Oh hey, what's going down? Welcome to another new (kind of) feature here at Red Parsley! As I've no doubt mentioned before, despite my enthusiasm for and love of video games, especially ones of the 80s and 90s, I've never been particularly good at them. Some I could complete, but there were many I could not. There were some games that have stuck in mind all these years as being ones I played a lot and got quite a long way into a lot, but never managed to finish. This feature, whilst otherwise very similar to my existing Game Gallery posts, will showcase my (probably save state-assisted) journey to finally completing some of the offending games. First up is one of my very favourite games for one of my very favourite consoles:
Click here for the full review of this fine game.
Stage 1: Ken Oh
The legendary Joe Musashi's quest begins in the same sort of locale as many others of the day - a random city/town area. The first part is two-tiered and seems to just consist of a walk along a street. The only two types of enemy you'll encounter are gun-toting goons (who look like military grunts - has martial law been declared?) and boomerang-throwers who look a bit like the Iron Sheik. Piece of cake with no tough bits. The second part is not two-tiered and has pictures of Marilyn Monroe on the wall for some reason, but it still shouldn't pose too much of a problem, even with its introduction of a new Spider-Man-like enemy. Look up!
Make it through just two stages and you'll be confronted by an angry Ken Oh who doesn't want you to get any further! To that end, he will lob fireballs at you in twos. It's easy to get hit by these until you learn that you can throw them off course. Simply jump when he first shoots them and they'll move higher. Then crawl under them and give that fiery idiot a few smacks in the face. Job done.
The Bonus Rounds:
The object of the game is to find and rescue all the kidnapped children. Rescuing one will bestow upon you a special reward, one of which is the chance to earn special ninja magics in the bonus round! Shoot into the screen at the ninja running along the platforms as they jump closer to you. Fend them off for a set period of time and you'll win magic. Let one get too close and you'll get nothing, even if it was the last one.
Stage 2: Black Turtle
It looks like we've entered a docks area for the second stage and things are getting a bit trickier. The first part is an interestingly designed two-tiered affair. It has no new enemies but the gunmen and boomerang dudes it does feature are in some awkward positions. If you haven't lost any lives yet, this is also where you'll receive the little bombs power-up. The second part seems to be set inside a tall (and alarmingly red) building with strange gold boxes dotted around which you must ascend. This is where you'll first meet the green ninjas (not a very stealthy colour, is it?). The third part is a watery area and the only one to feature the stabby divers you can see in the shots. I'm not sure where they emerge from though, as when Joe falls into the watery bits from where they leap, it only seems to be knee deep. Oh well. As long as you don't rush through this area and get hit by the divers, it shouldn't pose a problem.
As you may have noticed, the Black Turtle is actually a big helicopter. The slow, lumbering contraption helpfully has a little yellow bit on the front which you just need to hit a few times to see it off. It would be a cinch except for the many strange leaping creatures with swords that drop out of it. Don't let them keep you so busy that you forget to shoot the pesky chopper though!
Stage 3: Mandara
Three parts to this stage, too. The first is similar to the first part of the opening stage due to its emphasis on its two-tiered nature, and it introduces another new enemy - an army bazooka guy! Don't worry, they're slow and can't shoot very far. The next two sections seem to be set in some sort of factory/warehouse-type area. The first features big pipe platforms gradually leading down to the ground, while the second has tons of crates or something. In addition to the usual gunmen and boomerang dudes, bazooka guys can be found on the pipes while the crates hide numerous ninjas and those leapy things from Black Turtle. Nothing too tough here though.
What is tough, however, is this idiotic boss. I don't recall having much trouble with it back in my MS days but I sure did this time around. A sign of my slow decay, I guess. The task that befalls Joe is to take out a bunch of Buddhist statues that are slowly moving across the floor towards him. There are sixteen of them in total - four high, four deep - and each takes several hits to destroy, with an electrified barrier to Joe's left preventing escape. If you manage to destroy this wall of annoyance you'll be faced with the Mandara Master, a robotic head that moves up and down the wall spitting fireballs at you. Hit the red spot on his head a few times and he's history, but those bloody statues, man.... Jeez, thank the lord for save states!
Stage 4: Lobster
Things are getting quite tough now. Two new enemies are introduced on this stage, the first being a weird voodoo guy who throws bones at you. These are first found on the first part of the stage which seems to be set in the courtyard leading up to a temple or something. The main issue here is the leaping sword guys who you don't always have time and/or space to avoid. The second and third parts are similar aside from the colour of the walls. There are lots of boomerang guys here but also the other new enemy - a jumping zombie monster thing. They are the least of your problems though - many deaths will be claimed by the pits between platforms. There are some big gaps to jump including one particularly large one near the end of the third part of the stage. Best to save a floaty ninja magic for this bit, just in case!
After those goddamn statues, this guy is a walk in the park. He's a big samurai or something and just walks towards you swishing his big sword. Fear not, however, for if you manage to shoot his hat, he'll be shunted backwards. Do the same thing a few times and he hops off to meet his maker. Since this is quite easy, it's unlikely his sizeable weapon will ever strike you! Easiest boss in the game.
Stage 5: Masked Ninja
Uh-oh, the final stage - this is likely to be a toughie! The first part is similar to that of the third stage, only there are big insta-death holes in the floor, not to mention tons of ninjas and voodoo oafs hoping to knock you in. Next it's on to a bamboo forest. There are several types of enemies here but the leapy blue sword creatures flying all over the place are easily the biggest threat. Lastly, you're in a two-tiered temple or something which houses the last new type of enemy - martial arts guys with bo staffs who can dodge your attacks! There are only a few of these, actually, with lots of other types of enemy around as well, but it's easier than the bamboo forest. Hope you saved some energy - next up is the final boss!
If you were expecting a fearsome brute half the size of the screen waiting to wreak havoc, you'd be in for a big disappointment - the Masked Ninja is only about Joe's size! I knew this already, of course. As mentioned, I managed to reach this cretin numerous times, I just never had enough energy left to defeat him. He's a pretty tough customer too - he has a big jump, he can run fast, he has a shield, and he can turn into a tornado which fires off little boomerang things. If you're lucky, though, you can trap him against either side of the screen and get loads of hits in. Tricky but I only needed a couple of tries, unlike that ridiculous pile of statues earlier. Grrr!
The Ending:
Hooray, I finally bested that idiotic Masked Ninja, and after so many years and so much effort, I was ready to bask in the well deserved glory of a dazzling ending sequence. Would I receive the highest honours my ninja dojo has to offer? Would I see my name and score sparkling in glorious colours? Would I at least get to see the game credits? To my not inconsiderable sorrow, no, none of that. Just a 'Game Over' screen as below. That's it. C'mon Sega, at least put a little effort in! Oh well, least I finally completed Shinobi, even if it wasn't in the most honourable way. It's still a wonderful game, even if the ending (or lack thereof) sucks donkey balls.
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