Let me begin by saying this is one of the best games I’ve played in a long time for any system, hands down. Ninja Five-0 is a GBA game developed by Konami, released in 2003. The basic premise is that you’re a ninja who needs to take down the bad guys; there is almost no story – which is perfect, because none is needed. You have shurikens, your sword and a grappling hook. You can pick up powerups that increase the speed, power and distance of your shurikens. Getting hit will not only cost your life but your power ups.
The game harkens back to the 16 bit glory days – you get unlimited continues, but only one life for the whole game. Your power bar allows you to take two or three hits at most, but! for every level, the amount of power you lose carries over to the next stage within the level. You get some of your life back after successfully beating a level, but not all of it.
Perfection is key.
Lisa will attest to how many times I threw my gameboy micro in disgust only to pick it back up a few seconds later. Beating a level isn’t really the goal – beating a level without taking a hit is. Numerous times I’ve gotten to the end of the level only to reset the game and try again.
This game has been compared (positively) to Sega’s 8-bit and 16-bit franchise, Shinobi. It’s quite apropos, really – there hasn’t been quite a game like Shinobi until Ninja Five-0, even including Sega’s attempts with the PS2 version of Shinobi and Nightshade. There’s also bit of a cult following on youtube, where people post their speed runs and high scores. As long as there is a community, there’s nearly infinite replayability.
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