The Last Ninja (NES) Playthrough
4Playthrough of Jaleco's 1991 action-adventure game for the NES, The Last Ninja.
The Last Ninja for NES is an isometric action-adventure game that places the player in the role of Armakuni, the last surviving member of a ninja clan. Tasked with avenging his fallen brethren and defeating the evil shogun Kunitoki, Armakuni must journey through a series of hostile environments filled with enemies, traps, and puzzles. Originally a well-known title on the Commodore 64, the NES version attempts to translate the game's distinctive style and mechanics to the console with mixed results.
Gameplay is presented from an isometric perspective, which gives the world a pseudo-3D appearance but also introduces challenges with movement and orientation. Players navigate Armakuni through multi-directional levels, collecting items, solving environmental puzzles, and engaging in one-on-one combat with various enemies. The directional controls can feel unintuitive at first, as moving diagonally in an isometric space differs from standard side-scrolling platformers. Combat involves timed punches, kicks, and the use of weapons found throughout the game, with different attacks triggered by combining directional inputs with the attack button.
Progression through the game is nonlinear in the sense that it often requires backtracking and item usage to overcome obstacles. Items such as keys, weapons, and tools are found in the environment and must be used in the correct locations. The game includes a basic inventory system accessible through the pause menu, where players can equip or examine items. Puzzle-solving and exploration are key aspects of the gameplay, often requiring careful observation and experimentation due to minimal in-game guidance.
Visually, the NES version retains the isometric layout of the original but with simplified graphics and a muted color palette. Character sprites are relatively small and the environments, while varied, lack some of the detail seen in other versions of the game. Music and sound effects are sparse but functional, adding a minimal layer of atmosphere without significantly enhancing the experience.
The Last Ninja for NES is ambitious in design but hampered by awkward controls, steep difficulty, and a lack of polish. While it aims to deliver a deeper experience than typical action games of its time, it often frustrates due to imprecise movement, unclear objectives, and cumbersome combat. Nonetheless, for players interested in early examples of hybrid action-adventure design, it remains a notable, if flawed, attempt to bring a complex computer game to a console audience.