Ninja Gaiden (Master System) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthough of Sega’s 1992 action-platformer for the Sega Master System, Ninja Gaiden. Though the series rose to stardom with its acclaimed NES trilogy, the NES was far from being the only home system to host a Ninja Gaiden game in the late 80s/early 90s. In addition to the games produced for the Game Boy, Game Gear, Lynx, and TurboGrafx-16, the Sega Master System received its own unique entry in the series. Unfortunately, by 1992 the Master System was dead and buried in most markets, and as a result, this one was released solely in Europe and Brazil. This Ninja Gaiden begins with Ryu Hayabusa finding the Dragon clan village razed, its people slaughtered, and the bushido scroll stolen. And clever boy that he is, even without the help of Joseph Campbell, Ryu understands and heeds the call to action. The bad guy probably shouldn’t have a tool of ultimate power, after all. The gameplay is similar to the NES in that it’s a hack ’n slash platformer that places fairly heavy emphasis on the story. Ryu can pick up various limited-use ninja weapons to fight with (like homing fireballs, shuriken, etc.), and like in Ninja Gaiden III, he can hang and flip from overhead ledges. The graphics are great - just check out Ryu’s flapping scarf and the background animations in the forest! And the gameplay is fast, tight, and challenging, the controls are clean - I’m tempted to say they’re an improvement over Tecmo’s! - and the difficulty level is stiff without being too punishing. The stage layouts feel slightly emptier and the action seems a bit less urgent than in the NES games, but there’s little question that Sims put together an excellent game here. It’s one of my favorite action games on the platform, and it seems like most reviewers back in 1992 agreed with that sentiment. It has a few shortcomings, sure. The cutscenes aren’t animated, the writing often makes no sense, and though the tunes are good, the Master System’s sound hardware completely murders them with its typically shrill and harsh PSG tones. Friendly hint: smash that mute button! But those things aren’t enough to drag down the rest of the package. Ninja Gaiden on the Master System is a quality production, and a fun throwback if you ever enjoyed the NES games. If you’re a Master System fan, also be sure to check out my playlist for the system! _____________ No cheats were used during the recording of this video. NintendoComplete () punches you in the face with in-depth reviews, screenshot archives, and music from classic 8-bit NES games!