Ninja Gaiden Shadow

Ninja Gaiden Shadow
Ninja Gaiden Shadow North American cover art
Developer(s)	Tecmo Natsume
Publisher(s)	Tecmo
Composer(s)	Hiroyuki Iwatsuki
Series	Ninja Gaiden
Platforms	Game Boy
Release date(s)
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single-player

Ninja Gaiden Shadow, released in Japan as Ninja Ryūkenden GB: Matenrō Kessen (忍者龍剣伝GB 摩天楼決戦), and in Europe and Australia as Shadow Warriors, is a side-scrolling action game released for the Game Boy in 1991 by Tecmo. It is a spinoff of the Ninja Gaiden series.

Plot

Set three years before the events of the first Ninja Gaiden (NES), the player controls Ryu Hayabusa, who must save New York City from the forces of Emperor Garuda, a servant of Jaquio. Garuda's minions include the cyborg "Spider", kickboxer Gregory and his manager Jack, former military commander Colonel Allen, and the Japanese nobleman Whokisai (風鬼斎, Fūkisai).

Gameplay

File:Ninja Gaiden Shadow gameplay.jpg

Screenshot of the game.

Ninja Gaiden Shadow features simplified play mechanics compared to those used in the NES trilogy. In contrast to the variety of ninja arts and power-ups available in the NES games, Ryu only has a basic sword attack and a Fire Wheel attack that can be replenished for up to five uses. While Ryu cannot stick to or climb walls like in the NES games, he can hang onto railings and move underneath them like in Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, and use both his sword attack and the Fire Wheel art while hanging onto railings. Ryu is also equipped with a grappling hook that allows him to latch onto hard-to-reach railings. Like in the NES versions, Ryu can find health potions, fire wheel stocks, and extra lives by destroying item containers.

Development

Ninja Gaiden Shadow was originally planned to be a Game Boy adaptation of the NES game Shadow of the Ninja. The Nagoya division of Natsume, which developed Shadow of the Ninja, also developed Ninja Gaiden Shadow.

External links

• Ninja Gaiden Shadow at MobyGames
• Composer information for Ninja Gaiden Shadow at Portable Music History