BIT TALK
BACK
NINJA GAIDEN WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN NORTH AMERICA BACK IN 1989 BY TECMO. THE GAME DREW INSPIRATION FROM MARIO, AND THEY WANTED TO MAKE IT BASED ON A STORY. THE GAME HAD 20 MINUTES OF CINEMATIC CUT SCENES, WHICH WAS THE FIRST TIME THIS WAS EVER ON THE NES, AND THOSE OF YOU THAT REMEMBER FINAL FANTASY MAY BE SAYING OTHERWISE. NINJA GAIDEN’S CUT SCENES CUT TO CLOSE-UPS, DIFFERENT CAMERA ANGLES, AND DIFFERENT BACKGROUND MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS. THERE WERE PROBLEMS WHEN THE GAME WAS TRANSLATED FROM JAPANESE TO ENGLISH, AND IT CAUSED THE GAME TO GET REPROGRAMED. A DIFFERENT COMPANY HANDLED THAT PROCESS, AND THEY DID IT BY FAXING OVER TRANSLATIONS BACK AND FORTH TO EACH OTHER, UNTIL THE STORY WOULD MAKE SENSE TO AN ENGLISH SPEAKER. THE CHARACTER THAT YOU PLAY AS IS RYU HAYABUSA AND YOU PLAY THROUGH A TOTAL OF 6 ACTS AND SOME OF THOSE ACTS WILL HAVE ANYWHERE FROM 2-4 LEVELS. AS RYU YOU RUN, JUMP, SLASH YOUR WAY THROUGH URBAN AREAS, WESTERN RUINS, AND ICY MOUNTAINS. RYU AS A NINJA CAN JUMP BACK AND FORTH ON ADJACENT SURFACES, WHICH SEEMS LIKE THAT’S HOW THE LEVELS WERE DESIGNED. NINJA GAIDEN WAS KNOWN FOR ITS INNOVATION IN CUT SCENES, BUT HOW INCREDIBLY HARD IT WAS. TECHMO SHOWS SOME MERCY BY GIVING THE PLAYER A GENEROUS AMOUNT OF CHECKPOINTS AND AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF CONTINUES. THE GAME WAS GREAT BACK THEN AND ITS GREAT NOW. IF YOU HAVEN’T CHECKED IT OUT YOU NEED TO.