts can be pretty tough if you aren’t ready, but all in all, it does not hold a candle to some of the hardest challenges of the original games.
Where the difficulty truly shines, though, is part of Japan System House’s trademark element that they implement into every game they make: bullshit enemy placement and level design. Yes, Ninja Gaiden games have always been known for their difficulty and hard as hell enemy placements, but most of the time, if you are prepared and have the right weapon, you can take out the enemy no problem, but here, it just feels like there are parts in the game that are deliberately meant to fuck with the player and hurt or kill them at some points. For example, in Stage 2, there are these guys with guns that sometimes, when they appear on screen, they will shoot towards you, and they are usually placed near a large gap, and you can’t help but to get hit by it if you aren’t aware that it is coming, which you most likely aren’t. And speaking of gaps, the gaps in this stage are stretched out so far that you BARELY are able to jump over them, only making it to the other side by a mere inch, which makes me wonder why didn’t they make that more, I dunno, fair?
In addition to this, there are other minor things that can mess up your run, such as with a lack of invincibility frames, meaning that you will get hit quite a lot in succession if you aren’t careful, and there’s also the time limit, which is usually fair most of the time, but in the final stage, you can just BARELY finish it with only a few seconds left, given how much you have to do in said stages, as well as with the short amount of time they give you in the first place. It can get pretty annoying, but all in all, none of these things made me really hate this game, or have that bad of a time with it, and that is saying a lot considering what other games this company has made.
Overall, despite a lot of questionable design choices and a difficulty that doesn’t match where Ninja Gaiden should be at, it is still a passable, and somewhat enjoyable attempt at making a handheld game in the series. Again, it isn’t all that spectacular, and there are better handheld games in the series, but like I mentioned earlier, this could’ve been done A LOT worse. On a side note, I am not looking forward to replaying through Tails’ Skypatrol again to review it. I genuinely hate Tails’ Skypatrol with every fiber of my being, so I am dreading that day.
Game #224