Ninja Gaiden (universe)
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Ninja Gaiden is a fictional universe initially developed by Tecmo. It takes place in the modern setting, but with ninja clans lurking in the shadows. The series began with two games in development at the same time and both release at the end of 1988; one was made for the arcade the other for the NES. They were both beat 'em ups, but the arcade game is a mere footnote in history while the NES title was a big success and gave rise to several sequels which were notorious for their extreme difficulty. After the initial trilogy, Tecmo outsourced development of additional games to other companies, who put out lack-lusted titles on minor platforms. It wasn't until 2004 that Tecmo decided to revive the franchise and began developing new titles. The franchise is still active today.
Personal
I remember seeing the NES port of Ninja Gaiden around 1990. I really liked the idea of the game and though it looked cool, but, because my family never owned it, I could only play when friends had it, so I played very little of it. I remember seeing the sequel not too long after it came out and thinking it was even cooler than the first. I think I knew of the third game, but never played it at the time, and never followed the series after that. As an adult, I find the games to be attractive looking, but terribly made. They have awful controls and obnoxious level design. I haven't played much of the minor games in the series or any after the reboot. One thing that bugs me about the series is how so many different games are simply titled "Ninja Gaiden" rather than coming up with interesting subtitles.
Works
Video Games
Film
Books
- Ninja Gaiden (Worlds of Power #3)
- Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (comic book)
Media
Tiger LCD advertisement.
Titles
| Language | Native | Transliteration | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| English (Europe) | Shadow Warriors | ||
| English (USA) | Ninja Gaiden | ||
| Japanese | 忍者龍剣伝 | Ninja Ryukenden | Legend of the Ninja Dragon Sword |
Links
