The Last Ninja is a diverse game, containing a combination of exploration, puzzle solving and ninja style fighting. The object of the game is to travel to the palace of the evil Shogun Kunitoki to destroy him and retrieve the sacred scrolls. As the player progresses, Kunitoki's henchmen become more challenging as they learn the ways of the ninja. The interface consists of the opponents' energy and collected inventory (on the right) and player's health (on the bottom). The world is viewed in an isometric perspective allowing the player character to move in eight directions. Movements are relative to the direction Armakuni is facing but restricted to predefined paths. You must be careful when navigating and jumping around obstacles, traps and fatal features of the terrain. By approaching and kneeling at certain landmarks, such as shrines to Buddha and water fountains, an indication of what to collect next is revealed. These items are often hidden in trees or bushes and flash shortly after entering a new screen. Attack moves are executed by combinations of directional controls with the fire button for attacking the opponent's head, torso and legs. Authentic ninja weapons like the sword, nunchaku, staff, shuriken and smoke bombs, can be equipped.
I remember seeing the screenshots in computer magazines months before the release of the game and thought (as did most people) that surely there must be some mistake! The game looked great... too good to possibly be ... Read Full Review
Sure, it might look like stick figure ninja now, but back in it's day, this was the pinnacle of gaming brilliance. At the time there had never been anything quite this grand. It looked sensational, it was played from ... Read Full Review
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