C64 ~ The Last Ninja 2 Review

Overview

It was mid-1995. And there I was at the Last Battle on the verge of banishing the evil Kunitoki Shogun forever. I was on a perfect game, maxed out full on 10 lives. Shogun is knocked out, four candles are lit…only one more candle to light to meet the ninja's destiny… I CAN'T DO IT!!!

I drop the pad and run off to my room into the hibernation of my bed-sheets, squirming like the little child I was… the Commodore 64 was packed away, never to be seen again in many years…

Gameplay

In this game, you control a Ninja to make it to the end of each level by solving these little puzzles along the way. The game plays on different screens, so when you move into an edge of a screen, a new screen with a different scene pops up. Most screens will have a bad guy in it and fighting them is entirely up to you. But of course if you want some action, you will have to fight! To help you along the way, you can pick up weapons such as the staff and nunchakus on the first level.

8.5 out of 10

Graphics

For a Commodore 64, the graphics a pretty darn good. But I found that they lacked those small background animations to be seen in the first Last Ninja, although the quality of the graphics themselves have improved. Most of the game is very colourful, with alot of additional detail added to the screens. Like hotdog stands in the streets and computers on office desks.

5 out of 5

Sound and Music

There are no sound effects at all in the game. This is actually more than made up for by the excellent music tracks on each level. You can tell that they were well thought out… heck, its probably the some of the best music you ever hope to hear on a Commodore 64! Well I can't be bothered explaining how good they are, you just have to listen to them for yourself! And seriously, I don't mean that as an understatement.

4.25 out of 5

Game Design

Every level will involve a few puzzles to overcome a few obstacles. Although they aren't straight-forward, they are logical and interesting. For example; on the first level, you have to jump onto a separate island to knock a dingy down a river, then you have to go back to the screen where the dingy will cross, and only then you can hop onto the other side of the river! Yeah I know, stupid ninja can't swim.

4.5 out of 5

Longevity

The game is fairly linear; you can only play the game in one way, unless you picked up items and entered screens in a different order, which is the same thing anyway.

But once you have figured out what to do in every level, you will be able to finish the game in under an hour without too much difficulty. Once you have completed it, there is little reason to come back, unless you want to increase you score and time.

However, I found the game satisfying to play again after a few years absence…

3.5 out of 5

For: ninjas are cool, darn good graphics, some of the best C64 music, good puzzles, good to come back to every now and then.

Against: no sound effects, can only play the game in one way.

It was mid 1999. And there I was at the Last Battle on the verge of banishing the evil Kunitoki Shogun forever. I was on an error prone game, with only two lives left to spare. Shogun is knocked out, one by one the candles are lit… it was that simple. The evil Kunitoki Shogun is banished forever. I sit back and rejoice my victory…

Check out the Last Ninja 4: The Return, out on Playstation 2!!!

It is most likely that it has come out at this time of reading.