Museum of the Game ®

International Arcade Museum® — Killer List of Videogames®

Ninja Gaiden

Description

The Ninja has perfected five techniques to help him on his voyage. As he scourges each zone to eliminate the enemies, items appear from trash cans, signs, etc. His mission is to fight his way through six U.S. cities and destroy the enemy.

Ninja Gaiden was produced by Tecmo in 1988.

Tecmo released 63 machines in our database under this trade name, starting in 1985. Tecmo was based in Japan.

Other machines made by Tecmo during the time period Ninja Gaiden was produced include: American Football, Gemini Wing, Tecmo Bowl, Rygar (PlayChoice), Argos No Senshi - Legendary Warrior, Back Fire, Tecmo Bowl II, Shadow Warriors, Silk Worm, and Ninja Ryukenden

Specs

Name	Ninja Gaiden
Developer	Tecmo (Japan)
Year	1988
Type	Videogame
KLOV/MOG #	8881
Class	Wide Release
Genre	Scrolling Fighter
Monitor	Orientation: Horizontal Type: Raster: Standard Resolution Color: Color
Conversion Class	JAMMA
Dipswitch Settings	Ninja Gaiden Dipswitch Settings (user contributed)
# Simultaneous Players	2
# Maximum Players	2
Game Play	Joint
Control Panel Layout	Multiple Player
Controls	Joystick: 8-way with button - Grab Buttons: 2 - AttackJump
Sound	Amplified Mono (one channel)
Cabinet Styles	Upright/Standard
PCB	Ninja Gaiden PCB Image

Video Clips

Ninja Gaiden arcade ending

Game Introduction

This is a two-player team effort game. Both eight-way joysticks have a button on top to grab onto to poles and swing-kick your opponent. Each Ninja has five techniques: the Triple Blow combo, the Flying Neck throw, the Hang Kick, the Phoenix backflip, and the Tight Rope technique. Players can throw their opponents into trash cans or phone booths to break the items and reveal a secret bonus inside.

The object is to fight your way through six U.S. cities to collect items, destroy the assassination squads, and defeat the end bosses. The game ends when you defeat the head boss in the last stage, and the Ninja finally goes back to his homeland in Japan. As always, he lives happily ever after, until another group of terrorists try to rule the world.

Ninja Gaiden KLOV/IAM 5 Point User Score: 2.99 (3 votes)

Fun Factor: 4.10

Overall Like	4.50
Fun (Social)	4.00
Fun (Solo)	4.00
Collector Desire	3.50

Technical Rating: 2.92

Gameplay	3.00
Graphics	4.00
Originality	4.00
Sound/Music	3.50

Personal Impressions and Technical Impressions each account for half of the total score. Within the Personal Impressions category, Like carries a little more weight than the other factors.

More pictures

Trivia

The NES version of this game bears no resemblance to the original arcade version.PRyu Hayabusa, the star of this game later appeared in the IDead Or AliveI series.

Miscellaneous

COPY OF INinja RyukendenIPIn Europe, the game was retitled IShadow WarriorsI due to the European censorship standard at that time.

VAPS Arcade/Coin-Op Ninja Gaiden Census

There are 14,756 members of the Video Arcade Preservation Society / Vintage Arcade Preservation Society, 9,475 whom participate in our arcade census project of games owned, wanted, or for sale. Census data currently includes 164,456 machines (6,896 unique titles).

Very Common - There are 141 known instances of this machine owned by Ninja Gaiden collectors who are active members. Of these, 28 of them are original dedicated machines. 31 of them are conversions in which game circuit boards (and possibly cabinet graphics) have been placed in (and on) another game cabinet. 82 of them are only circuit boards which a collector could put into a generic case if desired.

For Sale - There are 5 active VAPS members with a Ninja Gaiden machines for sale. There are 8 active VAPS members with a Ninja Gaiden circuit boards for sale.

Wanted - There are 4 active VAPS members currently looking for Ninja Gaiden. There is one active VAPS member looking for a Ninja Gaiden circuit board set.

This game ranks a 35 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census ownership records.

This game ranks a 10 on a scale out of 100 (100 = most often seen, 1=least common) in popularity based on census want list records.

Rarity and Popularity independently are not necessarily indications of value. [More Information]

Flyers

Manuals

Pinout and DIP Switch Settings - Ninja Gaiden Manual — **Pinout and DIP Switch Settings**
(3 pages, 631 kB File)

Ninja Gaiden Service Bulletin - Ninja Gaiden Manual — **Ninja Gaiden Service Bulletin**
(4 pages, 394 kB File)

Ninja Gaiden Service Instruction Manual - Ninja Gaiden Manual — **Ninja Gaiden Service Instruction Manual**
(13 pages, 183 kB File)

Manual - Ninja Gaiden Manual — **Manual**
(2 pages, 85 kB File)

Additional References (logged in members often see more)

3D Model (External): Upright

eBay Listings

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