Publisher: Taito
Developer: Taito
Size: 1 CD
Memory Usage: None
No. of players: 2(simultaneously)
Apparently some evil dictator has managed to make his way in to the White House and is now not only controlling the country, but also the seedy underground(drugs, murder and SEX!!!!{oh my}). Sound familiar? It's amazing how these game developers can so accurately predict the future. At any rate, the leader of the resistance(someone named Mulk...yes, I know...Mulk) has built two robots who have been sent out to assassinate the president.

What's it all about?
It's a side scrolling, arcade platformer. Based off the dual-screen arcade original, you play as one of the robot assassins. You'll slowly charge your way through towns, military bases and just about any other location on the longest road ever taken to the White House. No matter who you pick(the male or female robotic warrior) you'll have the same skills and attacks: Slashing, throwing shurikens, jumping and blocking. Using these "totally awesome" ninja skills you'll kill any and everything that gets in your path, fight off a level boss(or two) and move on to the next area.

Graphics - Pretty plain. The backgrounds seem like wallpaper most of the time, lacking any real depth and not especially flaunting any color or special effects(one layer of parallax scrolling is about all you get). The enemies' animation is an unbalanced package with most having a relatively low amount of frames and others having almost more than your actual character does. Speaking of the warriors, they're animated pretty well, in fact almost too well....against the bland background and enemies it just looks really odd.

Sound - Decent. Though I didn't like the soundtrack as much as most other Zuntata pieces, it's not bad...it's just not nearly as memorable as most of their other stuff. About the only piece that I really enjoyed was that BGM from the first level(the one you're hearing now), this seems to be the theme for the game. One hip thing that the game does allow for is an option to go with the original soundtrack, or an "arranged" version; I found this to be especially cool as it's such an old game. Sounds effects are just kind of there, you've got your screams, grunts, attack noises and other stuff...it's all just kind of "meh".
Control - Though the warriors move at an incredibly slow rate, the control that gets them from here to there is rock-solid. You hit the button, they perform the action immediately. The control options even allow for you to go from hitting "Up" on the control pad(arcade-style) to using a button(console-style).
AI - Cheap and rough. Well, it's an arcade port and with that said, it retains the cheap-ass AI scheme from the original. Let me tell you folks, it's rough. As if it's not bad enough that some of these bosses just tear your ass to pieces, there are regular enemies and midpoint bosses that will do the same. Beating this game is next to impossible, even on easy difficulty.
Replay value - Low, real, real low. The game's repetition will bore you to tears after about the second level, and that's if the AI doesn't drive you away first. You may attempt this with a friend just to relive the the arcade experience you once had so many years ago, but with the extremely limited number of continues you won't get far. About the only thing I can see anyone coming back for is the hilariously bad "Prologue" storyline....but even then, that's just a once-in-a-blue-moon sort of deal.
Tips for better gaming experiences:
The little guys who look like Genan from Samurai Shodown, if you throw a shuriken at them they'll jump. Once they do this you can walk up to them and start slashing before they hit the ground.

Try to save a few shurikens for enemies with guns.

Whatever you do *DO NOT* touch the enemy. I don't know if these fuckers learned their life-sucking skills from the bad guys on Kung Fu, but upon contact they will just take your life bar down to nothing in no time flat.

My rating: 30(out of 100) - It's not a bad port, it's just a bad game. Now I love old school gaming, but this is just a little *too* old school for my taste...

Kitty's review: I like damn ninja, but these damn ninja move so slow! Are they turtle ninjas? I like Ninja Turtles!

Be sure to take in the sights as you gut countless govenrment soldiers...
That jump kick should look familiar to those who have played ThunderFox....
In two player mode you can bore your friends too!
More hot, topless robotic action than you can handle!
Ninja know-it-all:
There's another version of this game out on the Super Nintendo. Hardcore fans of the arcade original say it sucks, people who hate the original say it's great. What's a ninja to do?
Gameplay Videos:
Attract Mode and Prologue - 7:50, 26.4 megs

Immediate Streaming - YouTube
Description: The game's Attract Mode(complete with all the drugs, murder and SEX you can handle!) as well as the hilariously bad, Zuntata-produced "Prologue". I laugh every time I hear that damn bunny girl talk...

Level 1, Level 2 - 7:11, 87.7 megs

Immediate Streaming - YouTube
Description: A multi-character play through of the first two levels of the game. Watch in amazement as I masterfully complete them both without actually falling asleep!
Note: You'll need the most recent Divx codec to watch these videos. Also, slowdown and jumps in the playback may not necessarily be the fault of the game so much as the method I am using to record them. If you are having problems watching the videos in your browser, just right-click and download them to your hard drive...