Ninja Spirit
Ninja Spirit, known in Japan as , is a 1988 platform game developed and released in arcades by Irem. Gameplay. Tsukikage's journey takes him through seven stages, varying from woodlands, wastelands, swamps, temples, and cliffs. Each stage begins with the player slashing his way to the end until he confronts a level boss. The ninja is always armed with the katana, Righteous Cloud, which can be fluidly used to attack in all directions. Extra weapons include the Swirling Leaf (shurikens), the Bamboo Thunder (bombs), and the Rising Dragon/Shouryu (kusarigama). There are also several power-up items, such  as one unleashing multiple ninja ghosts to assist the player. Plot. The game's hero, , is a young ninja who lost his father to a mysterious half-man half-beast creature. The plot of "Ninja Spirit" is based on the quest of his way to avenge his father in an alternative feudal Japan. Ports. The game was successfully ported onto multiple platforms. The most popular port is the TurboGrafx-16 format which includes two modes: the PC Engine mode which players lose one life only if all 5 energy points are used up (certain enemies can kill Tsukikage with one hit ), and the Arcade mode, which is a more challenging mode where any attack are grounds for players to lose one ninja instantly. That version was ported to the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console on 14 May 2007, was delisted on 30 March 2012 and was available again on 17 September 2013 in Japan and on 19 September 2013 in North America and Europe. The same version was re-released on the Nintendo Wii U's Virtual Console on 14 January 2015 in Japan, 27 July 2017 in North America and 10 August 2017 in Europe. Soundtrack. The original soundtrack for  the game was released on December 21, 1988 by Alfa Records. Reception. In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Ninja Spirit" on their September 1, 1988 issue as being the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles like "The Main Event". In Issue 15 of "Electronic Gaming Monthly", both "Ninja Spirit" and "Ys Book I & II" were the first games to receive a perfect 10 in the magazine's history. In 2010, CraveOnline featured this version in the article Top 10 Ninja Games Of All Time, commenting: "Ninja Spirit for the TurboGrafx-16 was a lot like “Legend of  Kage” on the NES, except better in every way ... both challenging and sort of relaxing at the same time." Legacy. "Ninja Spirit" later appeared in the Japan-only Game Boy title, "Shuyaku Sentai Irem Fighter" along with other characters from the game, as well as characters from three other Irem franchises: "R-Type", "Mr. Heli", and "Hammerin' Harry".