Retro Hackers LogoGuestLog in

Summer Tree
News
Database
Users
Projects
Game Ports
Videos
Music
Material
Feedback

Ninja Gaiden: Way of the Samurai

Original game : Ninja Gaiden

Platform : NES

Author : TheAlternateReality

Release date : 28 June 2024

Category : Complete

Patch version : 1.0

Modifications : G, L, T, P

Downloads : 237

ROM Information

Database match: Ninja Gaiden (USA)
Database: No-Intro: Nintendo Entertainment System (v. 20210216-231042)
File SHA-1: CA513F841D75EFEB33BB8099FB02BEEB39F6BB9C
File CRC32: 11F953F6
ROM SHA-1: 15F245161179AB1959B7DC20E82ADD024D23AA3D
ROM CRC32: 7C4A72D8

Hack description

The hardest Ninja Gaiden hack you'll ever play.

How?

Unfair enemy spawns? No, all enemies spawn like they normally would.

Unfair enemy damage? No, all enemies deal reduced damage.

Trolls? No.

All that this hack demands is that you perform precision platforming, using the base mechanics of Ninja Gaiden - and perhaps learn some new tricks along the way.

Are you up for the challenge?

Then play Ninja Gaiden: Way of the Samurai, and prove yourself!

Changes:

-Palette swaps throughout the entire game

-Slight graphics modifications

-All enemy damage is reduced to 1 health point, however most boss damage is increased

-Level design changes, in the aim of increasing difficulty

-Health potion heals your full health bar, rather than partially healing you

-Cutscene changes

-Some Boss AI is reworked (Level 1 and Level 2 specifically, they don't stop moving to swing their weapon anymore)

-Removed the "lives system", it was reworked into a "collectible" system

Screenshots

Contributions

ContributorType of contributionDescription
TheAlternateRealityHacking

Reviews

Kaizo Platforming at it's FinestMureisky2024-07-10Version 1.0

If your a fan of Kaizo platforming this hack might be for you. Does require damage boosting, precision platforming, and knowledge of known Ninja Gaiden glitches. A few of the stages the time limit is extremely low you almost have to speedrun through the level to make it like the 1st level.

In Which the Ninja Becomes a Human VolleyballJosephine Lithius2024-07-09Version 1.0

Many moons ago, I played and reviewed a ROM hack called "Ninja Gaiden in Hell". It was intended as a "joke hack" and had stage tiles all over the place, tons of enemies, and jumps that were literally impossible unless you used the wraparound glitch. In short, it was terrible.

This ROM hack is actually far worse. Partly because all the trickery is intentional.

Full disclosure: I did not beat this hack. I gave up at Act 4-3 because it got too repetitive and I could not successfully make a necessary wrap-around jump.

The Good

  • The title screen is kind of neat.
  • There's a brand new story involving a religious cult and the revival of the world.
  • Damage from all enemies is reduced to 1! The ninja is more durable than ever before!
  • Unlimited lives! There's no more worrying about having to restart an act from the beginning!
    • Lives are not special "challenge" collectables. They don't seem to do anything, but there's one in each Act to collect.
  • Lots and lots of precision platforming. A very fantastic challenge for players who know what they're doing!
    • However, knowledge of the game and how its engine works is mandatory!!
  • From what I saw, the only way a player can get knocked into a pit by an enemy is if they make a mistake or, on rare occasion, don't react quickly enough. There are "jumpscare" spawns, but they all seem placed in such a way so that they knock the player onto a platform.
  • Some boss arenas are reconfigured to make them more difficulty to hit, and some even have new "minions".

The Bad

  • The timer is rather tight on Acts 1 and 2 if the player doesn't die to reset it.
  • Far too many jumps require the player to damage-boost to get across.
  • Around Act 2 and especially in Act 3, it becomes impossible to discern which walls can be clung to at a glance, leading to some very "beginner's trap"-esque deaths. (Just because the player has infinite lives doesn't mean they should be punished for poking around!)
  • After Act 3, jumps requiring the use of the wrap-around glitch appear. Frequently.
  • On occasion, the foreground and background kind of blend together, making it hard to notice certain platforms. This was especially prevalent in Act 3-1.
  • Bosses can kill the player in 3 hits.
  • The story needs a once-over. Text is misaligned and it's difficult to tell who's talking, sometimes.

The Ugly

  • For the most part, the game looks terrible as tiles are strewn about with a focus on "challenge" and no thought to aesthetics. It functions, but it's (actually) ugly.
  • Some acts have enemies which have no appropriate tiles for the tileset, such as a running dog in Act 2. This leads to them using incorrect tiles and generally looking ugly.
  • Some Acts use platforms with no appropriate graphics, so they appear very out-of-place.
  • The Act 3 boss has an infinitely-respawning flying enemy while it basically wall-jumps around.
    • However, that boss no longer throws kunai at the player.
  • Due to all the ridiculously technical jumps, damage boosting, and engine trickery needed, this ROM hack feels like a slog. I, for one, felt no sense of satisfaction in completing a section from Act 2 onward.
  • The "Challenge Tokens" are completely meaningless as the player can jump into a pit and collect them over and over again, maxing out the counter.

I want to say upfront, I agree with the author: this is not a "troll" hack. A lot of care was taken and one can tell that TheAlternateReality really knows the ins and outs of the game engine, how the player can move, and all that. But that's both good and bad.

Act 1 is actually a really good challenge that doesn't require any real "trickery" to finish! But, sadly, Act 1 is just the training wheels. Actually, I take that back — Act 1 in no way prepares the player for what's to come. As I implied, this game started feeling like a chore around Act 3. I got increasingly bored with trying to line up my jumps with incoming — or sometimes outgoing — enemies, I got frustrated with trying to grab a wall that wasn't there, and when the wrap-around jumps in Act 4 came up, I just plain gave up.

I'm sure a hack like this has its audience, but that audience is not me. I cannot recommend this hack for playing, but it might be interesting to see a tool-assisted speed-run of.