The Legend of Kage

The Legend of Kage
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)	Taito TOSE (FC/NES) Imagine Studios (CPC/C64)
Publisher(s)	JP/NA: Taito
Composer(s)	Hisayoshi Ogura
Series	The Legend of Kage
Platforms	Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Family Computer/NES, MSX, Virtual Console, X1, ZX Spectrum
Release date(s)	October 1985 Arcade Family Computer/NES MSX Commodore 64 Amstrad CPC Virtual Console Wii 3DS Wii U
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player

The Legend of Kage (影の伝説, Kage no Densetsu) is a 1985 arcade game by Taito and was released for several contemporary video game home systems in 1986.

Gameplay

Arcade screenshot

The player is armed with a kodachi shortsword and an unlimited amount of shuriken. Grabbing a crystal ball causes the player's clothes to change to the next level in colour and thereby attain certain powers (bigger shuriken or faster speed); if Kage is hit while in green or orange clothes, he does not die but reverts to his normal red clothes. Grabbing a scroll causes Kage to stand still and meditate for several seconds while approaching enemies drop to the ground dead (although the scrolls appear in the arcade version, the crystal balls do not).

Plot

The player takes role of the young Iga ninja named Kage ("Shadow") on the mission to rescue Princess Kiri (Kirihime) from the villains Yoshi (Yoshiro Yukikusa) and Yuki (Yukinosuke Kiri). Kage must fight his way through the forest, along the secret passageway, up the fortress wall and through the castle, rescuing her two times (three in the FC/NES version) in order to win the game. Each time the princess is rescued, the seasons change in the game.

Release

The Famicom/NES version was re-released on the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on December 19, 2006, and in the United States on February 19, 2007. The arcade version also appears in the compilation title Taito Legends 2.

The Revised Legend of Kage

The Revised Legend of Kage was included in the Taito Nostalgia 1 release along with the original game. It features two new playable characters, Ayame and Ganin. Ayame is a female ninja who can throw bombs similar to the red ninjas in the game and has an unlimited supply of throwing knives. Ganin is a dog who can breathe fire similar to the monks in the game and can perform a spin attack that does not have much range but leaves him invulnerable for an instant and kills any enemy that touches him. There is also a new final boss that all the characters face which is a giant green cobra that slithers on the ground back and forth on the screen at the end of each second run through the levels. It is the only enemy that does not jump into the air.

Taito Legends Power Up remake

A screenshot from the PSP remake

A 3D graphics remake of the arcade game along the original arcade version is included in the 2006 compilation Taito Legends Power Up for the PlayStation Portable. The game is still side-scrolling.

Sequel

Main article: The Legend of Kage 2

A follow-up game was developed by Lancarse for the Nintendo DS, and published by Taito in 2008. Taito's parent company, Square Enix, published a North American localization of the game later that year.

See also

• Taito's 1984 laserdisc video game Ninja Hayate features a very similar scenario of a young ninja (who even looks like Kage) attempting to rescue a kidnapped princess.
• Taito's 1989 game Demon Sword is similar in gameplay to The Legend of Kage.

References

• The Legend of Kage instruction manual

External links

• The Legend of Kage guide at StrategyWiki
• The Legend of Kage at GameFAQs
• The Legend of Kage at MobyGames
• The Legend of Kage at World of Spectrum
• The Legend of Kage at Hardcore Gaming 101