SNK published a weapon-based fighting game in 1996. It was set in Feudal Japan, had desperation supers, and you could lose your weapon while fighting, forcing you to go bare-handed.
If you hadn’t of read the title already, you’d be forgiven if you thought I was talking about Samurai Shodown. No, this is Ninja Master’s: Haō Ninpō Chō.
The big difference here is that SNK was only the publisher: the actual developer was ADK, a company perhaps more famous in the FGC for World Heroes or Twinkle Star Sprites. Despite similarities to Samurai Shodown, it’s ultimately a very different beast–there’s a dial-a-combo system, for starters. You can also intentionally go weaponless with the C-button, which actually gives you access to a different and equally strong movelist. Weaponless states, then, are strategic rather then crippling. It’s also worth noting how big the stages are here relative to the character sprites, making zoning a little safer of an option.
ADK may not exist anymore, but SNK certainly still has the rights to these characters. Who knows, maybe a Ninja Master could show up in a future Samurai Shodown reboot?
[Editor’s note: interested PlayStation 4 gamers can try this game out as part of ADK Damashii.]
Source: Mikado Arcade