Ninja Master's: Haō Ninpō Chō 

Much like today, game journalism in the 90's failed at taking the time to truly explore a fighting game to its fullest before passing judgement. Unless the fighting game was a 3D fighter, or had the name Street Fighter or Samurai Shodown attached, game critics of the day passed off most other 2D fighters as mere copy-cats - shadows of what came before. Given the absurd amount of 2D fighting games that were released during the 90's arcade boom, I can understand some fatigue when reviewing "yet another 2D fighter." At the same time, this lazy journalism did no favors for the truly unique and interesting fighters that were swept under the rug in favor of yet another iteration of Street Fighter. 

Thankfully, in the world of 2022, the fighting game community is slowly rediscovering the brilliance of old classics like Fighter's History Dynamite, Breakers Revenge, and World Heroes Perfect. But there are a few fighting games that haven't yet had their time to shine and ADK's Ninja Master's is chief among them (right along side Kizuna Encounter). 

Released in arcades in mid-1996 to lukewarm critical reception and middling arcade sales, Ninja Master's is ADK's sixth and final fighting game - and one of their last games ever developed. This swansong of sorts was the culmination of everything ADK had learned with their popular World Heroes series. If you thought Ninja Master's was "just another" Street Fighter 2 clone from the mid-90's - let me remind you that almost all 2D fighting games have fireballs and dragon punches.

The story in Ninja Master's follows the Iga Ninja Sauske on his journey to defeat the historical Japanese warlord Nobunaga. Along the way Sauske is met by fellow fighters who either share the same goal, or were sent to impede his quest. The finer points of the story are hard to come by. My copy of the game is Japanese, so I'm unsure of additional details from the instruction manual. 

Upon pressing start, players have the choice of ten unique fighters with no pallet swapped characters or copied play styles. Sauske is the "Ryu" of the game, with a move set not unlike the popular protagonist from Street Fighter. Because of how unique the gameplay is, having at least one character in the roster with a familiar framework goes a long way in helping those new to the game learn the ins and outs of the mechanics. Some characters were taken directly from Japanese folklore, like Goemon, but most others were created fresh for this game. In addition to the ten immediately selectable fighters, there are two boss characters that can be unlocked via a Unibios cheat on all Neo-Geo versions of the game.

Almost all 2D fighting games carry some semblance to Street Fighter 2; which is unavoidable due to it setting the standard for 2D fighting games 30 years ago. That said, just because a game has fireballs and instant anti-air options doesn't mean it's not unique. That would be like saying Mega Man is a clone of Super Mario Bros. because the screen scrolls to the right and he can jump. Ninja Master's, like many 2D fighting games before and after its release, hews closely to traditional 2D fighting game mechanics while adding in some unique systems to set it apart from the pack. 

Ninja Master's uses all four action buttons on the Neo-Geo: A and B are weak and strong punch, and C and D are your kick buttons. While this button layout is similar to World Heroes Perfect, those used to playing Fatal Fury or King of Fighters may have to take some time to adjust to the layout. While the AES release does have a button config option, I recommend keeping the button layout stock due to the combo system's mechanics (explained below).

In addition to normal attacks, all characters have two stances, bare-handed and weapon, that can be switched by pressing B+C together. Each stance has normal moves and special moves that are unique to each mode. While some moves can be used in either stance, the properties of those moves will often be different. 

Movement options are what you'd come to expect from 2D fighters by 1996. That is to say, everyone can dash forward or backward, and the forward momentum of dashes can be carried over to forward jumps. All movement options have great physics, so the game never feels too floaty or imprecise.

One of the game's core mechanics is the Max Meter. This meter has multiple functions that give either passive or active buffs to your character when certain conditions are met. When the meter is full it will read MAX, and when in this state you have access to EX versions of most of your special moves done by pressing both attack buttons after the controller motion. For example, Sauske's ninja stars turn into spinning discs that travel much faster and do a bit more damage. 

Additionally, if you press A+B+C when your meter is at MAX you'll enter Hyper Mode. If done up close to the opponent the power-up animation has a hit-box so it causes damage or at least a push back on block to create some space between you and an aggressive adversary. While in this state your character has a dark blue shadow and certain super combos can be unleashed that can not otherwise be performed. Also in Hyper Mode, you have access to your desperation move, or your super desperation move if you're low on life and your life bar is flashing red. As a side note, you can do your normal desperation move infinitely when your life bar is flashing red when you're not in Hyper mode.

The crux of the game's mechanics come mostly from the unique combo system. These combo chains remind me of Speed Mode super combos from Last Blade 2, but they don't (generally) require any meter to perform. Each character has access to a number of pre-determined combo strings that are performed by pressing certain buttons in sequence. This isn't a true chain combo system as not all normals link together, and some combos require you to go down the power hierarchy rather than up. You can think of these combo sequences as additional special moves because many of the combo finishers land specific special moves that can only be performed inside of the combo. These are genuine special moves as they cause chip damage on block. Certain combo chains are only available to you depending on your melee or weapon stance, and some combos require you to switch stances mid-combo.

If that wasn't enough, when your meter is at MAX you can sacrifice your bar to do a special super combo chain that ends with a desperation move that can only be done inside of the combo. These super combos do a ton of damage, and are all super flashy. For example: Raiga's super combo, done by pressing A, B, B, B, C, D, D, D, in weapon stance, ends by doing an electrified triple dragon punch that does massive damage. I mean, a triple dragon punch doesn't sound all that interesting, but when you consider Raiga is the game's token grappler, this combo gives him access to options a grappler normally doesn't have in 2D fighting games. In addition to all of these mechanics and systems, the game also has more traditional style combos by canceling the ending frames of a normal move into a special move for quick two-in-ones.

The gameplay in Ninja Master's is solid and satisfying, but what about the presentation? Well, when a fighting game feels good to play, it often is pared with masterful animation work and sound design to give the player maximum feedback moment to moment. Ninja Master's does not disappoint.

Upon first glance, Ninja Master's doesn't look like much. The character sprites are kind of small compared to many other 2D fighters, the color pallet is varied but subdued, and the backgrounds are beautiful but don't have a ton of variety in setting (most are outside). When you begin to dig into the game, though, is when you start to see the brilliance in the art direction. Ninja Master's presents a strong cohesive tone to the entire experience -  the melancholic tone is perfect for a game about being a serious ninja on a serious mission. At the same time, the backgrounds make sense in the world, and present the player with more grounded, realistic settings for bouts rather than the bombastic charm found in ADK's World Heroes series. Also, the amazing opening sequence really sets the tone for the game and gets the player in the mood for the somber bouts ahead of them.  While the overall presentation is cohesive and beautiful, the character sprites really are the star of the show.

Despite being a bit small compared to the likes of Samurai Showdown 3 and 4, ADK did a masterful job of creating a cast of unique and colorful characters with more than a fair amount of animation. Because of the melee and weapons stances, all characters essentially have two animation sets - one without their weapon and one with. Each stance also has its own unique standing animation and win poses as well. The key frames of animation used to telegraph the character's move by the player are strong, but the brilliance comes in the snappy execution of each move. All melee attacks have a snap to them that feels just like you're throwing a punch in real life, and weapon attacks feel slower to emulate the feeling of having a heavy tool in your hands. I really can't stress enough how great the game feels to play because of the effort it took the artists and programmers to get the pre, active, and recovery frames on every move just right. Still shots, or even watching a gameplay video on YouTube does not do this game justice. You need to feel out the game yourself for the brilliance of the art design to really sink in. 

Overall presentation in menus, character select screen, and character portraits carry over the same cohesive tone as the rest of the art. Dark shadows, somber color pallet, and think black lines adorn the screen that add to the air of mystery the game exudes. The attract sequence (intro) is also a banger, and in this experienced gamer's opinion is hands-down one of the best on the Neo-Geo. It doesn't have the exuberance of the Last Blade games or Garou, but the way the edits and camera cuts were designed with the detailed pixel art and pounding drums in the music is noteworthy. It's worth at least watching it once on YouTube if you've never seen it. 

Aurally, Ninja Master's isn't the strongest in the Neo-Geo fighting game library, but it serves the tone of the game well. What really stands out here are the sound effects. Every punch has a satisfying CRACK to it, and weapon hits sound impactful whether that be a clean slice with a sword or a blunt hit with a large hammer. Every character has clear, clean voice samples done by expert voice actors that breath life into the personalities of the cast.

Outside of some samey backgrounds and a decent but forgettable soundtrack, there is little shade I can throw at Ninja Master's. It's a solidly designed fighter that feels similar enough to the traditional 2D fighting game template while at the same time feeling unique and refreshing. This is not a Street Fighter clone, and it plays radically different than every Neo-Geo fighter before it. Ninja Master's stands on it's own as ADKs most cohesive and groundbreaking work, and it's a shame that we didn't see another ADK fighter after this. A lot of love, talent, and passion went into the creation of this game and I'm a terribly lucky gamer to own such an underrated piece of art. As I said before, Ninja Master's is one hell of a swansong for ADK. It may not be to everyone's taste, but if you even remotely like 2D fighting games, I heartily recommend giving it a shot. 

So, is it worth your money for a physical Neo-Geo copy? Well, no - I honestly can't say that any game is worth $2500 to your average consumer. A complete Japanese AES copy will run you no less than $1800 but more likely around the $3500 in today's market. A US release? These are so rare that there is not a common price I can quote, but expect to pay upwards of $10000 or more in 2022. The game is no slouch on Neo CD or MVS either. A copy on Neo CD will run you no less than $150, and the MVS version (if legit) will run between $400 to $1200 depending on the region, label condition, and if it is a complete kit or not. Thankfully, you can play Ninja Master's a handful of other ways. The most notable being Hamster's Arcade Archives release worldwide on Switch and Xbox, but only in Japan on Playstation 4. It can also be found on some of SNK's mini-consoles as well like the Neo-Geo X hardware. 

A quick caveat about the Neo CD version - it's actually quite different. Outside of having a welcome practice (training mode) built in, the other changes aren't so welcome. Due to the Neo CD's RAM limitations, there were several cuts and changes that had to be made. Most background animations have been cut, which is a shame. Kamui's background, for example, is on the banks of a creepy river with trees that blow in the wind with a ripple across the water that affects all shadows and color gradients. Again, it's subtle motion but it adds loads of atmosphere to the scene. All of that great animation is gone in the Neo CD version - nothing moves in this background at all and it's more than noticeable. Additionally, many of the backgrounds received complete changes to the color pallet and stages that appeared during the day may now be set during the evening or night. This may have been done to add some variation to the backgrounds by changing the time of day. These artistic changes don't look bad, but are worth noting. The foreground sprite layer on many of the backgrounds are also missing here. Additionally, there are also a few nips and tucks to animation, but these are small details compared to the noticeably stripped down backgrounds.

Probably due to lower sales in the arcade, Ninja Master's never saw a port to popular console systems of the day. Heck, it didn't even make it to the mainstream home market until the ADK Damashi Collection on PS2 in 2005. While I've never played this collection, I hear that the games in the collection are true ports rather than emulation. You can actually grab this collection on the Playstation Network for use on Playstation 4 and 5. It's $12 and 100% worth it as it has other stellar games included like Twinkle Star Sprites.

I really don't have any recommendation on when you should purchase this game if you're a budding AES or other Neo-Geo hardware collector. It's a worthy addition to your library for sure. At the same time, it is beyond prohibitively expensive for 99.9% of gamers no matter how you choose to source it. AES bare cart copies doesn't show up often, and if they do they will still run over $1200. Still, Ninja Master's has always been rare commodity on all Neo hardware variants and has held its value across decades. Basically, if you do take the multi-thousand dollar plunge, your investment will more than likely be safe for many years to come.