A Ninja's Tale is a ninjitsu-themed Space Invaders clone with a few alterations in its gameplay presentation. Set in the Meiji era, the game places you in the role of Rei, an Imperial loyalist cursed to battle the "Eternal Storm," a phantasmal horde consisting of ghosts and undead ninjas. An overblown backstory notwithstanding, A Ninja's Tale is a repackaged Space Invaders with a few gameplay twists that occur as a result of switching the setting from deep space to feudal Japan.
In each level, the "Eternal Storm" will manifest itself and give rise to several minions of darkness. Said creatures will gradually approach you, à la Space Invaders, by firing missiles from their torsos all the while. Also like Space Invaders, you cannot leave the bottom of the screen. Occasionally, one or two of your foes will take a swipe or swipes at you with either a katana or a ghoulish arm. This is generally avoidable, unless you're already dodging three missiles. And, sure enough, when only one baddie is left, he will feverishly dash at you while concentrating every ounce of his phantasmal flesh's efforts toward destroying you. Disappointingly, the collision detection becomes extremely unreliable at this point, thus rendering the creatures last left nearly indestructible.
You can battle the Eternal Storm in a couple of ways. Your combat mainstay is your unlimited supply of shurikens, which can thankfully be launched while you strafe side to side to avoid missiles and other such perils. You can also spend several seconds charging a ninjutsu attack, which, when launched, hurls two ninja spirits at your assailants. You are invulnerable while this occurs. However, discharging this attack keeps you from moving for just under a second after the sequence completes. Of course, this makes the maneuver dangerous to execute. Turning into a miniature tornado is your sole defensive measure, apart from dodging, but it isn't terribly effective.
After playing through three levels, you'll finally confront what seems to be the ultimate corporeal manifestation of the Eternal Storm. The fight ends swiftly, and you are treated to...the same three levels with the same graphics, followed by the same boss. The order in which the enemies appear is slightly different in each "world"--but not by much. This isn't just anticlimactic; it's practically insulting.
For what it's worth, the first three levels of the game are fun and fairly challenging. A Ninja's Tale is different enough from Space Invaders to be interesting, but it also benefits from its spiritual ancestor's tried-and-true formula. Many sprites are displayed onscreen at once with no visible slowdown. There are only three types of enemies, but they're distinctive and compelling. The title's punchy, MIDI soundtrack evokes the minimalist koto melodies in the Samurai Shodown series.
Had the game not run out of steam after the first set of levels, A Ninja's Tale could have been a sleeper. Unfortunately, though, it feels decidedly unfinished. We are left wondering what could have been.
