The Vanishing Ninja

 

The Vanishing Ninja: A Lost Era in Gaming

Who remembers and looks back fondly at the ninja craze of the 1980s and early 1990s, both in video games and movies? When I think of those times, I recall the iconic hooded images of Sho Kosugi’s intense eyes as he played ninjas in movies like "Enter the Ninja" (1981), "Revenge of the Ninja" (1983), and "Ninja III: The Domination" (1984). It also brings back memories of video games like "The Last Ninja" (1987) for the Commodore 64 and the Shinobi games on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. Let's not forget Scorpion and Sub-Zero, standout ninja characters introduced in the first Mortal Kombat (1992).

But where did they go? With the exception of characters in fighting games like Dead or Alive (1996), ninjas in classic outfits resembling the old movies largely disappeared from video games from the late '80s with Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden all the way through to Sekiro in 2019 – and even then, Sekiro’s protagonist doesn’t don the classic ninja attire.

The Allure of the Ninja Warrior

The idea of a mystical, almost superhuman ninja warrior as popularized in '80s and '90s movies is highly entertaining. Playing a ninja protagonist with an arsenal of weapons like shurikens, swords, steel balls, and ninja climbing claws offers countless possibilities for direct combat and stealth tactics.

Missing in Action

Even a mid-tier developer could have found success during this ninja drought in media. To illustrate this, let's compare and contrast with the zombie theme. Zombies were heavily featured in movies and TV from the late '60s through the '80s with classics like "Dawn of the Dead" (1978). Despite a decline in zombie-themed movies until "The Walking Dead" TV series kicked off a new wave in 2010, zombie video games still found great success.

Notable mentions are the Resident Evil series (starting in 1996), Left 4 Dead (2008), and although not technically zombies, The Last of Us (2013). The success of zombie games during a period of declining interest in zombie movies and TV shows demonstrates that a theme can thrive in one medium even while it struggles in another.

A Call for Ninja Resurgence

The potential is there for developers to create new, captivating ninja-themed games that capture the essence of the classic ninja archetype. The success of zombies in video games despite their decline in movies and TV shows proves that ninjas can make a comeback in gaming.

Would you like to see classic Sho Kosugi-type ninjas in full attire and armed with an arsenal of weapons return as protagonists in modern games? Imagine reliving the fantasy of being a ninja lurking in the shadows, brought to life with modern graphics and mechanics.