Genre: Side-scrolling beat ’em up
Developer: Sculptured Software
Publisher: Entertainment USA
Year: 1986
System: Atari 8-bit
Ninja is a side-scrolling beat ’em up game developed by Sculptured Software and published by Entertainment USA for the Atari 8-bit family of computers in 1986. It is a home conversion of the original 1986 release, which was also available on other platforms such as the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
In the game, the player controls a ninja tasked with infiltrating a Japanese palace to recover seven stolen idols and prove their worth to Princess Di-Di. The gameplay features a combination of horizontally scrolling and flip-screen segments stacked vertically, allowing exploration and backtracking within the palace. Combat involves using karate moves, a dagger, and shurikens to defeat enemies. Collecting idols scattered throughout the levels is essential to progressing and completing the game.
The Atari 8-bit version delivers a faithful adaptation of the original with some graphical simplifications suitable for the home computer platform. The game supports single-player mode and was released on cartridge for the Atari 400/800 series.
