Ninja Master's [Arcade] - play as Ranmaru
39This is a play-through using Ranmaru in the Arcade version of Ninja Master's. Read on below for more information...
Ranmaru is the penultimate boss in the game. He is a hidden playable character who can be unlocked on the character select screen.
===== ABOUT RANMARU =====
He is a servant/follower of Nobunaga (the game's final boss), devoting his life to him after Nobunaga gave him demon blood which granted Ranmaru eternal life. Because of this, he has lived on past his master's death and wandered alone during his absence. Now that his master has arrived again, Ranmaru returns to his side.
Design-wise, he is yet another one of those androgynous male characters you see in some Japanese fighting games... in the case of Ranmaru, he seems to be voiced by a woman as well.
Interestingly, when he drops his sword it will turn into a living snake that follows him, making it easy for him to retrieve his weapon.
===== ADDITIONAL INFORMATION =====
---- He is also known as Ranmaru the Obscure Kagura, and his full name is Ranmaru Mumiyo Kagura.
---- The character is a fictional interpretation of the historical figure, Ranmaru Mori.
---- The game's full name is Ninja Master's Haoh-Ninpo-Cho, roughly translated as Ninja Master's: Scrolls of the Supreme Ninja Arts.
===== ABOUT NINJA MASTER'S =====
Ninja Master's is a good game with solid gameplay and graphics, and it does a fine job of a creating that "period Samurai era" atmosphere. Perhaps the in-game sprites may be a tad on the "small" side when compared to other SNK fighters, but they are animated really well. It is obviously not as stylish as Samurai Shodown and The Last Blade... then again very few 2D games of this setting/theme are.
The gameplay features a semi-chain combo system and offers a decent amount of basics, specials and super moves for each character. Perhaps the most "unique" aspect of this game is that characters can draw and withdraw their weapons, meaning that they can fight with or without their weapons, creating "two" styles of play.