Nobody had every went so far in creating a puzzle-based action game for the C64 as System 3 did with "The Last Ninja." Nobody had ever presented such a graphic and musical extravaganza as they did with the very same game.


And, I imagine, very rarely had the expectations to a C64 game been as high as when this game, "Last Ninja 2", was released in 1988. To top off the first game would be a great achievement, yet that was what everybody expected. So how did Mark Cale, John Twiddy & Friends get out of this Catch-22?


They sent the Last Ninja to New York. This messy, noisy, exiting and fastpaced city is about as far away from the mysterious and idyllic Lin Fen Island (scene of the first game) as you could possibly come. The game plot, however, is much the same. After their last clash on Lin Fen, the ninja's adversary, the evil shogun Kunitoki, is hiding out in modern day New York. There, he's busy setting up an evil scheme (of course it's an evil scheme; after all he's an evil shogun. He has a reputation to look after. But never mind.) to regain control of the Ninja powers that he lost at Lin Fen island. However, the ninjitsu spirits summon upon the The Last Ninja, and sends him through time and space, so that he may once again start a relentless pursuit of the shogun, this time through the streets and the underworld of New York City. During his mission he must pick up different objects and complete several puzzles before he can face his adversary and tear him to pieces. Also included are numerous combats with policemen, local thugs, and at the end the very finest of the shogun's henchmen.


The game is in many ways very alike it's predecessor. And yet it's very different. I opened both of them (thank Father Bill for multitasking) in separate windows and checked out some things on the first level on both. What struck me was the by far richer environments found in this game. Less space was left open and green. Also, I must say that I like the music (by Matt Gray) very much. On the down side, I must note that it seems that he runs a little bit out of ideas at the end of the game, something that goes a little bit for the whole game. The last three levels are more combat-focused than the first three, and put less emphasis on puzzles. But I have to underline that this is just a detail. The Last Ninja 2 is a very, very, good game, and I recomend it highly. A must for every true C64 fan to have in his or hers collection.


SUMMARY
If you forget all about the Last Ninja series for a while, and just concentrate on this game, you'll see that this game is graphically, musically and gameplaywise superior to most other C64 productions. It has several good puzzles, lifelike animation, very rich and detailed environments, and is all in all very well produced. As mentioned: an absolute must.

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