Konami’s Uncommon GBA Vintage Lives Once more

As somebody with a love for unfashionable gaming and hand-held oddities, Konami porting Ninja 5-O to trendy consoles used to be track to my ears. In case you’re no longer acquainted, it’s a particularly uncommon Recreation Boy Advance recreation that could be a in reality cast motion platformer within the vein of Shinobi and Shadow of the Ninja (which just lately were given its personal PS5 model). Now a lot more reasonably priced with fashionable trappings, equivalent to save states and the facility to rewind, it’s a profitable port of a vintage Konami recreation that deserved to be noticed by way of extra avid gamers.

Gameplay is fast to be told because it’s a Recreation Boy Advance identify and simplest makes use of a couple of buttons. You’ll be able to throw shuriken, use your sword to slice at foes, or even use a grappling hook. The grappling skill is definitely the sport’s most enjoyable component, as you’ll be able to in reality get momentum and swing round spaces. Phases revolve round rescuing hostages, which forces you to watch out as you’ll be able to unintentionally kill them and from time to time to find keys to unencumber new portions of the extent.

The boss fights that cap off every house are the place the sport in reality shines as they’ll pressure you to place all your ninja strikes in combination and use the grappling hook to get out of the way in which. There’s a a laugh selection starting from a kabuki-clad warrior, an enormous frog that spits hearth at you, and a vampire that appears directly out of Castlevania. Those moments make sure that the sport ends with a bang and the overall boss combat is slightly an intense one (despite the fact that made more uncomplicated since you’ll be able to rewind if you’re making a deadly mistake)..

If there’s one sadness it’s that the sport is slightly quick. You’ll roll credit in round 3 hours. Fortunately, there’s a exhausting problem that unlocks and a time trial mode that provides some replay price (you’ll have to overcome exhausting for the Platinum trophy). An extra great contact is that the PAL model of the sport — referred to as Ninja Cop — could also be to be had to play.

There also are some great bonus additions to this port, as there’s a track participant that permits you to pay attention to all 12 of the other tracks. There’s additionally a museum, which options the sport’s field artwork, authentic instruction guide, paintings for the sport, and a few cool animation sketches for the sport’s opening. It’s great to look some additional effort installed, particularly for a recreation that has elderly in addition to Ninja 5-O has.

Ninja 5-O Evaluate: Ultimate Verdict

Ninja 5-O used to be a super recreation when it used to be launched in 2003 and it stays one these days. Fortunately, this underrated Konami vintage is now broadly to be had and will also be skilled by way of all. It’s considered one of Hudson Cushy’s hidden gem stones and it is a pretty port of it that has some cool options and quality-of-life upgrades.