Originally released for Super NES, February 1992
Wii Points: 800 ($8)
Review it yourself

Dictionary.com provides several definitions of the word "cat." One is, "a small domesticated carnivore." Another, "a woman given to spiteful or malicious gossip." And a third, used in medieval warfare, is "a movable shelter for providing protection when approaching a fortification." There are plenty more, but I would like to offer yet another definition: "a small furry animal that becomes a spiked yo-yo when scooped up from the ground." For those of you that have played Konami's The Legend of the Mystical Ninja when it was originally released on the Super NES in the early 90s, you know what I'm talking about. And for those of you that plan on downloading it from the Wii Virtual Console after reading this review--and you really should--fret not; you'll soon be in the loop.

Mystical Ninja's humor is the first element of the game that grabbed my attention. The opening shows Dr. Yang and Kid Ying discussing the haunting of a cave somewhere in their village. As the camera zooms in for a dramatic shot of Kid Ying's reaction to the terrifying news that a ghost has been tormenting the villagers, Kid Ying turns to the screen and says, "Hey! No close up!" Added to the scene's up-beat music screeching to a halt when the news is delivered, and gamers should quickly realize that this is a story that is meant to be taken lightly, and one that willingly takes a backseat to the gameplay, which is phenomenal.

One part side scrolling beat-em-up and one part isometric view, Mystical Ninja is all action. The latter view's gameplay reminds me of an accelerated version of any Legend of Zelda title with a similar camera angle. The player moves across the screen in all four compass directions, swinging his starting weapon (a pipe if the player has chosen Kid Ying, or a fan if Dr. Yang) to defeat enemies coming at him from all directions. Defeated foes drop gold coins, which can be used as projectiles; scrolls to power-up attacks; or cats, which, strangely enough, upgrade the player's weapon up to two times when retrieved. Kid Ying's pipe becomes golden and has a greater reach after the first upgrade, and a spiked yo-yo with even greater range after the second and final feline. After that, cats are worth $10 each, or act as the appropriate upgrade if the player has taken a hit (at which point his weapon drops one level). These areas are fast and furious and offer a great deal of frantic fun. Humor again comes into play, as fisherman enemies will, after being defeated, drop their fish, which can attack the player unless they too are dispatched.

Side-scrolling sections are very similar to the top-down segments, though more platforming elements come into play. Players will have pits filled with bamboo sticks--and other traps--to worry about, in addition to enemies--that still re-spawn far too often--flying around the screen and attacking from high or low.

My only grievance with these sections is that enemies respawn far too quickly. Often times I would take a few steps in one direction to pick up a cat, coin, or scroll, only to have three more enemies running at me when I returned in the direction I had been walking. True, the constantly re-spawning foes offer plenty of opportunities for weapon upgrades and coin collecting, but constant tide of enemies can become overwhelming at best, tedious at worst.

As players progress through the game, minigames become available that are almost as fun as the main game itself. My favorite is whack-a-mole, which is played on a board with two fields of holes in X shapes, which correspond to the layout of the face buttons and d-pad on the Wii classic controller. If a mole appears from the top hole in the left field, the player would press Up to whack the mole. If a mole pops up from the left hole in the right field, the player would press Y. Slow and fast variations are offered, with better prizes given to those players who can withstand the speed of the second version. Another minigame is a maze hunt for items that have been strewn around the area's twists and turns. The game takes a classic first-person view for the mazes similar to that seen in PC titles such as Ultima Underworld.

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja was a great title that was passed over when it was originally released due to localization issues--there are horrendous examples of "Engrish" throughout the game that range from laughable to just plain bad--and little press coverage. If you missed out on kitties and yo-yos back in the Super Nintendo's early years, then this is your chance to download one of the Virtual Console's finest games.

Go ahead for Chris Faylor's review of NCS' TG16 Shockman.