Game 459: The Legend of Kage

This is as stealthy as Kage gets.

The Legend of Kage is one of my earliest video game memories. Specifically, the NES conversion, which, along with City Connection, was among the first non-Mario Nintendo games that I ever played. There weren't a lot of options back then, and the majority of third-party support was from arcade developers like Taito testing the waters with coin-op conversions rather than making original titles. I am certain that this port is responsible for Kage's modestly enduring fame, but I won't be replaying it.

If nothing else, Taito's developers knew the look and feel they were going for, and did well with the technology available. It's by no means cutting edge - by 1985 Sega had that sector cornered (leaving a few table scraps for a struggling Atari), but it's a noticeable upgrade from the crude sprites and backgrounds of Elevator Action and Front Line. You're a spry ninja in a cute little romper battling endless waves of the demon clan in the spooky woods and castles of feudal Japan, and the animation, colors, and FM soundtrack evoke this setting well.

Speaking of which, there exists a prototype version, available through Hamster Corporation's Arcade Archives but not yet emulated in MAME, featuring a PSG-based soundtrack, and I think I like it a little better than the final FM synth soundtrack. Or maybe I'm just sick of it.

In my best attempt before getting bored, I completed a single loop - a phrase that already feels archaic to type out - but ran out of lives halfway through the second.

Legend of Kage really wants you to soar through the forest, leaping over the treetops in a single bound as you duel with flying demon clan ninjas and monks in the highest branches like a scene from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Do not do this! Kage can indeed jump higher than Bomb Jack, but once you go up, you're not coming down for quite awhile, and while Bomb Jack let you control your jumps with a graceful precision, Kage gives absolutely no control over your altitude or airborne trajectory, so if a stray shuriken comes flying in your direction, there's no avoiding it! You can block with your swords, but that won't help much if they hit you in the feet, or come in multiple directions, or later on when the ninjas start throwing smoke bombs.

My strategy to survive this part - keep moving left, throw shurikens constantly, and if you see an enemy, get him off the screen ASAP. Whether that means killing him or just moving enough to scroll the screen away and deref the sprite, you just do whatever is quicker, because it only takes a second for a ninja to wander onscreen and kill you with a shuriken because you were distracted by another ninja. Be especially careful around the red ninja; he attacks more aggressively, loves to jump and throw shurikens downward at tricky angles, and can parry your strikes and catch you in a riposte if you're foolish enough to run right back into his sword after you bounce away like a pinball. Firebreathing monks will eventually start spawning, and after killing three, a fourth, red one will spawn. Killing him finishes this stage.

Next stage is the secret passage.

Not much to say here. You can hide in the moat, and Kage will breathe through a reed when you do, but you shouldn't; this just makes you a smaller, immobile, and defenseless target. Don't even go into the moat; you can't throw your shurikens, and you can't get out without jumping. Easiest way to kill the ninjas is by nailing them as they jump out.

Kill ten and you move onto the battlements.

 

You knew you'd have to use your super ninja jumping skills eventually. Good luck! Hope you're decent at parrying.

The castle is at the top.

Getting some real Kung-Fu Master vibes here.

Stairs are the worst - you're effectively in a dead-end against flying shurikens and you can't even jump, which is one of the few times you'd want to. And nasty things tend to wait for you at the top of them.

You can climb the pillars, but you shouldn't. Noticing a pattern?

Princess Kiri and a cinematic cutscene await at the top.

 

Fight the boss - he's an anticlimax who goes down in one hit - and you do it all over again with changing seasons and more difficult ninjas who now throw unblockable smoke bombs.

 

GAB rating: Below average

Paper-thin gameplay

Floaty, annoying controls

Kung-Fu is better