Commodore 64 Longplay [026] The Last Ninja (EU)

http://www.longplays.org

Played by: MadMatty


The Last Ninja, developed and released for the Commodore 64 in 1987 by System 3.

“The Secrets of the Ninjitsu way had been jealously guarded for centuries, only once every decade were the scrolls seen in the ritual of the White Ninja. None coveted these secrets more than the evil Shogun. Seizing the opportunity of the ritual he sprang a fiendish trap that destroyed the brotherhood, except for one … You. TheLastNinja. Your Sworn oath is to recover the scrolls, you travel to the mystical lands of the Shogun. Already his guards are mastering the ways of the Ninjitsu. To reach the Shogun’s Palace you must use all your weapon craft and fighting skills as you travel through dangerous wastelands, magnificent gardens then descend into the direst dungeons before the final confrontation … You cannot fail. You are the Last Ninja.”

Well if that description of the game didn't make you take the box to the counter for an immediate purchase, nothing will!. After International Karate which put System 3 on the path of being one of the premier developers for the C64 this game comes out redefines what a c64 game can be. The first in a series of 4 games, this was a standout title on the C64 was released seamingly pushing the c64 to its limits with a gfx and gameplay style not yet seen on the system with a standout soundtrack by the late Ben Daglish and the late Anthony Lees.

This longplay is more like a Soundtrack video letting all the loading theme music play out with a little bit of gameplay thrown in while the main level music plays. It’s different from the norm but the game and longplay deserve it even if it gets a few viewers triggered. See timestamps at the end of the description to skip loading music and watch the gameplay.

One hurdle with the game is its controls which can take some getting used to and being able to get your ninja in the right position on the screen to pick things up. It can prove to be quite fiddly. However the main issue in the ninja games is its combat system. As well as having to make sure you are in alignment with the enemy, you need to block, parry, stab your way to victory which is all well and good but the blocks never seems to work and the enemy will often block your move while stabing you to death. While you get plenty of lives the game can still feel one sided. Maybe this was the dark souls of its day! And lets not forget the river/swamp jumping section. getting lined up for those rock jumps can cost a few lives.

00:00:00 - The Wastelands (Loader)
00:04:28 - The Wastelands
00:09:05 - The Wilderness (Loader)
00:14:00 - The Wilderness
00:18:18 - Palace Gardens (Loader)
00:22:56 - Palace Gardens
00:28:00 - The Dungeons (Loader)
00:31:38 - The Dungeons
00:37:08 - The Palace (Loader)
00:41:14 - The Palace
00:43:52 - The Inner Sanctum (Loader)
00:48:17 - The Inner Sanctum