System 3
£12.99/£14.99

With the release of Last Ninja 3 planned for the middle of 1991, System 3 is offering gamesters who missed out on Ninja 2 a chance to catch up on the adventures of the Last Ninja, in this Remix of the Christmas 1988 hit. The game is a clever arcade adventure with appealing graphics, viewed in 3-D.

There are no changes to the game - it's Ninja 2 and no mistake - the additions are an attractive opening sequence and an improvement in the sound. If you've been off planet for the last couple of years and don't own a copy of Last Ninja 2 this is a good opportunity to see a great bit of Speccy gaming.

Label: System 3
Price: £9.99/£14.99
Reviewer: Garth Sumpter

Pull on your Ninja Balaclavas, and boogie on down to the latest sounds... Eh? Oh, yes hang on minute - this looks awfully like Last ninja as released by System 3 over 18 months ago - so how can they justify the new price tag of 9.99. Well, I don't think that they really can. With brand new software on the market that is all singing, all dancing product, it's a shame that companies feel they can (slightly) jazz up an old game and flog it to unsuspecting punters but as I took some two years out of the software market (while I rebuilt the Cavalier) I can review the game without prejudice. (Which no-one else could eh kids?)

Armakuni, the master of the Ninjas, has struggled to assemble his followers and regain some of the prestige the clan had before they were wiped out by the Evil Shogun, Kunitoki. However, during a training session Armakuni begins to feel odd, and notices that his followers have frozen in their places! Then Armakuni blacks out... When he finally opens his eyes, he finds himself in a strange place, surrounded by unknown objects. Only his Ninja skills will enable him to fight his way out and defeat the forces of Kunitoki!

The hero is initially unarmed, but soon comes across weapons and useful items in his travels that he can pick up and wield to great effect. By punching and kicking, the Ninja also operates buttons and switches, the effects of which are not always that obvious - for example, a switch may open a trapdoor in another room. Split over six levels, the game takes place in a variety of exotic locations, such as sewers, opium factories and mugger-infested parks.

Last Ninja has some of the prettiest graphics I've ever seen on the Speccy, but unfortunately they are not enough to rescue this game. The playability is haphazard and irritating - it can be hard to see which way the Ninja is facing, which means you punch the wall instead of the baddie; and when the hero is trapped in a corner, it's nigh on impossible to escape. Add to this the difficulty of the control method (half the time he decides to somersault instead of punch), and the game becomes lethal - you'll soon kill someone in frustration. A shame, but if a little more effort had been put in the play rather than the graphics and {REVIEW MISSING}