My Played Video Games Review: The Legend of Kage for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
The Legend of Kage is a 1985 arcade side-scrolling action game made by Taito Corporation of Japan. It was ported over to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
This was one of the early NES games sold in the Philippines that many liked but a skillful few dared to beat.
The Story
You are Kage (Kage means "shadow" in Japanese), a young ninja master tasked with saving the princess from an evil warlord and his ninja army in medieval Japan.
The Graphics and Sound
The game looks good for an old 8-bit gaming console which has limited graphics options. Kage the hero ninja is detailed with Japanese cloth armor and sandals and short sword. His enemies are not in variety though. We got two variations of ninjas. One in common ninja attire and the other in Buddhist monk garb that spits fireballs at you. Plus the other variety are the end level bosses in Kabuki samurai attire.
The stage levels have beautiful colors and emit a traditional, medieval Japanese atmosphere.
The music is very Japanese done with an 80s synthesizer. It is memorable but the tunes used are quite limited. The main action theme is always played in every level. The repetitive music can get tiring after awhile.
The Gameplay
The controls are nicely responsive. The game is fun if you are quick with the game controller. You can destroy your enemies with your sword or with your shurikens (throwing stars). Your ninja enemies have them too. You die with one hit, which can be annoying when you get hit during jumping by an enemy projectile which can come out of nowhere.
Your ninja ability to jump really high and go far is kind of fun. Also, you can deflect enemy sword hits and throwing stars with your sword slashes but not the fire or poison powder thrown at you.
The game's length is only four levels but you repeat them four times (one for each season of the year) with increasing difficulty. And that is if you didn't get a game over screen. Otherwise, you repeat again from the beginning.
My Verdict
Play the game if you like ninja action and want a decent challenge in your retro gaming. If you are not quick on your fingers, then avoid this video game at all costs. Whiners and bitchy mouth losers need not apply.
All in all, The Legend of Kage is a fair NES game.