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Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou

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The game tells another story in the Ninja-kun series. This time it’s a platform game with some twists. There are two tasks alternating through levels: you are required either to kill every enemy in the level (as in the previous games) or simply to reach the exit. Running into enemies usually won’...

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Developer
Micronics

Released on
1988

Size
1–2 Players

Version
NES

Requirements
Nintendo Entertainment System

Downloads
Action

Publisher
UPL

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

The game tells another story in the Ninja-kun series. This time it’s a platform game with some twists. There are two tasks alternating through levels: you are required either to kill every enemy in the level (as in the previous games) or simply to reach the exit. Running into enemies usually won’t kill you, however if you are hit by a single projectile, you’ll have to start from a checkpoint. Enemies vary from plain ninjas to giant skeletons or killer fish. Each level has a time limit, and when this limit is close to an end a fire wheel of death will appear on the screen, chasing Ninja-kun.

Ninja-kun has some techniques for successful progression though the levels: many enemies can be temporarily stunned by jumping on them or hitting them from below; and ninja can obtain some power-ups including boomerang, bombs, a devastating fire attack or invincibility. Ninja-kun is capable of wall climbing and wall jumping, the latter requiring some practice from the player.

Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou

Overview & History

Released by UPL in 1988 exclusively for the Famicom, Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou serves as the cult-classic sequel to the arcade original Ninja-kun: Majou no Bouken. Shifting the franchise from single-screen platforming to expansive, vertically scrolling vertical stages, this installment drops players into a mythical, demon-infested feudal Japan. The storyline tasks the youthful protagonist, Ninja-kun, with descending into the corrupted underworldly realms of Ashura to banish hordes of malignant yokai, ghosts, and rival samurai who have shattered the peace of the realm. Unlike its arcade predecessor, the Famicom iteration re-engineered level layouts, added RPG-lite item shops, and introduced screen-clearing spell mechanics that made home console survival vastly more strategic.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Ashura no Shou blends vertical-scrolling platforming with aggressive melee combat. Unlike typical side-scrollers, levels require players to scale walls, drop through platform ledges, and dispatch waves of mythological adversaries using throwing shuriken and close-combat martial arts strikes. Defeating specific enemy formations yields scrolls and currency, which can be spent at hidden merchant portals to purchase critical upgrades like extended jump heights, homing talismans, and explosive ninpo bombs. A standout gameplay mechanic is the spiritual karma system; collecting specific orbs fills a meter allowing Ninja-kun to temporarily transform into a devastating armored warrior capable of screen-clearing elemental devastation. The game is notoriously unforgiving, featuring knockback physics that can easily send players careening into bottomless abysses if they misjudge a platform ledge during chaotic enemy swarms.