# Sega Ninja

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1985 video game

1985 video game

Sega Ninja Japanese arcade flyer Developer Sega R&D1 Publisher Sega Artist Rieko Kodama Platforms Arcade, SG-1000, MSX, Master System Release March 1985 Arcade JP: March 1985[1][2] SG-1000 JP: February 1986[3][4] MSX JP: May 1986 Master System JP: 8 November 1986[6] NA: December 1986[5] EU: November 1987[7] Genre Run and gun Modes Single-player, multiplayer Arcade system Sega System 1[8]

***Sega Ninja***, originally released as ***Ninja Princess***[a] in Japan, is a 1985 [run and gun video game](/source/Run_and_gun_video_game) developed and published by [Sega](/source/Sega) for [arcades](/source/Arcade_video_game). The player controls Princess Kurumi (くるみ姫 *Kurumi-Hime*), the titular [female ninja](/source/Female_ninja), who battles enemies using [throwing knives](/source/Kunai) and [shurikens](/source/Shurikens).[9] In contrast to most later games in the genre, *Ninja Princess* has a [feudal Japan](/source/Feudal_Japan) setting with a female ninja protagonist.[10]

A revised edition for the [Mark III](/source/Master_System) console, titled *Ninja Princess 1 Mega Ban - Ninja* (忍者プリンセス1メガ版 忍者), was released in 1986, replacing the female protagonist with a male [ninja](/source/Ninja) protagonist who has to rescue her. This version was later released as ***The Ninja*** for the [Master System](/source/Master_System) internationally.

## Gameplay

Screenshot

*Ninja Princess* is a [run and gun video game](/source/Run_and_gun_video_game).[10][11] The gameplay involves the player shooting enemies and defeating [bosses](/source/Boss_(video_games)) along the way. Enemies include [samurai](/source/Samurai), [ninja](/source/Ninja) and dogs. The player's normal weapons are an unlimited supply of throwing knives, but [power-ups](/source/Power-up) to shurikens are available. In addition, the player can also turn [invisible](/source/Invisibility) for a short period of time. While most of the stages are vertically scrolling, a few of the levels add some variety including a level where the player must scale a wall.[9][11]

## Plot

The game is set during Japan's [Edo period](/source/Edo_period), in about the year 1630, in a province called Ohkami in the western region, where the power has been seized by an evil tyrant named Gyokuro. The goal is to end his oppressive rule and restore peace.

## Release

*Sega Ninja* was released as *The Ninja* for the [Master System](/source/Master_System) (pictured: box, cartridge and instructions)

Ports of the game were released for Sega's [SG-1000](/source/SG-1000) and [Master System](/source/Master_System) consoles. The latter version, retitled *Ninja Princess 1 Mega Ban - Ninja*,[12] was released a year after the arcade game and changed the protagonist from female to male.[11] Other changes include the rearranging of stages from the original Japanese release in western releases of the game as well as a [scroll](/source/Scroll) system, which requires the player to collect five green scrolls in order to get to the final level of the game, as all of them give hints on how the final level must be entered. If the player finishes the game without them, the game will backtrack to a level closest to where a missing scroll lies.[13] Graphics are also different, made in a more realistic style.

## Reception

In Japan, *[Game Machine](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3)* listed *Ninja Princess* as the most successful [table arcade cabinet](/source/Table_arcade_cabinet) of April 1985.[14]

*[Computer Gaming World](/source/Computer_Gaming_World)* stated that the Master System version was the most entertaining of three martial arts games that Sega released together (the others being *[Black Belt](/source/Black_Belt_(1986_video_game))* and *[Kung Fu Kid](/source/Kung_Fu_Kid)*), and approved of its unusual visual perspective.[15]

## Legacy

In 2017, Sam Derboo of *Hardcore Gaming 101* noted that *Ninja Princess* predates [Capcom](/source/Capcom)'s genre-popularizing run and gun shooter *[Commando](/source/Commando_(arcade_game))* (1985), and he considers *Ninja Princess* to be "in some ways the more advanced concept." While he considered *Commando* to be a refinement of [Taito](/source/Taito)'s *[Front Line](/source/Front_Line_(video_game))* (1982), he said that *Ninja Princess* brought "a fresh setting and interesting new elements." He also praises the female protagonist, but criticizes the console versions for making the protagonist a male ninja who has to rescue her instead. He nevertheless considers it "no doubt one of the better overhead run-n-gun shooters out in the mid-’80s."[10]

*Sega Ninja* is a plot point in the novel *[Ready Player Two](/source/Ready_Player_Two)* (2020).

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [Japanese](/source/Japanese_language): 忍者プリンセス, [Hepburn](/source/Hepburn_romanization): *Ninja Purinsesu*

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Ninja Princess"](https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M731380). *Media Arts Database* (in Japanese). [Agency for Cultural Affairs](/source/Agency_for_Cultural_Affairs). Retrieved 1 August 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). [*アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005)*](https://archive.org/details/ArcadeGameList1971-2005/page/n35/mode/2up) [*Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)*] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. p. 35. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-4990251215](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4990251215).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-GMM283_3-0)** ["70 Sega Home Software(Japanese, top-right)"](https://retrocdn.net/images/b/ba/GameMachine_JP_283.pdf) (PDF). *Game Machine Magazine 1st May '86*. Amusement Press Inc., Osaka, Japan. 1 May 1986. p. 10. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Marley, Scott (December 2016). "Essential Games: The Titles that Made the SG-1000 Shine". *[Retro Gamer](/source/Retro_Gamer)*. No. 163. [Future Publishing](/source/Future_Publishing). p. 59.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Availability Update"](https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/f324dbcc-69e7-48e8-b4b5-7f61c51cfc52). *[Computer Entertainer](/source/Computer_Entertainer)*. Vol. 5, no. 10. January 1987. p. 14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Sega_titles_-_Sega_JP_6-0)** ["Software List"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190621034428/https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html). *Sega Hardware Encyclopedia* (in Japanese). [Sega Corporation](/source/Sega). Archived from [the original](https://sega.jp/history/hard/segamark3/software.html) on 2019-06-21. Retrieved May 15, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Mega Cartridges"](https://www.smspower.org/Scans/Mastertronic-Catalogue-TheSegaMasterSystemGameCatalog1987-A?gallerypage=2). *Mastertronic - The Sega Master System Game Catalog 1987 - A - United Kingdom Catalogue*. [Mastertronic](/source/Mastertronic).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-system16_8-0)** ["System 1 hardware (Sega)"](http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=693). Retrieved 2006-06-18.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-rainemu_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-rainemu_10-1) ["Sega Ninja/Ninja Princess"](http://emustatus.rainemu.com/games/seganinja.htm). Emulation Status. Retrieved 2006-06-18.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: url-status ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_url-status))

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-HG101_11-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-HG101_11-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-HG101_11-2) Derboo, Sam (September 12, 2017). ["Ninja Princess"](http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ninja-princess/). *Hardcore Gaming 101*. Retrieved 6 June 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ugo_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ugo_12-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ugo_12-2) [Ninjas in Games | An evolution of ninjas in video games throughout the years.](http://www.ugo.com/games/ninjas-in-games-top-11) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110615192317/http://www.ugo.com/games/ninjas-in-games-top-11) 2011-06-15 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), UGO.com, June 4, 2008

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["www.jap-sai.com - Ninja Princess"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131003110205/http://www.arcade-gear.com/Games/Ninja_Princess/Ninja_Princess.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.arcade-gear.com/Games/Ninja_Princess/Ninja_Princess.htm) on 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2013-12-21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-klov_14-0)** ["Sega Ninja"](http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9473). Coin-Op Museum. Retrieved 2006-06-18.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)"](https://onitama.tv/gamemachine/pdf/19850501p.pdf#page=11) (PDF). *[Game Machine](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B2%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3)* (in Japanese). No. 259. [Amusement Press, Inc.](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%9F%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E9%80%9A%E4%BF%A1%E7%A4%BE) 1 May 1985. p. 21.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-cgw198810_16-0)** Worley, Joyce; Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (October 1988). "Video Gaming World". *Computer Gaming World*. p. 48.

## External links

- [*Sega Ninja* games](https://www.mobygames.com/game/-group/sega-ninja-games) at [MobyGames](/source/MobyGames)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sega Ninja](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Ninja) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Ninja?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.