Codex Gamicus
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
FANDOM
Fan Central
BETA
Games
Anime
Movies
TV
Video
Wikis
Explore Wikis
Community Central
Start a Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Sign In
Sign In
Register
Fandom's centric source of video game knowledge
42,423
pages
Explore
Main Page
Discuss
All Pages
Interactive Maps
navigation
Main page
Community portal
Recent changes
Random page
Admin noticeboard
Forums
Company Index
Character Index
Hardware Index
In-Game Index
Ratings Index
Video Game Index
Fandom
Gamepedia support
Report a bad ad
Help Wiki
Contact us
Editing
The Last Ninja (series)
Back to page
Edit
VisualEditor
View history
Talk (0)
Edit Page
The Last Ninja (series)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{Cleanup|date=November 2007}} {{SeriesInfobox | platforms = Commodore 64,Amiga, Amstrad CPC,Acorn Archimedes,Apple IIGS,Apple II,Atari ST,BBC Micro,CD32,DOS,Nintendo Entertainment System,Xbox,ZX Spectrum }} '''''The Last Ninja''''' is a series of [[video game]]s published by [[System 3 (software company)|System 3]]. The first game in the series, titled ''[[The Last Ninja]]'', was released in [[1987 in video gaming|1987]] for the [[Commodore 64]]. ''The Last Ninja'' was one of the most successful games ever for the C64, with over 2 million copies sold worldwide for all formats.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} In [[1988 in video gaming|1988]], System 3 released ''Last Ninja 2'', and in [[1991 in video gaming|1991]] the third game in the series, ''Last Ninja 3''. In 1990, ''Last Ninja Remix'' was released for 8-bit systems. This was ''Last Ninja 2'' with new music, a new introductory sequence, slightly changed graphics (most notably the screen border) and fixed bugs. Confusingly, the 16-bit versions of the original ''The Last Ninja'' game were also released in 1990 as ''Ninja Remix''. Generally the games had been made with Commodore 64 as the lead platform, with other platforms getting less attention (sometimes the porters didn't even receive the C64 version's data, and had to reconstruct the entire game from scratch).{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Versions of ''The Last Ninja'' for the [[BBC Micro]], [[Acorn Electron]] and [[Acorn Archimedes]]/[[RISC OS]] computers were published by [[Superior Software]], while [[Activision]] published it for the [[Apple IIgs|Apple II<small>GS</small>]]. The Commodore 64 version of Last Ninja Remix appeared as a cartridge for the C64GS, but the existence of Last Ninja 3 has yet to be confirmed. ==Gameplay== The [[protagonist]] of ''The Last Ninja'' series is Armakuni, the sole survivor of a [[ninjutsu]] clan that was destroyed by Kunitoki, an evil [[shogun]]. This struggle leads our hero to island of Lin Fen (in ''The Last Ninja'') to modern day [[New York City]] (in ''The Last Ninja 2'') and to the mystical [[Buddhist]] temple in Tibet (in ''The Last Ninja 3''). In each of the games, Kunitoki is the final adversary and every time eludes death after a somewhat decisive victory from Armakuni. Each game is divided into a number of self contained locations, with the original game containing six such 'levels'. Each level is loaded separately, in sequence as the game progresses. Game over takes the player back to the start of the current level. One novel feature on the C64 version was the use of very distinctive oriental music in loading and in-game music for each level. These original music pieces on the first ''Last Ninja'' were composed by respected C64 musician [[Ben Daglish]] doing five tunes and [[Anthony Lees]] doing six tunes. In the sequel, ''Last Ninja 2'', [[Matt Gray]] composed all the tunes. What separated ''The Last Ninja'' series from most other games was that in c64 version all three [[MOS Technology SID|SID]] sound channels were dedicated to music playback, meaning that there were no in-game sounds. [[Reyn Ouwehand]] provided the new music used in the Commodore 64 version of Last Ninja Remix. Each location was presented as a map of static [[Isometric projection|isometric]] screens, with the player's character restricted to predefined paths (the scenery was inaccessible). By 8 bit standards the graphics were very detailed, and on many platforms the screen would take a second or so to draw itself when entered. The gameplay generally consisted of fighting, exploration, and puzzle-solving. Movement and fighting was done on the joystick, and the keyboard was used to select items and weapons that the player had to acquire. The player could select one active weapon and one item at any given time. Many map screens contained opponents which the ninja could avoid (by exiting a screen before they caught him) or fight using his selected weapon. (In later Last Ninja games defeated enemies would revive after a certain amount of time.) Items would flash briefly when a screen was first entered, and could be picked up when standing close to them, usually triggering a crouching animation. A crouching animation was also often employed when using the object. Most of the puzzles were of the item-finding or precision-jumping variety. ==The levels in the series== ===The Last Ninja / Ninja Remix (Amiga/ST)=== #''The Wastelands'' #''The Wilderness'' #''Palace Gardens'' #''The Dungeons'' #''The Palace'' #''The Inner Sanctum'' ===Last Ninja 2 / Last Ninja Remix (C64/ZX/CPC)=== <!-- [[Image:LastNinja2-CentralPark.png|thumb|545px|''The Last Ninja 2'' Central Park Scenes {{deletable image-caption}}]] --> # ''Central Park'' # ''The Streets'' # ''The Sewers'' # ''The Basement'' # ''The Office'' # ''The Mansion'' # ''The Final Battle'' ===Last Ninja 3=== # ''Earth'' # ''Wind'' # ''Water'' # ''Fire'' # ''Limbo'' (Amiga/Atari ST) # ''Void'' ==''Last Ninja 4''== In 1993, John Wells created a series of previews, music and a map for one level of a fourth game which he tried to convince System 3 to make. System 3 turned him down.[http://www.gtw64.co.uk/Pages/l/Review_LN4.php] Many years later, probably around 1999, the idea was rekindled. Originally set for an early 2004 release, the game was shown at the [[E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)|E3]] 2003 Expo in Los Angeles, but has since been delayed. Released screenshots showed a game looking very similar to Tecmo's ''[[Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)|Ninja Gaiden]]'', also in development at the time (released in early 2004).{{Fact|date=July 2007}} The game has also been said to be cancelled at least twice, only to return to development, however in an interview with System 3 CEO, Mark Cale, in Australian "Nintendo Gamer", he said they were planning Last Ninja 4 for PS2 and Xbox but it was scrapped it because it "simply wasn't good enough". In the same interview, he also stated that ''Last Ninja'' would be returning in the form of a remade trilogy for Nintendo DS and Wii. [http://lastninja.lemon64.com/ln4.php] An interview with Retro Gamer magazine also included screenshots from a proposed PSP version. ==Series history== *'''''The Last Ninja''''': [[Commodore 64]] (1987), [[DOS]] (1988), [[Apple IIgs|Apple II<small>GS</small>]] (1988), [[Apple II]] (1989), [[Acorn Electron]] (1989), [[BBC Micro]] (1989), [[Acorn Archimedes]] (1992) [[Virtual Console]] (2008) *'''''Ninja Remix''''': [[Amiga]] (1990), [[Atari ST]] (1990) *'''''Last Ninja 2''''': Commodore 64 (1988), [[ZX Spectrum]] (1988), [[Amstrad CPC]] (1988), Amiga (1990), Atari ST (1990), DOS (1990), [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] (1990, as ''The Last Ninja''), Acorn Electron (1990), BBC Micro, (1990) Virtual Console (2008) *'''''Last Ninja Remix''''': Commodore 64 (1990), ZX Spectrum (1990), Amstrad CPC (1990) *'''''Last Ninja 3''''': Commodore 64 (1991), Amiga (1991), Atari ST (1991), [[Amiga CD32]] (1993), Virtual Console (2008){{r|group=Note|d}} *'''''Last Ninja 4''''': [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox]] and [[Nintendo GameCube]] (cancelled), planned but uncertain: [[Nintendo DS]], [[Wii]]{{Fact|date=July 2007}} {{reflist|group=Note|refs= <ref name=d>Last Ninja 3 was discontinued on the Virtual Console in Europe on February 23, 2010 due to a bug in the game that was unable to be fixed, which resulted in the game to freeze after the first level. Users that downloaded that game was given a refund of 500 Wii points.</ref> }} [[DragonForce]] is known to use the Last Ninja 2 theme as an introtape to their concerts. ==External links== *{{moby game|id=-group/last-ninja-series|name=''Last Ninja'' series}} *[http://lastninja.c64.org/ Last Ninja Archives] *[http://www.puffy64.de/html/downloads-c64-mp3-ln2.html Puffy64: Last Ninja 2 Tribute CD] *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdGIaIimK-Y Last Ninja 1 '87 Video Tribute] {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Ninja, The}} {{Link GA|de}} [[de:The Last Ninja]] [[sv:The Last Ninja]]
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to the Codex Gamicus are considered to be released under the CC BY-SA 3.0
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:!!
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Ambox
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:ArrayPageType
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Category handler
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Citation needed
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Cleanup
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Delink
(
view source
)
Template:Fact
(
view source
)
Template:Fix
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Fix/category
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Link GA
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Main other
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:MobyGames
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Moby game
(
view source
)
Template:PageTypeSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:PlatformSwitch
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:R
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:R/ref
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:Reflist
(
view source
) (protected)
Template:SeriesInfobox
(
view source
) (protected)
Module:Arguments
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/blacklist
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/config
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/data
(
edit
)
Module:Category handler/shared
(
edit
)
Module:Check for unknown parameters
(
edit
)
Module:Delink
(
edit
)
Module:Message box
(
edit
)
Module:Message box/configuration
(
edit
)
Module:Namespace detect/config
(
edit
)
Module:Namespace detect/data
(
edit
)
Module:No globals
(
edit
)
Module:Unsubst
(
edit
)
Module:Yesno
(
edit
)
Follow on IG
TikTok
Join Fan Lab