Ninja Gaiden Trilogy

"Great idea... but the result is less than the sum of its parts"

- Introduction -
Back in 1995, it was a pleasant surprise to know that Tecmo would make a compilation with the three Ninja Gaiden games from the NES (namely: Ninja Gaiden, NG II – The Dark Sword of Chaos and NG III – The Ancient Ship of Doom) into one cartridge for the SNES. Being a great fan of old school action games, and more important, being a great admirer of the classic Ninja Gaiden adventures, I had high hopes for Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. Unfortunately, what Tecmo delivered us is an example of how not to do a compilation.

Instead of improving the graphics and sounds, just like Nintendo did with Super Mario All Stars, Tecmo decided to let things as they were back on the NES. At least, that should have been the idea. I can understand their decision to leave everything unchanged and, in fact, playing all Ninja Gaiden NES games in their full glory would be something that I would appreciate very much. However, and without any possible explanation, both the graphics and sounds are worse than their NES counterparts. These issues are not enough to ruin the exciting, unique experience that this trilogy provides, but it was really a disappointment to find worsened 8-bit graphics in what is supposed to be a 16-bit compilation.

- Story - 10/10
NG I was one of the games that invented the story progression during the gameplay. Every game before it just had had a simple premise since the beginning (like, “save the princess”) and that remained as your objective until the end. Ninja Gaiden, however, was something different. In all NG games, the plot is complicated and develops the further you progress with the use of awesome cutscenes. It may be a simple thing today but, back then, it was revolutionary and was one of the points that propelled the series to the success.

Ryu Hayabusa is the main character. He is a ninja well trained in the ninjutsu, and the last survivor of the dragon clan. His father was slain during a confrontation against an adversary, whose identity and objectives, Ryu does not know. From there, Ryu takes the legendary sword of his ancestors and starts his crusade to avenge his father and learn the truth. That is the beginning of Ninja Gaiden I. I do not want to spoil anything else, so I will stop here. I will just say that the story of NG I is great, becoming more mystic and intense the further you progress, and it is continued very nicely through the second game. NG II has the best story and explains a few things that were not clear in the first game. The story in NG III is a bit confusing and weird, but, overall, the story deserves a 10.

- Gameplay - 9/10
It is great to see the old ninja in action again! All the three games are side-scrollers, and Ryu mostly jumps around on platforms and climbs up and down ladders, slashing hordes of weak enemies and a big boss at the end of each stage. And you can be sure that the bosses are wicked, fast and hard to kill. The levels themselves are by no means a piece of cake, either. There are enemies coming from nowhere at every instant trying to wipe out your ninja, and there are bottomless pits at every corner of these games. Overall, NG Trilogy is hard, but never to the point of frustration, especially because all games have now very welcome passwords (a feature that only the Japanese version of NG III had in the past) which helps to balance the difficulty.

To aid him in his quest, Ryu only has his sword and a few special attacks, like fireballs and shurikens. You collect them, and also every item, in a Castlevania style, the only difference is that the hanging chandeliers have been replaced by red spheres floating in mid-air. Make sure to get as many items as you can, they are vital to your progression in some points. Ryu can also grab on the walls to climb them, and in NG III he can also climb monkeybars. The games are simple but very interesting, even today.

It is also noteworthy to mention that in NG Trilogy, all games are selectable since the beginning, meaning that you do not have to finish Ninja Gaiden I to start playing NG II or NG III.

- Graphics - 5/10
To those unfamiliar with the series, Ninja Gaiden was a side scroller just like others of this genre on the NES, but with a graphic excellency rarely seen. The character is small, but both very well detailed and realistic, and so are the enemies and backgrounds. And there are even lots of incredible cutscenes throughout the game (most of them are even animated). However, for some reason, the visuals are not as they used to be on the NES. They are somewhat worse.

Indeed, the changes are subtle, but pay attention and you will notice them. The color pallet was altered a bit, but that is not a big deal. The problem here is that many of the visual effects that were on the NES were removed. Where are the lightnings in the dark level of NG II? What happened to the different velocities in the background of the stage 2-1 in NG III? Small changes like those are scattered all over the game and, to anyone who remembers the original games, they do make the things less appealing. I am sure that the SNES can handle much more intensity than what Tecmo has given us here.

- Sound - 4.5/10
The worst feature in Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. I really liked the music of the Ninja Gaiden series. Those are probably the best tunes of the NES and, instead of leaving everything as it used to be... surprise: they totally redid some of the classic music and remixed pretty much everything. I mean that the tunes and sound effects that were played on the NES versions are still there (mostly) but everything feels too different. The opening theme of NG II is the biggest casualty that comes to my mind. The music is still intense and fits the action very well, but the music was better on the NES by far.

- Conclusion -
I am sure you know about the problems in the graphics and sound departments, since I have been whining for quite some time now. So, if you do have the option, play the original NES classics because they are way better. In case you cannot find them, try Ninja Gaiden Trilogy. It is, after all, an interesting compilation, although it is not as good as it should be.

- Overall - 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/15/02, Updated 05/27/04