Ninja Hayate
 Japanese arcade flyer of Ninja Hayate. | |
| Developer(s) | Taito (arcade version) Telenet Japan, Wolf Team (Mega CD version) Ecseco (Saturn/PS1 versions) |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Taito (arcade version) Wolf Team, Renovation, Sega (Sega CD version) Ecseco (Saturn/PS1 versions) |
| Designer(s) | Toei Animation |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, PlayStation |
| Release | Arcade Sega CD |
| Genre(s) | Action game, interactive movie |
| Mode(s) | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
Ninja Hayate (忍者ハヤテ) is a Template:Vgy laserdisc video game first developed and released by Taito for arcades in Japan[1] and the United States.[2] The game was later ported to the Sega CD video game console as Revenge of the Ninja in 1993, and was released in Japan, North America and Europe.
Arcade game
The game tells the story of a skilled and daring teenage ninja named Hayate, infiltrating an evil castle in an attempt to rescue a princess he loves.[3] Hayate must survive a collection of deathtraps and defeat a variety of mythological creatures and other adversaries on his quest to save the princess and destroy the castle.
The game draws players to guide Hayate with a joystick for moving him around and one button for using weapons through 15 different stages that take place in feudal Japan-based areas. There are three difficulty levels.
Like earlier laserdisc games such as Don Bluth's Dragon's Lair, Ninja Hayate contains traps and creatures that requires players to dodge or attack them at specific moments, by watching for the warning buzzer (like Dragon's Lair) in addition to flashing objects (e.g. arrows, buttons, light, etc.). If a player makes a mistake, one life decreases, and when players run out of lives, the game ends.
Unlike Don Bluth's laserdisc games, Ninja Hayate is animated with anime drawings by Toei Animation. Another difference is that the game flashes the buttons that need to be pressed directly on the screen. Sometimes it also flashes multiple possible button presses on screen, indicating different paths that the player can take.
Home versions
The Revenge of the Ninja Sega CD version was published by Renovation Products, Telenet Japan's North American subsidiary. This game was also later converted by Ecseco to the Sega Saturn and PlayStation. The latter versions were released only in Japan as part of a double bill with Time Gal, another animated laserdisc arcade game conversion made by Taito, as Interactive Movie Action - Time Gal and Ninja Hayate.[4]
Reception
GamePro gave the Sega CD version a negative review, saying the game is inferior to Dragon's Lair and Time Gal with unexciting gameplay and "grainy and soupy looking" graphics.[5] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a 6.4 out of 10, commenting that the gameplay relies "more on memorization than anything else. Nice animation though."[6]
Legacy
The game's battle music was used by The Immortals in their techno hit "Mortal Kombat (Techno Syndrome)", the theme song to the 1995 film adaptation of Mortal Kombat.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Ninja Hayate at the Killer List of Videogames
- ^ "Ninja Hayate". GameFAQs. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
- ^ GamePro 59 (June 1994)
- ^ Interactive Movie Action - Time Gal & Ninja Hayate
- ^ "ProReview: Revenge of the Ninja". GamePro. No. 59. IDG. June 1994. p. 50.
- ^ "Review Crew: Revenge of the Ninja". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 60. EGM Media, LLC. July 1994. p. 38.
- ^ "Taito". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
External links
- Ninja Hayate at Dragon's Lair Project
- Ninja Hayate at the Killer List of Videogames
- Ninja Hayate at arcade-history