If the popular games of the late ‘80s were anything to go by, the UK was in a phase of ninja fever. Not in the sense of any deep understanding of Japanese history or tradition, but in the sense that secretive guys wearing black were really cool. One might speculate that game developers found all-over tight black a particularly helpful prospect to animate, and if you could throw in a sense of the exotic then even better, details be damned. The Last Ninja series features a hero called Armakuni, so even identifying syllables available in the Japanese language was obviously beyond them. But the iconography could still do its work.
This sequel to a treasured original came packaged in one edition with a balaclava ninja mask and a rubber throwing star, getting banned from some shops as a result. Put that in the context of its release being right around the time a popular cartoon launched with heavy edits and the word ‘ninja’ swapped out of its name because that would be too much for British sensibilities. The ban can only have helped the cool they were going for. Mercifully, Last Ninja 2 is not set in the historical ninja world of the original and doesn’t give too much cause to think about what it’s appropriating. Instead, it throws Armakuni into modern day New York! Complete with the most aggressive bleep-funk music yet! (Last Ninja 3 would go on to do the right and proper thing and be set in The Future to complete the cycle)
New York interiors and exteriors are portrayed in a series of isometric dioramas, shaded in monochrome dots. Monochrome in this case means black and grey all the way through, rather than the black + pick one colour per screen approach of previous 3D games. That helps provide a sense of realism, but the parks, offices and rooftops are too varied and beautifully composed for it to be dull. If anything the Spectrum monochrome’s classic feel stands the test of time better than more colourful versions on other systems. On inspiring a sense of wonder at the surroundings, it’s a big leap up from even Fairlight.
If Fairlight’s problem was not having a lot to do besides admire the scenery, Last Ninja 2 has the opposite problem: too much to do. Here is where I should admit to stretching the definition of ‘play’ for this game further than I have to date, in that I mostly admired its vistas via video of someone else playing, because I couldn’t find my way out of the first screen. That is 99% likely to be down to joystick compatibility issues, but the controls are so complicated that it may not even be that. So it might be that watching someone else play it loses the sense of fun I could have had. I am guessing not entirely.
Last Ninja 2 wants you to be able to run backwards and forwards and carry out a whole lot of fighting/jumping actions along that 2D line, but also to be able to turn around in 3D, and it’s rather a lot for one stick and one button to manage. That’s before you even add in picking up objects and weapons with the keyboard. Obscure puzzles, lumpen combat, over-demanding platforming – it’s all in there, and another phenomenal technical achievement, particularly considering the first game never got a Spectrum release. It’s just again that trying to turn that into an enjoyable experience is another matter.
