Ninja Gaiden (Master System)

For other games with the same name, see Ninja Gaiden.

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Ninja Gaiden
System(s): Sega Master System
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega CS, SIMS
Licensor: Tecmo
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code EU 1992-06 7101 PT 199x UK 1992-07-16 £32.9932.99 7101 AU 199x BR 199x KR 1992 GB2019JG

Ninja Gaiden (忍者外伝) for the Sega Master System is a platform action game developed by SIMS and published by Sega in 1992. Though the game bears a "reprogrammed by Sega" line, it is a unique game from any previous Ninja Gaiden work. While considered tame in terms of difficulty compared to the other releases in the series, the Master System version is still considered one of the finest games in the Master System library.

The Master System version takes place in an alternate timeline and is not considered a part of the official Ninja Gaiden continuity.

Story

Ryu Hayabusa is a member of the Dragon Clan, who have protected Japan for generations. One day he is away from home, he receives a message that the Dragon Village, home of the Dragon Clan, has been brutally massacred. He rushes home finding that all but one of the village members have been killed. The last survivor of the village tells Ryu with his dying breath that the sacred Bushido scroll has been stolen. The Bushido is a scroll of power so strong that its owner can control the world. As the last ninja of the Dragon Clan, the fate of the world is in its hands. He embarks on a trip to regain the Sacred Scroll of Bushido from the hands of the evil Shogun of Darkness and his minions.

Gameplay

Ninja Gaiden is a platforming action game. Ryu walks with and . He crouches with and jumps with . He can grab higher platforms with while jumping up to them and then pull himself up them with +. Ryu can climb and move along the ceiling. He cannot climb vertical walls as he did in the NES versions, but he can do wall jumps by pressing when touching a wall. He can also climb through horizontal walls. He uses ladders with and .

Ryu swings his sword with to attack. Pressing + uses the special weapon, which drains the energy meter. Ryu can find different special weapon items throughout the levels. Each weapon attacks differently and costs a different amount of energy to use. All weapons can be used while crouching or jumping. Pressing + at the same time performs a "desperation attack" that kills all enemies on the screen but also takes a quarter of Ryu's health.

Ryu has 20 health points, shown as a gauge in the top-right of the screen. He loses health whenever he takes damage from an enemy. When he loses all of his health, he loses a life. Each act is timed, and he also loses a life if time runs out. The game ends if Ryu loses all of his lives. Many levels contain various hazards in addition to the enemies (though they are easier to navigate compared to the other games in the series).

A staple of the Ninja Gaiden series, the story is narrated through manga-style panel illustrations between each level.

Items

	Scroll
	Destroy to release an item. Collect the item by walking over it before it disappears.
	Heal
	Heals Ryu for 10 health points.
	Blue Combat Point Counter
	Increases Ryu's special weapon energy by 50.
	Red Combat Point Counter
	Increases Ryu's special weapon energy by 100.
	Blue Bonus
	Gives the player 5,000 bonus points.
	Red Bonus
	Gives the player 10,000 bonus points.

Weapons

	Shuriken
	Ryu throws a shuriken horizontally. Costs 5 energy.
	Super Shuriken
	Ryu throws a larger, stronger shuriken. Costs 10 energy.
	Four-Way Whirlwind
	Ryu shoots small vortexes in four directions (directly upward, downward, in front, and behind). Costs 20 energy.
	Fireballs
	Ryu releases four fireballs that home in on enemies. Costs 40 energy.
	Dragonfire
	Ryu surrounds himself in a ring of fireballs, which renders him invulnerable to damage and destroys any enemies it touches. Costs 50 energy.

Chapters

	Escape in a Forest
	Map: 1️⃣
	With his village in ruins, Ryu attempts to escape to the nearby forest to evade the enemy force who wants to hunt down the last survivor of the Dragon clan. At the end of the level, Ryu faces a large sumo wrestler.
	Pursuit in Tokyo
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	Ryu travels to Tokyo to face off a powerful Yakuza Oyabun who might have information about the enemy. Fight on top of the streets and rooftops of the capital and fight armed thugs. Boss of the chapter is a yakuza leader who is surrounded by his army of henchmen.
	Samurai in Tsutenkaku
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣ | 3️⃣
	Ryu heads for Osaka to find location of a samurai who is in league with the enemy and faces him, wondering why a honorable man like him would side with bunch of murderers. Fight through slums and ruined buildings to reach your objective.
	Rescue Geisha
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣ | 3️⃣
	In his last breath, Samurai admits that his daughter was kidnapped by a man who calls himself, "Shogun of Darkness" in order to force his cooperation and begs Ryu to save her. Ryu resolves to honor the last request of an honorable warrior and heads off to Mt. Fuji. Navigate through waterfalls and pitfalls to fight a jetpack equipped soldier.
	Land of the Enemy
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣ | 3️⃣
	After being rescued, Geisha informs Ryu that Scroll has been taken to a place called the "Castle of Darkness" in the far north of Japan. Covered by snow and ice, Ryu travels through treacherous, cold terrain and faces off a man with uniform called "ice monster" capable of controlling cold.
	Raid
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣ | 3️⃣
	Ryu goes through a dark cave filled with traps, molten hot lava and creatures from darkness. While Ryu defeats a stone golem brought to life by the heinous powers of the Shogun, Geisha is captured again.
	Overcome
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣ | 3️⃣
	Finally reaching the Castle of Darkness, Ryu battles all sorts of enemies from samurai troops to ninjas. At the end of the level he faces off with a kabuki dancer who is heavily armed with heat seeking paper fans and a radar guided kabuki mask(?).
	A Decisive Battle
	Maps: 1️⃣ | 2️⃣
	Wounded by a surprise attack from the Shogun, Ryu receives an unexpected help and enters the final battle with his nemesis, with the fates of himself, Geisha and potentially the entire world hanging in balance.

Versions

There seems to be two versions of the game: the first version tells the story through the eyes of Ryu himself, explaining his experiences in great detail, and the second version is narrated from an outside source, but some details of the plot are not explained as much. Furthermore, certain dialogue and names vary between the two versions as well, such as the names of chapters. For example, the samurai in the third chapter is not named in the second version and is simply called "Kendo Samurai". In the first version, the name of the game is also mispronounced between the chapters as "Ninjya Gaiden".

Production credits

• Planner: Kou, Kan
• Programmer: Kou
• Designer: Kan, Little Dragon
• Sound Composer: Fumi
• Special Thanks: Nonchan
• Presented by: Sega

Source:

In-game credits

Uncredited

• Cover artist: David McMacken

Magazine articles

Main article: Ninja Gaiden (Master System)/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #3: "Julio 1992" (1992-xx-xx)

Print advert in Mega Force (ES) #11: "Marzo 1993" (1993-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Hobby Consolas (ES) #18: "Marzo 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Ação Games (BR) 94 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 75 Consoles + (FR) 87 Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL 81 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 83 Game Power (IT) 79 Game Zone (UK) PAL 86 Hobby Consolas (ES) 67 Joypad (FR) 90 Joystick (FR) 85 Mega Force (FR) 80 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 65 Mean Machines (UK) PAL 83 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 83 Player One (FR) 93 Sega Power (UK) PAL 53 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Force (UK) PAL 90 Sega Master Force (UK) PAL 90 Supergame (BR) 76 Supersonic (FR) 89 User (GR) PAL 77 Video Games (DE) 66 Zero (UK) 90

	82
Based on 26 reviews

Ninja Gaiden (Master System)

Master System, EU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, PT
Cover

Master System, AU
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, BR
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, KR
Cover
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 1b1d8cc2 MD5 2cd25b3d9a1ced329a551d7fc3c0f01e SHA-1 4c65db563e8407444020ab7fd93fc45193ae923a	256kB		Cartridge (EU)
✔	CRC32 761e9396 MD5 b070dc2ba3f106e89d1e9551f49a0027 SHA-1 c67db6539dc609b08d3ca6f9e6f8f41daf150743	256kB						Page

References

Ninja Gaiden games for Sega systems
	Ninja Gaiden (1991)
	Ninja Gaiden (1992)
	Ninja Gaiden (unreleased)
	Ninja Gaiden (unreleased)