Welcome back to Sega Saturday, the weekly ritual where we crack open Sega’s vault and pull out something gloriously weird, wonderful, or just plain overlooked. This week we’re celebrating a true cult classic: The Ninja, released in 1986 for the Sega Master System. That minimalist grid box art with the mysterious blue-robed figure and a single spinning shuriken? It’s peak 1980s Sega mystery box energy. Let’s step into the shadows and uncover why this forgotten gem deserves your attention.
The Game: Pure Ninja Essence, Zero Fluff
Developed by Sega themselves and released in Japan as Ninja Princess (忍者プリンセス) in 1985 before hitting the West as The Ninja in 1986, this is one of the earliest Master System titles—launch window material in many territories. You play as Princess Akane, a ninja heir out for revenge after the evil Tyrant Zamulda slaughters her clan and seizes the province.
Gameplay is a top-down run-and-gun/shuriken-fest across 16 short but intense stages. You sprint through forests, villages, castles, and mountains, hurling an endless supply of shuriken while dodging arrows, spears, and ninja dogs (yes, ninja dogs). Power-ups let you throw three shuriken at once or temporarily turn invisible. Die once? Game over—no continues, no passwords. Pure arcade brutality.
But here’s the twist: Princess Akane is one of the first playable female protagonists in console gaming history. In an era of mustache-plumbing Italians and space marines, Sega casually dropped a ninja princess who’s faster, deadlier, and cooler than most of the boys.
Why This Port Is a Hidden Masterpiece
Originally an arcade game (Sega System 1, same board as Flicky and Teddy Boy), Ninja Princess ran at a blistering pace with gorgeous 16-color sprites. The Master System version keeps nearly everything intact:
- Sprite fidelity: Akane’s flowing hair and kimono flutter as she dashes—insanely detailed for 1986 8-bit.
- Parallax scrolling: Those background mountains and clouds move at different speeds. On a launch-year cartridge!
- Music: Catchy chiptunes that loop perfectly. The Stage 1 theme is an earworm that will haunt you for days.
- Difficulty: Merciless. One hit = death. But levels are short enough that you’ll keep saying “just one more try.”
Critics at the time were stunned. Computer & Video Games gave it 9/10, calling it “the best shoot-’em-up on the Master System.” It even outscored Choplifter! and Action Fighter in early reviews.
Mind-Blowing Trivia Time
- Gender swap censorship: In Japan, the heroine is clearly Princess Akane. In the West, the manual calls the character “Kazamaru” and uses he/him pronouns. The sprite and ending are unchanged—so yes, we were all playing as a princess the whole time.
- Arcade rarity: The original Ninja Princess cabinet is one of the rarest Sega arcade machines. Fewer than 100 are known to exist.
- Speedrun legend: The world record is 8 minutes 47 seconds (any%). Watching a skilled player weave through arrow storms is pure art.
- Hidden message: Beat the game and wait on the ending screen—after 10 minutes, a secret “STAFF” roll appears with the dev team names in katakana.
- Influenced Shinobi? Many believe The Ninja directly inspired the Shinobi series. Same top-down perspective, same shuriken-throwing mechanic, same Sega ninja vibe.
- European box oddity: Some PAL copies came in a clamshell case with a completely different cover showing a male ninja—further confusing the gender issue.
Legacy & Why You Should Play It Today
The Ninja never got a sequel, never appeared on compilations, and barely shows up in “best Master System games” lists. Yet it’s a technical marvel that proved the Master System could deliver arcade-perfect experiences from day one. It also quietly smashed gender barriers—Princess Akane was out there assassinating warlords while most games were still rescuing damsels.
Fire it up on emulator or Everdrive and try to reach Stage 9 (the infamous waterfall level). If you can beat the final boss without throwing your controller, you officially have ninja blood.
So, what do you think—underrated masterpiece or brutally unfair relic? Ever actually seen the true ending? Let me know in the comments! Next Saturday, another deep cut from the Sega archives awaits. Until then—throw straight, run fast, and never trust a ninja dog. 🥷✨
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