Fun fact: Sega’s in-house team built this as a showcase for the new Mega Drive/Genesis hardware. They pushed big, detailed sprites and a driving soundtrack that made the console feel like a true leap from the 8-bit era. Early cartridges even featured boss sprites resembling movie characters. After legal issues, those likenesses were swapped out, but the arcade-style bravado remains stamped on every stage.
I dropped from the first rooftop and landed on a trio of ninjas. The shuriken moves razor-quick. The controls feel tight — jump, throw, and dash across platforms without lag. Joe Musashi has real weight when he swings his sword after grabbing a power pack.
Each zone sets its mood fast. We began in a quiet village with attack dogs and classic ninja shuriken tossers. Within a few screens, city lights flared and rifle fire poured in. The soundtrack shifts with the scenery, keeping you pumped. Stage design mixes styles: some sections are run-and-gun, others demand precision platforming, like the highway where traffic becomes the enemy.
On that highway, cars slide across the screen and force you to time jumps like a katana-wielding Frogger. Panic meets perfect timing. The train-top stage — a highlight — demands fighting while the background hurtles past. For 1989, it feels cinematic.
That cinematic rush fades when difficulty spikes remind you that continues aren’t infinite. Bosses vary: some follow patterns you can master, others fire off volleys that punish tiny mistakes. Still, once you learn the rhythm, victories feel earned. Enemy variety keeps you alert, from machine-gun soldiers to acrobatic blade-wielding dancers.
Power packs drive combat. Smash a box, dodge bombs, and hope for the knife upgrade that grants fire throws or the sword. The sword devastates at close range, clearing a room in seconds if you’re bold. Risk comes with trapped boxes. I lost a life to a rogue bomb and felt personally slighted.
We should give some practical tips while we are mid‑run. Some of these sections reward patience far more than button mashing.
- Conserve the sword for close, crowded boss phases — the short range hits hard and wins tight encounters quickly.
- Not every box is worth breaking. If you notice the glint of a fuse or a thinner box animation, assume a trap; approach with caution or jump away.
- Memorize spawn patterns on highway and rooftop sections. Enemies often come from off‑screen in predictable waves.
- Use grounded throws for distant groups and time your jumps to avoid bullets. Mobility is your defense more than raw health.
- On the train level, fight near the car seams — the staggered platforms give you cover from certain projectile arcs.
One memorable moment — we hit the harbour and a cannon tower opened up with a salvo that forced me to cling to a ladder. My heart rate spiked; the music looped this ominous phrase and for a beat I thought we would have to start the zone over. We managed to edge past the turret and then the map opened into the island approach. That cliffside entry, with torches and a rope bridge, felt like the game finally letting you breathe before the final challenge.
The final boss is theatrical. It is a multi‑phase fight that mixes heavy projectiles with close‑range lunge attacks and a room that narrows as the battle progresses. You juggle sword strikes and fire kunai, step off collapsing platforms, and manage a tight window to strike. When we landed the last hit and Joe’s rescued bride appeared, the music swelled in a very ’big ending’ way. It is the kind of payoff that makes the earlier cheap deaths tolerable.
That said, there are rough edges. The difficulty curve sometimes feels uneven; a midzone room can chew through lives without warning, while other sections crawl. Collision detection is mostly solid but not perfect — there were several occasions where a projectile visually missed, yet I still lost health. Also, the original boss sprites, while amusing, betray how the team was trying to make a spectacle rather than a polished, cohesive cast.
To be candid, those flaws keep this from being flawless. But the strengths are compelling: superb presentation for the system, responsive controls, memorable locales, and satisfying boss encounters. It delivers high‑octane moments and also rewards learning the levels. For players patient enough to study the patterns, the game is very rewarding.
In short, by our reckoning this earns a grade of B. It is a strong action platformer with iconic set pieces and a few jagged edges — exactly the sort of cartridge you hand to a friend and say, “Try this one more time; you will get it.”
It is a game that keeps you coming back. Expect leaps of joy, abrupt traps, and a final boss that asks everything of you. And remember: never trust every box you see — some treasure is a trap, just like in life, except with fewer wise mentors and more exploding crates.
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