@@elio3281 There were certain movements on the joystick, as I can recall. One flick forward for short, and two for long jumps. On top of that, the flashing "Ninja magic" had a tight time limit, and without it, you could not pass the flames at the end of the level.
you're right. i could never get past the waterfall jump with the dragon in it, in the emperors garden. Nice to finally see how the game finished; if only 30yrs later.
Once you know all the solution of the hundred puzzles scattered around the game you can actually finish it in less time (even if 13 minutes can be a world record for this game!)... The real problem was how to figure out all the solutions back in those days! Some of them are soooo obscure! Of course this was part of the legend that made this game a true milestone! 💪❤️❤️❤️
Lol same. My copy would stop loading at a certain stage and I never got to finish the game. Loved it though and tried again again to play it but the cassette wouldn't load past that bit. Edit.. wait is that the end? As a kid I thought there was more lol.
Old 80s best game in my opinion. Its not about pixels it´s about feeling. Music strikes your ears. Remember how I was sitting in my boyroom and totally forgot about time. This video does really awaken memories :)
It actually reminds me of early ‘88 during the whole Hogan Andre feud! In any event it was my favorite C64 game and somehow I was able to finish it.. And getting my ass kicked in Ninja Gaiden Sigma tonight made me think of it lol
Still one of my favourite gameplays on this channel. 13 Minutes for "The Last Ninja" is just awesome. Even in my prime time at this game I´m not sure if I ever made it in less than 30 minutes. Great job!
@@rootykazooty351 well, the loading parts are all skipped. Even the disk version (sorry, you lose half of the tunes) required you to wait, I heard the cassette version was worse.
I recall the music been riveting and the graphics amazing. Had it in compilation with the other series of Last Ninja's. It was talked about a lot amongst my two school friends that also had C64's. Very unique game.
This might well be one of the greatest C64 games ever created. And to think, someone could make a representation of this in RPG Maker in about 10 hours. But that's now, this is then. I wish I had this among my pirated C64 disc mountain.
The Master mind for the music was Ben Daglish. My favorite are The Wastelands and The Palace Gardens . Remember the man was only a kid, programming basic for fun. He was getting about 100 dollars paid for each music he wrote:D.
$100 back then wasn't much, it cost like £10 for the last Ninja on cassette £20 for the disk version. That's like 9 copies sold or less and that's Ben all paid for.
Holy crap - I played this for hours when I was a teenager. This brings back so many memories! Only 16 colors and no 3d engine... and they managed to create this. I have NO IDEA HOW. they pushed the machine to the absolute limits of what you could do with 64kb of memory. Also it only had three "voices" so basically you could only play three sounds at a time. Listen to the music... there are only ever three instruments playing at the same time but somehow by swapping, they would make it seem like a lot more music tracks were playing
The last level was too hard for me as a child ... never get finished without longplay hints. TOP 10 Game for sure. Music is just amazing. Graphics are outstanding. Great retro feeling these days! :D
I got a C64 in 82 or 83. My third grade teacher would ask me about it every day for weeks, "What do you do with it?" I was like, "I play Missile Command from the second I get in until I pass out."
That dragon in the cave I didn't know you could throw something at it to put it to sleep. I jumped over the flames as a timing move to get past the dragon and it had taken many attempts to do so as I was fried by the fire over and over again.
This really pushed the limits of what a C64 could do. Lots of large status screens with a rather small portion of screen real estate devoted to actual game play. Man, I sucked at this game. Loved it. But sucked at it.
I just played, and beat this game recently on m 70 inch TV. The jumps. Yes, very frustrating, but they were all doable a could be replicated. Key to learning was to sacrifice a "good" game and just practice jumping and re-jumping across the river until you got the pattern down exact. Most were a matter of picking the right jump length, but sometimes a minor adjustment might be needed. The frustrating part was that sometimes you could land EXACTLY on a rock and still die!
Just to add, now thanks to this "dragons are *obviously* overcome by jumping" mentality I never ever got past the two stone dragons of 5:25. So much bad advice! :) So thanks for showing us how the rest of the game played out!
I've actually met with Ben Daglish (the author of the music in Last Ninja 1) at BIT Live in Brighton and personally thanked him for the awesome music in Last Ninja 1, which inspired and touched me deeply yet in my teenage time. You should see that honest joy of appreciation on his face... Unforgetable moment. From one musician to another. Only musicians and true fans will understand. :)
I was JUST about to comment on how funky, jazzy and creative the music is in this game. I would leave it playing, and go mess with other toys...just to come back to it again (it was a hard game sometimes!). But I would use the music just like listening to a stereo. It hypnotized me and made me feel cool at the same time. For only a moment...
This game has always had a special place in my heart. Watching this and hearing the music brought back the wonder and the amazement I experienced playing this game as a kid. For it’s time it was cleverly designed and the music was awesome. Sekiro is my favorite modern game, and the two parallel each other in creativity in game design and great music.
I was just thinking the same. The synthesiser of the Commodore 64 was awesome. This music and reminds me of the music off I think it was commando. One of the Rambo bass games anyway.
30 years later and the music still sings in my ears like it was poetry in motion. Absolute masterpiece. Never finished it, only seen on YT the whole gameplay hahaha
There's a reason this game was such a landmark title - absolutely stunning visuals and music, really showed what the C64 could do when the right programmers were involved.
The way this guy leaps across the roots in the swamp is outrageous. i wept tears of fury and anguish getting across that BASTARD. But the music always brought me back. That music.
😂😂😂 I thought the same thing and back then that frustration. Ive been watching a few of the C64 games and seen over 30 years later watching these and all the errors i was making and all that frustration. Lol
The best thing about this game is the Music. What a catchy tune as it pushes the C64 to it's limits. One of the best game music tracks ever produced in my opinion.
Absolutely true. Just jumping over the river took me 1 week of training at that time (1987). Considering that internet did not exist, only friends could help you with suggestions and hints. It was actually a team game!
I stopped by when I read Ben Daglish passed away. I vaguely remembered playing this on the C64 but after watching the video I'd forgotten what a great game this was and how the music especially was truly amazing. I need to see what other music from my childhood he was responsible for. Rest in peace sir.
Although I haven't played or seen it for decades, I still remember every single detail of this game! I know every screen frame by frame and I can tell easily where are all of those weapons and needful things are hidden. Last Ninja never gets old!
@@MegaasAlexandros The rose? ha, that’s easy - you will find it in level 3 (The Gardens), left side among the yellow flowers, but don’t you even dare to pick it up without the glove you will find in level 2 (The Wilderness)!!
@@LeanderNadeltanz bravo. That's one of the faults of this game. If you finish the stage without the rose you can't go back to collect it therefore you wont be able to finish the game and have to start over !!! They should have a message at the end of the stage telling you to go back and collect all the items.
@@MegaasAlexandros well, you kind of had that in some levels - whenever you went to meditate in front of the Buddha-statues, there was a hint what you should find next.
I never got past stage 5. Everything was so cryptic in this game. And those jumps, contrary to what it looks like in this video, were next to IMPOSSIBLE.
Man, I once feigned sickness from school to play this on the tiny black and white television I had in my room. My Dad caught me and took the television. 😂 Watching how easy he's ploughing through this makes me want to cry. This game was a nightmare to play, but I LOVED it!
Once you know all the solution of the hundred puzzles scattered around the game you can actually finish it in less time (even if 13 minutes can be a world record for this game!)... The real problem was how to figure out all the solutions back in those days! Some of them are soooo obscure! Of course this was part of the legend that made this game a true milestone! 💪❤️❤️❤️
We didn't have the internet but we did have games magazines like Commodore User. Every now and then, they'd publish a walkthrough of a popular game complete with maps and instructions how to deal with certain guards and bosses.
There is something mysterious and oriental about this game that I haven't been able to find in the new gaming era with advanced graphics, internet etc. It is pure magic this game.
I thought the same. Always have. This game has been popping into my mind for the last 30 years and I never even got to play it. Just watching my older brother and his mate play it was a treat and magical experience for me as a 10 year old.
"Longplay", more like incredibly masterly skilled "Shortplay". 13 Minutes. That ridicules my aspirations as a kid playing 2 hours on level1 before giving up haha. Great work!
No, for seppuku you need an assistant who will cut off your head once you have completed the horizontal and vertical belly cuts. At that point, you should nod while still maintaining your composure. Without an assistant, it's the much lower regarded hara kiri. Seppuku may be a bit hard at first but once the assistant acts, it's over. With harakiri, you could spend the better part of your afternoon bleeding to death. I don't think that even in Japan at that time, people were so bloody minded to commit either of the two acts of suicide. I read that for the most part, the assistant in a seppuku act would simply slash off the head at earliest opportunity.
I remember when I used to play this game a lot. The only problem was that the game crashed at the point when your in the palace/castle and go to the red carpet so I never finished the game. Thanks for making this video and let me finally after 25 years see the ending.
+Andy Atkins That was limited edition of The Last Ninja 2. I had them too :D ..I'm quite sad they're long lost in time. I have the box, disk and the city map, but no hood or shuriken anymore :(
How TF did you even see or know where those objects were located?!?! I spent hours and hours wandering around and get killed by those enemies without discovering them! Poor 6 years old me 😆
