The ONLY thing cooler than ninjas and robots, are ninja robots. I know this. You know this. And Taito knew this in 1987 when they released The Ninja Warriors in the arcades; a side-scrolling beat-em-up like so many others released at the time. Met with mostly critical praise The Ninja Warriors received a sequel in 1994 for the SNES with the same name designed by the same design team. If the 87 Ninja warriors felt like Russian Attack or Shinobi, The SNES Ninja Warriors started to resemble Final Fight and Streets of Rage. With an extra character,  combos, super attacks, and ultras, the 94 Warriors received great reviews across the board. 

Fast-forward twenty-four years. The same three core members, now known as the Tengo Project, are back and Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors has been released on Nintendo Switch and PS4.

Unlike most remasters Tengo decided to upgrade the original pixel art rather than going full 3D or hand drawn. The result looks like a 2019 new release with beautiful pixel art release with fluid animation, larger sprites, an updated soundtrack, and richly detailed backgrounds. 

The game opens with ominous scenery, a killer soundtrack, and a freakishly prophetic plot.

“The once great and wealthy nation lay in the midst of a terrible crisis. The tyrant Banglar used his forces to strike fear and terror into the people. Once brainwashed, they lost the power to think for themselves. The society was ruined. What was once a great economic power lay in darkness.”

Um… When was this written? 1994? 2019? So a band of rebels releases a trio of terminator ninjas to ASSASSINATE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. That’s hardcore.

Ninja Saviors is a no-nonsense, straight-forward brawler scroller. Playing on Normal is just challenging enough to have a great time and finish in a couple hours while Hard should give any seasoned gamer a tough time. The seven missions take you through enemy dojos, experimental military bases and a very White House-esque presidential mansion.  The ability to block almost everything and uninterruptible combos steer this game clear of the typical quarter-sucker tropes. 

The initial selection of assassins is very well rounded. A huge 1200-pound brute with nunchaku aptly titled Ninja, a female robot with throwing kunai, a red gi, and a plume of blonde hair, and a lanky insect-like machine with giant hooked swords that spins and slashes across the screen. Beating the game on normal unlocks Yaksha: another woman-robot with enormous robot-boobs with long expandable snake-like arms, and Raiden: a giant transforming mecha resembling a sentinel from Marvel vs. Capcom.

Simply put Ninja Saviors is just plain FUN! Not overly complicated. Not too long. Just beautiful art, great sound and music, and ridiculously cool characters. Have a friend over, get your favorite childhood pizza and soda, and enjoy the nostalgia. 

Oh and did I mention the second boss is named Chain Sawyer?

~Ben
@sketchsawyer