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Ninja-Kid

Not to be confused with Ninja Kid.

Ninja-kun: Adventure of Devil Castle[a] is a 1984 platform video game developed and published by UPL for arcades. It was later ported to the Famicom and MSX in 1984.[1] The MSX version was the only version released outside of Japan, as it was released in Europe under the name "Ninja".[2]

Gameplay

Ninja-kun's Demon Castle Adventure features three upward scrolling levels that repeat and become more difficult.[1] The objective is to defeat the enemies on each screen and advance to the next screen. The player can attack with shurikens and jump on enemies' heads to stun them. Occasionally, an orb will appear and if the player collects three, a bonus level will be unlocked.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Ninja-Kid on their November 15, 1984 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[3]

Legacy

After Jaleco had ported the game and its sequel to the Famicom and MSX in Japan, the company created Ninja-kun's younger brother, Ninja JaJaMaru-kun and created their own series titled Ninja JaJaMaru-kun.[1] The Ninja JaJaMaru-kun series would feature several games released on various consoles and handhelds, many of the games are different genres like role-playing video game gameplay.

Ninja-kun: Adventure of Devil Castle was released for the PlayStation 4 in May 2014 and Nintendo Switch in April 2018 by Hamster Corporation under their Arcade Archives series by the name of Ninja-kid.[4]

Ninja-Kid II

Ninja-Kid (arcade version)

Ninja-Kid II, known in Japan as Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shō (忍者くん阿修羅の章) and known in North America as Rad Action and JT-104, is a platform action video game first developed and published in 1987 by UPL in Japan. It is the direct sequel of Ninja-Kid. Game Machine listed Ninja-Kid II on their June 1, 1987 issue as being the tenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[5] The Famicom version was going to be released in North America by Sammy as Ninja Taro (not to be confused with the Game Boy game Sengoku Ninja-kun, which was released in America as Ninja Taro), but the American version was cancelled.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: 忍者くん魔城の冒険, Hepburn: Ninja-kun Majō no Bōken

References

  1. ^ a b c Kalata, Kurt. "Ninja JaJaMaru-kun". Hardcoregaming101. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  2. ^ "Ninja-kun - Magic Castle Adventure (1985, MSX, Jaleco, UPL), - Releases - Generation MSX". Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  3. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 248. Amusement Press, Inc. November 15, 1984. p. 25.
  4. ^ "Arcade Archives Ninja-Kid". February 25, 2025.
  5. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 309. Amusement Press, Inc. June 1, 1987. p. 21.
  6. ^ "Ninja Taro NES ad". Retrieved March 23, 2023.