By Kurt Kalata

You probably wouldn't know it, but Ninja Jajamaru-kun was one of Jaleco's most prolific franchises back in the Famicom days. The stubby little bug-eyed ninja, star of his own 1985 Famicom title, eventually went on to star in four other games, going through significant design overhauls in the process. Similar to Sega's Alex Kidd series, Jaleco plastered him in so many different games that there's barely any consistency among them. Most of them are side-scrolling action platformers, but there are a few RPGs mixed in too. The quality, too, is wildly inconsistent from game to game - some are pretty good, although one would be hard pressed to call them classics. After a number of 8-bit titles, series stayed pretty quiet, outside of some attempted reimaginings for the 32-bit and portable consoles. The series actually began as an arcade title called Ninja-kun, released in 1984 by a company called UPL (known for Atomic Robokid and a few other low-profile titles.) Jaleco was responsible for porting the title to the Famicom, but they ended up reusing the character in their own home release, redubbing their new game Ninja Jajamaru-kun. UPL continued with their own Ninja-kun lines while Jaleco practically turned him into their mascot, even though they were essentially the same character. Many installments were actually scheduled to be released in America, but were canned for unknown reasons. The only games that did make it were the original arcade games - bearing the title Ninja Kid - and two of the Gameboy titles, retitled "Ninja Taro" and "Maru's Mission". It wasn't until the release of the original Famicom game on the Wii Virtual Console that Jajamaru-kun made his official debut to Westerners. Table of Contents Page 1: Ninja-kun games Page 2: Ninja Jajamaru 1, 2, 3 Page 3: Ninja Jajamaru 4, 5, 32-bit Page 4: Ninja Jajamaru Portable

Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom) Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Arcade)

http://www.saturn.dti.ne.jp/~dastard/famicom/jyge-flo.htm Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen - Action - Famicom http://www.satakore.com/sega-saturn-game,,T-5709G,,Kin-Ninja-Jajamaru-Kun-Onigiri-Ninpou-Chou-JPN.html Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Pen wa Ken Yorimo Kyoushidegozaru (DS)

Ninja-kun: Majou no Bouken / Ninja Kid - Arcade / Famicom (1984)

Japanese Flyer

Ninja-kun (Arcade)

Ninja-kun (Arcade)

Like most retro arcade games, the goal in Ninja-kun to simply to kill all of the enemies in each stage. Each level scrolls directly upward for a few screens, each comprised of several cliffs. Ninja-kun attacks with shurikens, which can also be used to block enemy projectiles. Running into foes will only temporarily stun you, but getting hit by enemy fire will kill you. However, you can also stun enemies by jumping on top of their heads. There are only three stages which repeat over and over, adding new and more difficult enemies as you progress. However, there are floating balls that occasionally fall from the top of the screen. If you collect three, you'll be taken to a bonus stage where you need to collect all of the orbs in a stage in a certain amount of time. For a game made in 1984, Ninja-kun actually looks pretty good. The sprites are small and squashed, but they're colorful and detailed. Your ninja's most notable charateristic is his eyes, which bug out in a panic whenever he's stunned or killed. The only real major problem is the odd jumping controls. You can only jump if you're running left or right and hit the jump button. If you're standing still and hit the jump button, you'll leap down to the cliff below, which is quite confusing. Ninja-kun was also ported to the MSX and Famicom by Famicom, but the controls are pretty awful and the game feels pretty buggy. It's also notable that this game has nothing to do with the NES game "Ninja Kid" (which is actually an adapted version of the Famicom game Gegege no Kitarou) or the Taito arcade game "The Ninja Kids" (which is a humorous side scrolling beat-em-up.)

Ninja-kun (Arcade) Ninja-kun (Arcade) Ninja-kun (Arcade)

Comparison Screenshots

Arcade	Famicom

Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou / Ninja Kid II - Arcade / Famicom / MSX (1987)

Famicom Cover

Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Arcade)

Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Arcade)

The arcade sequel takes the gameplay of Ninja-kun and greatly expands on it. Although there are many stages which you simply need to clear the screen of bad guys, there are also a number of side scrolling areas where the goal is simply to get to the end. There are far more levels, which are generally bigger than the screens from the original game. There are even three different paths at the beginning of the game, which depends on the card you select one you start. In addition to some swimming stages, there are also very brief "puzzle" stages - if you can get to the end, you'll get a bonus weapon for the next stage, but you can choose to dishonor yourself and simply skip it, although you won't get rewarded. In addition to your shurikens, you can also get boomerangs, as well as a fire wheel that encircles Ninja-kun. The character sprites look about the same as the original game, but the background graphics have improved a bit. It's not exactly a classic, but it's still pretty fun. It was ported to the Famicom in 1990 by UPL themselves, and is a significantly better port than the Famicom version of Ninja-kun - other than the downgraded graphics, the game plays pretty much the same. It was meant to be released in America by American Sammy under the name Ninja Taro, but that never came to fruition. It also reached the MSX courtesy of HAL. It looks better than the Famicom version, but the scrolling is choppy, and the multiple routes at the beginning have been removed.

Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Arcade) Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Arcade) Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Arcade)

Ninja Taro / Sengoku Ninja-kun - Gameboy (1991)

American Cover

Ninja Taro

Ninja Taro

While the NES version of Ninja Taro was cancelled, American Sammy did bring out the Gameboy version, which was called Sengoku Ninja-kun in Japan. However, it's actually a totally different game that borrows a lot from the Legend of Zelda games, and is actually pretty similar to American Sammy's own Rolan's Curse. It's an overhead action-RPG where you need to explore the overworld, run quests for townspeople, find treasure chests to power-up your strength, and hunt through caves to destroy boss monsters. It's more straightforward than the Zelda games, because there's no puzzle solving and no currency. Also, most weaponry - which include swords, shurikens, fire blasts, bombs and such - are obtained by killing enemies. It's a bit slow moving, and Ninja-kun can barely take any damage before dying, but it's actually kinda fun for a Gameboy game, even if it can't compete with Link's Awakening.

Ninja Taro

Super Ninja-kun - Super Famicom (1994)

Japanese Cover

Super Ninja-kun

Super Ninja-kun

An update of the original arcade games, Super Ninja-kun features improved 16-bit graphics, a much larger variety of stages, boss battles, and a two-player mode. You can now take several hits before you die, and can even expand your life meter by grabbing heart containers found throughout the stage. You begin with your standard shurikens, but when you beat a level, you're rewarded with new weapons, including bombs, lightning bolts, and more. When you collect spirits from fallen enemies, it will also charge your power gauge, allowing you to unleash a variety of magic spells. Overall, it's a decent update, but the original games were hardly enthralling to begin with, so this just comes off as a run-of-the-mill side scroller. Curiously, this was designed by Jaleco rather than UPL - considering how much they had whored out the Jajamaru name during the Famicom era, it's strange that they went back to the original name for this installment, even if it is closer to the original Ninja-kun than the Jajamaru-kun games. Not to be confused with the American SNES game Super Ninja Boy, which is actually part of Culture Brain's "Chinese World" series.

Super Ninja-kun

Comparison Screenshots

Arcade	Famicom	MSX

Ninja Jajamaru-kun - Famicom / MSX / Gameboy Advance (1985)

Famicom Cover

PC Cover

Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom)

Ninja Jajamaru-kun borrows several elements from the original Ninja-kun game - as a tiny little shuriken wielding ninja, you need to clear the stage from enemies in order to progress. Once again, Jajamaru can only be killed by projectiles, and can stun enemies by jumping on their heads. Similarly, if you spend enough time in a stage, the kidnapped Princess Sakura will toss cherry blossoms from the top of the screen - if you collect three, you're taken to special stage where you have to dodge bombs thrown by the evil Catfish Pirate, and toss shurikens upward to kill him. Although there are technically only three stages, they continously loop, each placing harder and harder enemies. Each destroyed foe will also yield a spirit, which will grant you bonus points if you collect them. Thankfully, the controls have been fixed from the arcade Ninja-kun, so jumping is much easier. However, instead of a vertically scrolling screen, the levels in Jajamaru-kun don't scroll upward. Each stage is approximately three screens wide horizontally and is comprised of four floors. In order to progress upward, you need to jump into the brick ceilings, destroying them and allowing you to leap to the next floor. Many bricks will reveal a power-up when destroyed - these can include extra lives, bonus score coins, little orbs that enhance your speed, and a little cart that makes Jajamaru-kun temporarily invincible. If you collect three power-ups, you'll summon the ultimate weapon - a gigantic frog which Jajamaru ride and use to eat up all of the enemies. You'll also find bombs hidden in the bricks, which will kill you if you jump into them. Some of the stupider enemies will fall through the holes you've made, allowing you for a quick and easy kill. There are some charming aspects to it - before each stage, the Catfish Pirate tries to laugh at you, but since apparently Jaleco hadn't mastered the PCM abilities of the Famicom, it sounds very low-tech and silly. The theme music is pretty repetitive, but it's also catchy and memorable. It's not a bad game, but much like the Famicom port of Ninja-kun, the animation is very choppy and the controls aren't as responsive as they should be. It was ported to the MSX home computer not long after the Famicom release, and later published in the arcades as Vs. Jajamaru-kun. This version is pretty much the same except for some altered enemy sprites. It shows up in emulated form on the Jajamaru Jr Denshouki Jaleco Memorial for the Gameboy Advance, released in 2004. It was also ported to Windows as part of a retro release series, and although it's pretty much just an emulation of the original Famicom game, it uses these same altered sprites as the arcade version.

Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom) Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom) Ninja Jajamaru-kun (Famicom)

Comparison Screenshots

Famicom	MSX

Jajamaru no Daibouken - Famicom / Gameboy Advance (1986)

Japanese Ad

Jajamaru no Daibouken

Jajamaru no Daibouken

Much like the second Ninja-kun game, Jajamaru no Daibouken ("Jajamaru's Great Adventure") ditches the vertically oriented levels in favor of more traditional sidescrolling stages. The actual gameplay is more or less the same, although the goal is simply to make it to the end of each level rather than killing everything. Certain blocks can be destroyed by jumping into them, which either hides coins (good), bombs (obviously bad), and on rare occasions, your faithful frog. As such, the lack of power-ups is a bit disappointing. At the end of each stage, you'll fight a boss monster in the forest, which is similar to the bonus stages in the original Jajamaru-kun game. Although the controls are better and it feels less sloppy than the first game, it loses some of its appeal, considering you can just run past most enemies to get to the end. Like its predecessor, it also shows up in emulated form on the Jajamaru Jr. Denshouki Jaleco Memorial for the Gameboy Advance.

Jajamaru no Daibouken

Jajamaru Ninpou Chou - Famicom (1989)

Famicom Cover

Jajamaru Ninpou Chou

Jajamaru Ninpou Chou

Eager to hop on the RPG gravy train, the third Jajamaru title is a Dragon Quest clone. This time, Jajamaru ditches his ninja outfit, but the game still maintains the cutesy demeanor of the earlier titles. Most of the enemies look pretty goofy, and some of the graphics - especially the wavy battle transitions - are fairly decent. The game itself is relatively simple, featuring the slow, cludgy interface that Dragon Quest is known for. You can only play as two characters - Jajamaru and Princess Sakura - and can only fight one enemy at a time. Interestingly enough, whenever you level up, you're taught a new skill by Buddha himself. There are three different chapters that you can choose at the beginning game, at least. At any rate, there are certainly worse RPGs on the Famicom. Jaleco had apparently planned to release this in America under the title Taro's Quest. A beta ROM released on the internet shows a good 2/3 of the game fully translated. However, much of the game was to be redesigned for American audiences. Nearly all of the graphics have been redrawn to look less anime-ish, and most of the sillier monsters have been ditched in favor of serious-looking foes. The heroes have also been renamed "Taro" and "Hannah".

Jajamaru Ninpou Chou Jajamaru Ninpou Chou

Comparison Screenshots

Japanese	English Prototype

Jajamaru Gekimaden - Famicom (1991)

Famicom Cover

Jajamaru Gekimaden

Jajamaru Gekimaden

The fourth Famicom Jajamaru games is an action-RPG that borrows heavily from the original Zelda game. Each chapter consists of a small map, which usually contains a few towns and dungeons. It gives the sense of nonlinearity, although you need to tackle all of the events in a specific order. However, the levels are all pretty simplistic mazes, and there's really not much in the way of puzzles. All you do is run around and swat at enemies until you stumble upon the stairs to the next level. Although you regain health regularly, the bad guys are very stingy with coughing up cash when they die, which can get really annoying when you're trying to buy something. In addition to your standard chain weapon, you can buy shurikens, and eventually you'll learn a number of jutsu techniques. The cartoonish atmosphere of the earlier games has been ditched in favor of a more serious tone. The music is also particularly grating. It's a pretty blase game overall - Ninja Taro on the Gameboy is actually better.

Jajamaru Gekimaden Jajamaru Gekimaden

Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen - Famicom (1991)

Famicom Cover

Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen

Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen

After dallying in RPG land for two installments, Jajamaru finally returns to the world of side scrolling in the fifth and final Famicom game. A lot has changed since the original games, however. For starers, it looks and feels like a huge Super Mario Bros. 3 clone. The graphic style is extremely similar, and the status bar is almost exactly the same. If that wasn't enough, it plays very much like Nintendo's classic - even though Jajamaru's favorite weapons in the past have been shurikens, here he can only kill enemies by jumping on their heads. Similarly, you can only take a single hit before croaking. By holding down the B button, you begin running in place, allowing you to dash forward and make higher jumps. If you hold it down for a few seconds, you'll begin somersaulting, which makes you temporarily invulnerable. You can find power-ups by hitting blocks with your head, although you can jump on them too. Some of these powers include a special star that bounces along the ground when thrown - in no way in similar to the Mario's fireballs - an item that makes you temporarily invulnerable, and the ability to transform into a giant mechanical frog, perhaps the only real evidence that this is linked with any of the past Jajamaru games. You can also find a space suit that protects you from one enemy attack. A space suit? Yes, Jajamaru and friends have left behind the cartoonish world of Ancient Japan for outer space, where a whole bunch of vegetable themed planets have come under attack by evil forces. (The subtitle translates to "Epic Galactic Battle".) It allows for a few interesting levels - the hot pepper planet, for example, is the stereotypical fire stage, and standing in place for too long will burn your feet. You can also play as either Jajamaru or Princess Sakura, although their abilities are essentially identical. It's pretty clearly a ripoff, and while it lacks both the depth and brilliance of Mario 3, it's still a fairly decent platformer. Jaleco had meant to bring the title to America under the name Squashed, and they littered the dialogue with terrible, terrible vegetable based puns. They also renamed the main characters Maru and Cori, although otherwise it would've been pretty much identical to the Japanese version. Although the game was canned before released, you can download a prototype of it to check it out.

Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen Ninja Jajamaru: Ginga Daisakusen

Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou - Playstation / Saturn (1997)

Saturn Cover

Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou

Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou

Jajamaru-kun and friends was practically everywhere in the 8-bit era, but other than the lone SFC Ninja-kun game, he was pretty quiet during the 16-bit days. Jaleco then attempted to reimagine him in 3D for the 32-bit era for the Saturn and Playstation. It tries to keep the cute and goofy aesthetic of the old games, although the numerous CG cutscenes are embarassingly dated, and the designers forgot Jajamaru's most memorable aspect - his huge, distinctive eyes. Although most of the stages are your traditional Japanese-style levels - villages, graveyards, etc - some of the enemies are a bit weird, particularly the one-eyed basketball playing demons. It actually looks very reminiscent of the N64 Mystical Ninja games. The game itself is a pretty standard 3D action/platformer - just get to the end of the level while killing bad guys along the way. By default, the camera always faces forward, so Jajamaru automatically strafes when moving left and right. which makes it a lot easier to control than most 3D games. The view automatically rotates at 90 degree angles whenever you hit a turn in a hallway, although you can also adjust the camera with the trigger buttons. Like the old games, Jajamaru's main weapons are his shurikens, although he can also find a number of spells to attack all of the enemies on the screen and such. There are boss encounters every few levels, which are a bit harder to deal with - the camera will try stay focused on your enemy, so you're constantly circle strafing them. Unfortunately, it gets to get lost or hunt up, which makes dodging their fire pretty annoying. The platforming aspects are awkward when they show up, but relatively they're rare. The little old school sprites of Jajamaru, Princess Sakura, and the Catfish pirate show up on the map screen, and every few stages, you'll also get to play a level of the original Jajamaru-kun game, just to remind you of its heritage. It's a pretty simple and straightforward game, and surprisingly avoids most of the control faults associated with 3D action games. However, it's not particularly pretty, and its simplicity also means that it's also quite easy. There aren't many levels, so it can be quickly conquered without much time or effort. It's a bit hard to find to both platforms, and while it's agreeable, it's not compelling enough to justify searching for.

Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou Ninja Jajamaru-kun: Onikiri Ninpou Chou

Maru's Mission / Oi Jajamaru! Sekai Daibouken - Gameboy (1990)

American Cover

Maru's Mission

Maru's Mission

This Gameboy title is the only entry in the actual Jajamaru series (not counting Ninja Taro) to make it to the States, under the name Maru's Mission. (The Japanese title means "Hey Jajamaru! Great World Adventure".) It's a side scrolling action game similar to the second Famicom title. Jajamaru primarily attacks with shurikens, although you can find other weapons - in addition to a homing boomerang-type weapon and the tram cart (like the original game, it grants you temporarily invulernability), you can also call firestorms and lightning waves to cleanse the screen of foes. Your life counter is located in the lower right corner of the screen - you can take plenty of hits before you die, and each captured spirit from a fallen foe with net you five health points. You only have a single life and no continues, but it's so easy to replenish your health that the journey shouldn't prove to be difficult at all. Jajamaru and Sakura (dubbed "Maru" and "Cori" in the English release, just like the prototype version of Squashed) are vacationing in America, when Sakura is abducted by some evil creature. Jajamaru must travel the globe - beginning in New York, and fighting through Romania, Greece, Egypt, Brazil, and finally Japan - to find his Sakura. In certain stages, you can even flip Jajamaru's gravity and travel on the ceiling. Each location has some creature from myth or folklore - you fight the Wolfman and Dracula in Romania, for instance. Each level has a midboss, some of whom will reward you with a special weapon to fight the main boss. When you beat the Golem in Greece, you'll be rewarded with a mirror, which will help you fight Medusa. Strangely, the designers couldn't think of anything interesting to do with Brazil, so you fight the Hydra and Cerberus there, which are definitely not part of Brazilian lore at all. Every few stages, whenever you need to cross the ocean, you're sent to a brief underwater stage. Rather than swimming to the end, you just dive around in a small pond, shooting spears at sharks until you've killed them all - something Greenpeace probably would've freaked out about, had they found out. Despite its relative simplicity and immense amount of slowdown, Maru's mission is actually a lot of fun for an old Gameboy title, and its humorous premise makes it worth looking into. The final boss even urges you to write into Jaleco of America - I wonder if they ever wrote anybody back.

Maru's Mission Maru's Mission Maru's Mission

Ganso Jajamaru-kun - Gameboy Advance (1999)

GBA Cover

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki

The Wonderswan Jajamaru is essentially an enhanced version of the original Famicom game. The tiny portable screen isn't tall enough to display the entire vertical playing field, so it needs to scroll up and down as necessary, but otherwise it's pretty much the same. There are a few new power-ups, like a sword and a boomerang-shuriken. Additionally, collecting the cherry blossoms thrown by Sakura is now mandatory - if you miss one, you'll have to play the stage over when you reach the checkpoint. Every four stages, you'll reach one of these checkpoints, a special stage which scrolls vertically upwards, culminating in a boss fight. It adds some much needed variety to the formula, although they're generally harder than the regular stages. Even though it's in black and white, it's actually preferable to the Famicom game, if only because it controls smoother and feels more stable. There's also more variety in the backgrounds. It also has a tremendously heartbreaking Game Over screen. You see Jajamaru getting beaten by the Catfish Pirate, who laughs at him, before a different ninja comes out of nowhere, kicks the bad guy's butt, and rescues Princess Sakura on his own. Then you see a heartbroken Jajamaru, having failed in his mission, witness some other chump winning the girl. How sad.

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki - Jalecole Mou Arisourou - Gameboy Advance (2004)

GBA Cover

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki

Even though there are numerous Jajamaru titles, the series has went through so many different genres that none of them play like the original game. The Gameboy Advance game, Jajamaru Jr. Denshou Shiru, is about as close to an update of the original Ninja-kun/Jajamaru-kun games as you can get. Playing once again as a tiny cute little ninja, you need to run around a short stage and kill all of the enemies, most of whom are the same as the original game, and are even introduced in the same order. Every five stages, you face off in a boss stage against the Catfish Pirate, who tries to confuse you with multiple clones. Unlike the Jajamarus of the past, Jajamaru Jr. attacks with bombs, although they work the same way. You can eventually unlock two additional characters - the original Jajamaru, who wears a different color outfit, and Jijimaru, an old ninja master. ("Jii-san" is the Japanese word for "old man" or "grandpa", hence the pun.) Although there are no more blocks or ceilings to break, there are now straw treasure chests throughout each level that holds power-ups. These take the form of four different elemental scrolls, which can be activated at any time for a variety of special powers. It does a good job of expanding on the elements of the original games, but it can get a bit cheap and annoying. In the original game, if an enemy bumped into you, you'd be stunned for about a second. Here, you're incapacitated for several seconds, during which the enemy will continue to bounce on you until something finally swipes in for a mercy kill. The small screen makes it hard to see off-screen enemies, who, like the original game, can attack without notice. Some of the stages are annoying designed, sticking you in narrow passages with plenty of enemies, making it difficult to face against them all at once unless you have a magic scroll. In other words, expect lots of cheap deaths. Jajamaru Jr. is kind of fun, but ultimately rather insubstantial. Apparently Jaleco felt the same way too, and that's where the "JaleCore" (short for "Jaleco Collection") plays a role - in addition to Jajamaru Jr., you can play emulated version of five old Famicom games. These include the first two Jajamaru games, City Connection, Exerion, and Formation Z. The extra titles aren't particularly great, and the graphics are squashed due to the lower resolution of the Gameboy Advance.

Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki Jajamaru-kun Jr. Denshouki

Links

Links