3 Ninjas Kick Back 1993 By: Psygnosis

Overview:

     What? They couldn’t afford Mr. Miyagi? No, they hired some second-tier video-game hack-star known as Mr. Mori. He even looks like Mr. Miyagi. Guess Noriyuki 'Pat' Morita should have gotten his face copyrighted. And our three heroes are just a rehash of My Three Sons. I thought reruns were only on TV.


      This game has beautiful scenery. Everything is colorful; it’s like staring at a box of Crayola Crayons, not the 16 pack, but the one with 128 colors. You know, the one with burnt sienna (whatever that is). The characters' moves are fast and furious. The designers didn’t hold back on the RAM used here. None of that cheap swipe-swipe movements, this has blur-swipe movements. Of course when your character starts opening a can of you-know-what on somebody, you will appreciate all those quick moves.
     And the sounds are as detailed as the graphics. A cornucopia for the ears. Everything has a sound, even falling rocks. When a rock falls, you actually hear it break apart on the ground. How is that for realism? OK, in reality rocks don’t break apart and make a special sound when they hit the ground, but maybe they should. If a tree falls in this forest, you will sure hear it here. If it weren’t for all of the killing, I could see myself vacationing here.
     There are six stages in the game: The Woods, The Cabin and The Cave (both in stage two), The Hospital, The Japanese Garden, The Dojo and Castle Osaka. Things are never easy for a traveling Adventurer, even Grandpa Mori will beat you up, so don’t expect them to be easy here. Everything moves quickly and only gains speed and danger as you advance. Look fondly on the problems that you encounter today, because tomorrow there will be something worse.
     Stones

     Neil Diamond
     Stones would play inside her head,

     And where she slept, they made her bed.

     And she would ache for love and get

      But stones.

     La la la la la la la la la la home.
     Lordy child a good days comin',

     And I'll be there to let the sun in,

     And bein' lost is worth the comin' home.

     La la la la la la la la la on stones.

Directions:

     According to the manual, only when you are playing in the easy mode can you switch to another character and then only after you have won a stage and entered the password that you will receive. So choose wisely.  Each brother has special weapons, skills, and moves as listed below:
     Rocky uses a staff, has a spinning kick, and collects Throwing Stars for tossing at enemies. If Rocky finds a Green Mask, he gets an extra life
     Colt uses a sword, does a spinning blade, and collects daggers for tossing at enemies. If Colt finds a Blue Mask, he gets an extra life.
     Tum Tum uses a Sai (jabbing weapon), uses a rolling attack, and collects small Sais for tossing at enemies. If Tum Tum finds a Yellow Mask, he gets an extra life.

     

     Special Moves take energy, so use them sparingly. Also, button-push sequence apparently is important. Note that B+A is a flying kick, but A+B is the Special Move.

     

     Several secret areas exist which can only be opened by bomb blasts. Be on the lookout for trampolines and deadly objects that you might be able to use. Look for food and the Yin Yang symbol to replenish energy. The Glass Orb, The Gemstone and the Gold Star provide points that can be exchanged for extra lives when you reach certain levels of points. Crystal Balls (Blue, Red and Yellow) provide temporary increases of special shots, destroys all enemies on screen, and provide temporary increase of strength, respectively. You gather objects by simply passing over them.
     After you have jumped for something like a swinging vine, you must press Up on the D-Control to actually catch hold of it.