Here's the whole game in one video. I'm surprised at how well this turned out.
Interestingly, the game takes place in 1985, and it actually takes place before the first Ninja Gaiden game. It should also be mentioned that this is made by the same developers as Shadow of the Ninja for NES, and the game was originally meant to be a port of that game, hence why part of the Shadow Warriors logo appears below that of Ninja Gaiden's.
Anyway, you're saving New York City from the evil forces of Emperor Garuda (Emperor Gulf in the English language version), who is a servant of Jaquio.
Stage 1
You just have six units of health as well as only one ninjitsu attack that you can store multiple uses of (the fire wheel power from the NES series). A lets you jump, B lets you attack, Left and Right let you move around, and Down lets you duck.
The flashing crystal balls contain the power-ups you'll be hunting for in this game. The ninpo orb gives you another ninjitsu attack, while the potions refill your health. A small bottle fills up two units, while the big one gives you full health. To use your ninjutsu, hold Up and press B. You'll shoot a bunch of flames forwards and upwards, and these flames will destroy any enemies they touch. You can carry up to five ninjutsu charges.
This game may be a bit slower than the NES games, and it may not have as many enemies, but it is still a playable game.
In this stage, you'll be dealing with missile-firing cannon (duck under the missiles), guys that seemingly try to alert people of your presence (for no reason), and bombs that shoot up a fire pillar when destroyed.
Unlike the other Ninja Gaiden games, you can't wall jump. Instead, the game gives you a grappling hook. Up and the A button throws it up. Why they couldn't put wall jumping into the game, I don't know. All I know is that the lack of it combined with other factors makes this game feel a lot like the odd man out.
The boss here is the cyborg Spider. Attack him as he crawls around before he jumps up to the ceiling and starts crawling on it. When you're under him, he'll either come straight down at you or come down to the floor at a slight angle. He's more likely to jump straight down if you just stand there. Move around so he won't hit you on the way down, then start slashing at him again until his attack pattern repeats once more. Also, don't use your ninjutsu. It will not damage Spider at all. He's an easy boss, but he can be a pain in the pants if you don't know what not to do.
Stage 2
This stage introduces the mainstays of the Ninja Gaiden earlier than the NES games do. Most notably, you'll be dealing with flying robots that vertically track you, men with guns and cyborgs that send flames across the ground. You'll also see conveyor belts now and again, too.
The flames from the flamethrower men can go down walls, but not up them. Keep that in mind in case you're trying to approach them to destroy them. Also, the gunmen shoot three times and cannot duck, and you can duck under their bullets to avoid getting shot.
The flying mechs in the beginning of the second section will try to line themselves up with you and shoot a bullet at you. Thankfully, they're easy to get close to and destroy.
If you go back for the seemingly unreachable orb at the start of the second section of the stage, you'll get an extra life (just a circle with a picture of Ryu's head on it).
The men with the shields stop moving every so often to hold up their shields to protect themselves from harm. When they start moving again, they're completely vulnerable. If you turn around and get away a little bit, they will stop blocking early, and you can immediately turn around and slash them.
The boss here is some big guy (Gregory) with a tiny little midget that hangs off of him at first only to jump off and walk around (Jack). Strangely, I unintentionally get their names mixed up. You'd think Ryu would be able to squish the poor little guy with his foot, but apparently that's not the case.
Anyway, Gregory slowly moves across the floor and kicks at you as soon as you're in range. Jack, on the other hand, is slightly faster, has a really high jump and slows you down considerably when he gets a hold of you. At least this boss is not as bad as the Frankenstein-Fleaman combo from Castlevania that it's clearly based off of. If you see Gregory back away a little bit, back away so he doesn't kick you.
You can use the platforms to your advantage and make a break for the other end of the room, but be careful as Gregory will know you're there and punch straight up if you stay up there while he's under you.
If Jack clings to your leg, keep jumping until you knock him off. He'll somersault away, leaving you free to actually do something. You can't kill him, sadly, so stay away from Gregory and focus all of your attacks on him.
Also, if Jack gets on Gregory's back, Gregory will do a charging attack that is fairly quick and covers almost the entire screen.
Stage 3
Finally! Some music from the NES series!
The robots that travel on the bottom of the rope platforms shoot bombs that vertically track you, so don't think you're safe if you're at the top of the platforms. They also take a break between sets of bombs, and you can easily anticipate where you'll need to stand to avoid them due to the fact that the bombs travel strictly vertically.
The men that walk around have guns, but they never really use them.
Also, there are a lot of flamethrowers here. Some of them are stationed on walls and shoot flames in a counter-clockwise circle, but others are on walls and shoot whatever direction they're facing. To get past the second one unscathed, you'll have to stay in the upper-left corner and then make your move as the flames pass.
In the second section, you'll be dealing with elevators on the background walls. Some go up, others go down. You'll be dealing with the tiny flying robots as well as the bomb shooting robots as you make your way to the other side, which means lots of death from above...and below. You'll eventually latch on to a hook which takes you to another level of...wherever this is...and you'll be dealing with spinning electric forks on the floor below. Thankfully, there's just enough space between them to maneuver as you make your way to the door.
The third section is fairly easy. There is an extra life below the spiked ceiling, but to get it, you'll have to be fairly quick against the falling ceiling columns. I usually don't go for it. Also, there are bombs that move back and forth. Wait for the explosion to go away after you strike them before moving on.
The boss here is some sort of M. Bison look-alike named Commander Allen (who I keep calling Colonel Allen), who is a former military commander. He shoots at both the ceiling and the floor, and he's surprisingly easy. Watch where he looks, as this is where he's going to shoot. From there, take advantage of the situation (and the periods where he stands there and looks around) and slash at him a couple of times. Just watch out when he moves around on the floor, as he can be slightly unpredictable in that aspect. It is possible to stay just above him to the side on the ceiling and trick him into shooting at the ceiling while you drop down and smack him with the sword multiple times. The best place to do this at is at the sides of the screen, as he will be forced to turn around when he gets to a bit before the edge of the screen.
Stage 4
Looks like some underwater lab or base.
Anyway, the flying robots that look like they come straight out of the third NES game are back. The first new enemy you'll see is...other ninjas. They'll throw shurikens at you, and they'll throw even more when they jump to the ceiling and stand upside down on it. They'll come back down to make themselves easy pickings, though.
You'll also see drops of some sort of liquid come out of holes in the pipes in the ceiling. These things burn off a slight flame when they hit the ground. They're probably some sort of explosive liquid, like butane or something. Whatever you do, don't touch the droplets or the flames.
After you trek to the right a little bit, the lights will go out. They'll flash on and off momentarily every couple of seconds, giving you enough time to figure out where the platforms are. Use these to keep from getting zapped by the laser turrets that run across the ground and the ceiling.
When you make your way to the end, walls will close both behind you and in front of you before the floor collapses beneath your feet. You'll drop down and continue your quest from there. Before you do that, break the item orbs to your left. You'll refill four units of health and gain another use of Ninpo.
When you start climbing upwards in the third section, you'll also be dealing with lava flowing upwards from the bottom of the chasm! Don't even take any of the power-ups as you make your way up, avoiding electrical shocks that move back and forth across the platforms and delay you if you touch them.
The boss here is the Japanese nobleman Fukisai (known as Evil Nobleman Whokisai in the English language versions). He flies around, throws his fan at you like a boomerang, and tosses shurikens at you. When he stops and move towards the ground, move away. When he's next to you, duck and stab him as much as you can as he throws his fan, then jump over the fan when it returns and hit him a few more times.
Whatever you do, don't stay still. It makes it easier to avoid the shurikens he tosses downwards.
Stage 5
Ninja Gaiden 3 music! Yay!
The flamethrower guys will fire their weapons when they get close, and it can be quite annoying. If you can climb underneath the rope platforms to get past, do it. Otherwise, wait for them to come at you before slashing at them. You can also pre-occupy them by having them leap up a little bit to a nearby platform that they can easily jump to. They won't be attacking you then.
The flamethrower guys are also probably the nastiest enemy in the game. They make it difficult for you to get close and get the kill, and they also turn around if they hit the edge of a platform. If you're hanging off the bottom of a platform, they actually keep walking. This makes for some interesting abuses of AI but also interesting ways to take unnecessary damage. For best results, get behind them only if you absolutely know you can do it, and use the non-rope platforms as a means of pre-occupying them with a jump where they can't attack you unless they run into you during said jump.
The grenade guys from Stage 1 are back. Coupled with the flamethrower guys, they can make get around a bit tense.
The large flying robots here will fire three very avoidable shots. They move up and down between shots, and you can simply wait for them to come down to your level so you can slash them. Some of them actually dip down from above the screen. Take those down with your ninjitsu when necessary.
The second section takes you inside a building. The laser turrets can be destroyed only if they are opened. Let them fire first and avoid the lasers, then hit them. Also, watch out for the flamethrower guys while climbing on the rope platforms.
The next section is an elevator. You'll have to avoid all the lasers as you pick up the three ninpo as well as the big health power-up near the end. Some of them you can duck under, while others you'll have to jump over. You can also grab onto the bottom of the elevator platform to avoid some lasers, if necessary.
When you reach the top, you'll face Emperor Garuda! He'll fly around and shoot lightning down from above. Strike him when he's at your level, and stay on the move as he shoots lightning at you from the top of the screen. You do not want to be directly under Garuda, as there is a good chance you're gonna get zapped.
When you damage Garuda enough, he'll turn into some huge robot-looking thing. He'll leap from one side of the room to the other and shoot three energy beams at you. He will always fire middle, bottom, then top. Stay away from them, duck under the middle, jump over the lower one, then keep slashing away at Garuda and follow him to the other side as you avoid the upper. Keep slashing until he shoots out those energy beams again. Repeat as he jumps back to the other side. As you fight him, you'll get a good idea of when to get away so he can fire the energy beams out without you being in the way. You'll also figure out that you'll need to be close enough to hit him with your sword, but not too close, so he always does a big jump as opposed to a higher jump with less distance. If you're low on health, use your ninjutsu to deal some desperation damage.
Once Garuda blows up, you've won the game! Congratulations!
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