1993 · Taito · Action · Adventure

Ninja Hayate

The game tells the story of a skilled and daring teenage ninja named Hayate, infiltrating an evil castle in an attempt to rescue a princess he loves. Hayate must survive a collection of deathtraps and defeat a variety of mythological creatures and other adversaries on his quest to save the princess and destroy the castle.

Released: 1993
Platforms: Arcade PlayStation Sega CD Sega Saturn
Genres: Action Adventure Interactive Ninja
Developers: Taito
Publishers: Namco Tales Studio
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action Fantasy Historical Stealth
Country: Japan
Languages: N, A

About

Ninja Hayate (忍者ハヤテ) is a 1984 LaserDisc video game developed and released by Taito and Malone Films for arcades in Japan and the United States. The game was later ported to the Sega CD as Revenge of the Ninja in 1994.

Keywords

anime
interactive movie
medieval
2.5d
cinematic
action-adventure
revenge
high score
voice acting
full motion video
quick time event

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Ninja Hayate as the fourth most successful upright/cockpit arcade unit of January 1985. It was later listed as the top-grossing upright/cockpit arcade unit of February 1985.

GamePro gave the Sega CD version a mixed review, considering the game to be inferior to Dragon's Lair and Time Gal with the gameplay lacking in "dramatics" and with "grainy and soupy looking" graphics. They said players "won't be disappointed" if they "like these types of games" but if they don't, they should avoid the game. The five reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a 32 out of 50 (8, 7, 5, 6 and 6 out of 10), commenting that the gameplay relies more on memorization than anything else. Although positive to game's animation, they said that it is more a treat to watch than to play.