is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash game developed and released by Taito as an arcade video game in 1985. It was ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX, Sharp X1, and ZX Spectrum. Plot The player takes the role of a young Iga ninja named Kage ("Shadow"), on a mission to rescue Princess Kiri (hime) - the Shogun's daughter - from the villainous warlord Yoshi (ro Kuyigusa) and fellow evil samurai Yuki (nosuke Riko). Kage must fight his way through a forest, along a secret passageway, up a fortress wall, and through a castle, rescuing her twice (three times in the FC/NES version) in order to win the game. Each time the princess is rescued, the seasons change from summer to fall to winter and back to summer. Cast of characters Kage (Iga Ninja) Kirihime (Princess) Shinobi (Red or Blue Fuuma Ninja) Yobo (Red or Blue Magic Monk) Yukinosuke Riko (Samurai) Yoshiro Kuyigusa (Warlord) Gameplay The player is armed with a kodachi shortsword and an unlimited number of shuriken. Main gameplay revolves around killing enemy ninja (blue and red) and enemy fire-breathing monks over five stages: The first stage is a horizontal and vertically scrolling forest, with the player able to jump quite high (more than a screen height), and able to grab/scale trees that are several screen heights. Grabbing a book causes Kage to stand still and meditate for several seconds while approaching enemies drop to the ground dead during a lightning storm. The second stage is horizontally scrolling at the water's edge. The lower half of the screen is underwater, where ninja (blue and red) appear with breathing tubes. The player must kill ten ninja to advance. The player can jump into the water section, but mobility is severely hampered. The third stage is another bi-scrolling stage. The player must jump continuously to reach the temple at the top. The fourth stage is the temple. The player goes up the four sets of stairs, avoiding or killing enemy ninja and monks, to rescue Princess Kiri. The fifth stage is a boss stage. It starts at the top of the temple, and then Kage and Kiri jump off the temple back to the forest, where Kiri is re-kidnapped by the boss. The player must kill the boss. In home versions, grabbing a crystal ball causes the player's clothes to change to the next level in color and