Software:Last Ninja 2

From HandWiki
Short description: 1988 video game
Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance
Commodore 64 cover art by Joe Roth
Developer(s)System 3
Beam Software
Publisher(s)Activision
Ubi Soft (10 Megahits Vol. 3)
Ocean Software (100% Dynamite)
Jaleco
Producer(s)Mark Cale
Tim Best
Designer(s)Mark Cale
Tim Best
Hugh Riley
Programmer(s)John Twiddy
Mev Dinc
Artist(s)Hugh Riley
Writer(s)John Twiddy
Composer(s)Matt Gray
Reyn Ouwehand (Remix)
Tania Smith (NES)
SeriesLast Ninja
Platform(s)Last Ninja 2:
1988: Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
1989: Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, 1990: Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, NES (as The Last Ninja)
2008: Virtual Console
Last Ninja Remix:
1990: Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC
Release1988-08-29[1]
1990 (Last Ninja Remix)
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single player

Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance is an action-adventure video game developed and published by System 3 for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1988 as a sequel to the 1987 game The Last Ninja. The Acorn Electron, BBC Micro, 1990: Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS and NES ports followed in 1989. The NES version of the game was named simply The Last Ninja. In 1990, the Last Ninja Remix edition of the game was re-released for 8-bit systems.

Gameplay

The player, controlling a ninja, must fight his way through various levels populated by opponents, collecting necessary items in the process. Each level depicts a different locale and is divided into several screens. The game is presented in an isometric view and the ninja can move in eight different directions and jump.

Enemies, armed with fists and various ninja weapons, wander around the levels. The ninja must fight them either bare-handed or with the weaponry he finds along the way; in either case, he has a number of blows and attacks at his disposal, as well as the ability to block. There is a special weapon, shuriken, which are thrown in a straight line rather than used for melee combat; if they strike an enemy, they will instantly kill or at least severely damage them.

Various items are scattered around the levels, such as keys, a rope and a map; collecting these items and using them in a proper place is necessary for completing the game. There are also hamburgers that award an extra life when eaten.

Plot

The game continues from the aftermath of the events of The Last Ninja. With the Koga scrolls now in his possession, Armakuni has begun training a new order of shadow warriors. During a training session, he is mysteriously transported to 20th-century New York City. Torn from his own time, Armakuni must defeat the evil shogun Kunitoki once more.

Reception

Last Ninja 2 was an enormous commercial success. According to System 3's Mark Cale, 5.5 million copies were sold for the Commodore 64 version alone; at that time, the user base of the C64 was estimated at 20 million, meaning that one in four C64 owners bought the game.[2]

It was a runner up for Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards. In 2004, readers of Retro Gamer voted Last Ninja 2 as 68th top retro game.[3]

8-bit versions
Platform Magazine Score Accolade
Acorn Electron Electron User 9/10 Golden Game[4]
Commodore 64/128 The Games Machine 93% Top Score[5]
Computer + Video Games 9/10 C+VG Hit![6]
Commodore User 9/10 CU Super Star[7]
IGN 7.5/10[8]
ACE 747/1000[9]
ZX Spectrum Sinclair User 92%[10]
Your Sinclair 9/10[11]
Crash 90% Crash Smash[12]
The Games Machine 89% Top Score[5]
16-bit versions
Platform Magazine Score Accolade
Amiga The Games Machine 70%[13]
Amiga Format 58%[14]
Atari ST Computer + Video Games 77%[15]
The Games Machine 70%[13]
DOS Computer + Video Games 76%[15]
The Games Machine 73%[16]

Legacy

A sequel, Last Ninja 3 was released in 1991.

The Last Ninja Remix re-release version has an added short intro sequence, minor graphic changes and a remixed soundtrack.

The Limited Edition of the original release included a ninja mask and a rubber shuriken (not available with the Remix versions of the game).[17]

In 2015 the source code of the Konix version was discovered.[18][19]

The NES version would be re-released by City Connection on June 4, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch, as part of the Jalecolle label. This re-release marks the first time Last Ninja 2 was released in Japan.

References

  1. ↑ Gary Penn (August 1988). "Ninja 2". pp. 16–17. http://amr.abime.net/review_13047. 
  2. ↑ Retro Gamer 18, page 57.
  3. ↑ Retro Gamer 8, page 66.
  4. ↑ Electron User 7.5 (Feb 1990)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Games Machine 14 (Jan 1989)
  6. ↑ Computer + Video Games 81 (Jul 1988)
  7. ↑ Commodore User (Aug 1988)
  8. ↑ The Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance Review - Commodore 64/128 Review at IGN
  9. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=ACE/Issue16/Pages/ACE1600105.jpg. 
  10. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=SinclairUser/Issue078/Pages/SinclairUser07800090.jpg. 
  11. ↑ "Last Ninja II". Ysrnry.co.uk. http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/lastninjaii.htm. 
  12. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue59/Pages/Crash5900189.jpg. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Games Machine 33 (Aug 1990)
  14. ↑ Amiga Format 14 (Sep 1990)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Computer + Video Games 106 (Sep 1990)
  16. ↑ The Games Machine 34 (Sep 1990)
  17. ↑ "Archive - Magazine viewer". World of Spectrum. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue081/Pages/CVG08100021.jpg. 
  18. ↑ Last Ninja 2 Port Discovered For Unreleased Konix Multisystem Console on retrocollect.com (19 January 2015)
  19. ↑ LAST NINJA 2 Konix Multisystem game and source found on konixmultisystem.co.uk (17 January 2015)
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.

Template:Atari



Warning: Default sort key "Last Ninja 2, The" overrides earlier default sort key "Mobygames".



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Last_Ninja_2&oldid=4137936"