Ninja Spirit: Turbografx 16 Review

The late 80s were a time when many of today’s greatest game franchises and genres laid their roots. One of the genres that emerged was the hack and slash platformer, specifically the ninja themed hack and slash platformer. While games such as Ninja Gaiden for the NES, and Shinobi for the Sega Genesis has become staples for many retro collectors libraries, there were some other games that did not get as much attention. One of these games was Ninja Spirit, released for the Turbografx 16 and PC Engine in 1988.

Ninja Spirit was developed and published by Irem, the same studio that was responsible for the famous shoot em up series, R-Type. While Ninja Spirit might not be on the same level as the genre defining R-Type, it is still a very enjoyable experience that should be a part of any Turbo collector’s library.

The game starts out one of the only two cut-scenes in the entire game, where the player gets to witness a confusing scene of your father being struck by lightning. After this treat of a story the player apparently sets off in order to avenge his father by murdering every enemy ninja that dares enter his sight.

Like its other ninja based hack and slash cousins Ninja Spirit is very straight forward with its game-play. You will basically move towards the end of the stages, dodging and fighting a variety of ninjas along the way, and…