Elevator Action & Legend of Kage retrospective: Ups and downs | NES Works  

My sister was the only person who could beat the legend of kage in our family. She did it a few times. Get this, after the credits roll, you cut to kage and "princess" walking through the summer woods and then she is kidnapped again. the seasons repeat and the game goes again. Somehow my dad started this tradition when we played this that we would have to blow kisses for good luck to the princess as she is kidnapped.

The fact that Legend of Kage scrolls left to right is freaking me out.

Chinatown Fair in NYC has that 2009 Elevator Action Death Parade arcade game. It's really strange, yet kinda cool; it's an on-rails shooter, but in front of the screen are real-life "elevator doors" that close in front of you at times.

You're really good at Elevator Action, I can't beat a stage in that game, it's tough. Also, I absolutely adore Legend of Kage, as a kid who was obsessed with Ninjas at a young age, it was perfect for me. I love the feeling of that game, being able to soar through the air across tree tops, and climbing up trees with ease just felt so cool. But yeah, Kage and Gyruss are my two favourite games to play for short 10 minute bursts.

I can't wait to tell all of my Genesis friends that they've been pronouncing Streets Of Rage wrong this whole time.

Mission accomplished on the pronunciation trolling. My eye was twitching by the end. But then there's also 7:59 and that mindsplitting scrolling effect. That actually made me dizzier than most VR experiences so far. I'm not going to defend Legend of Kage's quality but I do love that you gave it credit for its ambition wih its themes. It was absolutely one of the more influential formative bits of ninja media I got to consume as a kid, and solidified my belief that ponytails can be cool and badass on guys and not just be douchey like with Steven Seagal. Thanks for that, Taito, Tose, and countless assorted ninja and wuxia flicks.

Dull as it might be, the sensory overload that Legend of Kage provided to young kids is what kept them coming back. It was one of my favorites present in several of the multicarts that passed by my hands. I also never finished the second cycle.

Elevator Action Returns is probably one of Taito's best games

"a spiritual descendant of Elevator Action"? And here I thought elevators were always ascendant or descendant.

Kage is simple and deep at the same time. The loops here act as the repetition cycles of myths; the tragedy of not making the rescuing again and again. A butterfly that holds the power of two warriors. And that perfectly hysterical tune gives it a very sense of urgency and dread. It could be more of a performance driven tell rather than a game.

Makes me want the Arcade Archives version of Elevator Action on Switch for some of that sweet, sweet Flip Grip action.

Man, that Legend of Kage boxart is really something else. I remember playing it in the arcade as a kid. Doing crazy-high jumps in the forest while slinging ninja stars against a lightning storm backdrop was awesome. I was happy to get a decent home port in the NES. Oddly enough, I didn't own it--just rented it from the video store. I don't know that arcade Elevator Action was as ubiquitous as you mention. I don't recall seeing it in any of my local bowling alleys, arcades, mini-marts, etc. In fact, my first exposure might have been the NES version.

When I started to seriously collect NES games I didn't have when I was a kid, it was the late 90s and NES prices were much much lower than they are today. I remember buying both of these games for $5 total. For that? They're just fine. But man, consider that these games were once full price, $60 releases!

I have a bit of fondness for Legend of Kage. Those huge leaps into the sky just feel so satisfying!

Elevator Action features far more escalators than its title would lead me to believe

I've been studying Japanese for close to 30 years now and only just realized that it was pronounced ka-ge when I re-purchased a copy of it before PRGE this year.

When you pronounced it "cage", I heard the sound of thousands of keyboard warriors preparing for battle.

This is my favourite opening bit in Video Works history. Wish the title made the book. It cracks me up relentlessly.

Elevator Action is the 4th game i played for NES as a kid way back in the mid 80s. Wow i feel old lol

It’s actually pronounced “Lee-GEND.” The emphasis is on the second syllable, and the second syllable starts with a hard G like “game” or “god.” The first syllable rhymes with “me” or “see.” Lee-GEND Common mistake but I didn’t expect to see it here.

Despite all my rage I am still just a Kage in a cage.

Elevator action had some of the most painful theme music of all time. That loop killed me. On the other hand, the Legend of Kage in the arcades was a really good looking game!

as a kid I bought Legend of Kage at a garage sale and was disappointed at first, but when I started getting good at it, I fell in love. Honestly it is the perfect arcadey title, with quick snappy stages, which get faster to complete as you get better, as well as an unheard of freedom of movement at the time. I was totally blown away at how I could leap treetop to treetop avoiding ninjas! The changing seasons kept pushing me to play the game as I wanted to know what the next season would look like. If I played it in the arcade though, I would have hated it lol.

I didn't know Virtua Fighter's Kage came from such humble beginnings.

I love Elevator Action for the NES. I never played the arcade original back in the day, and didn't even know it had been an arcade game. I got to know it through my friend's bootleg NES multicart. It had something like 200 games on it, but this was the one I spent the most time playing whenever I was at his place (which for several years was pretty much every weekend). Knowing what I know now, I was kind of shocked to learn Micronics were behind this port. Like you said, it's not really up to the standards of the best 1987 NES releases, but as a straightforward conversion of the classic arcade game, it really is surprisingly decent. Quite unlike the wretched Ikari Warriors and 1942, which to me felt borderline unplayable even back then.

Bless you for that end quote.

GBC Elevator Action was license skinned for Dexters Laboratory in the US.

Decided to rewatch this video after AVGN did a video on Legend of Kage. Up being the jump button was a mistake here.

And now with the release of Elevator Action Invasion, the series has now been releasing games for 38 years, which I suppose is impressive since not many series last that long.

I loved Legend of Kage when I was a kid. An easy-to-understand arcade port was a lot more fun for me at that age than a more complicated home port that could have been even more vexing with the manual missing. Also, we always thought the fire-breathing guys were pirates.

I know I've heard you say Kage correctly before (maybe in that Ninja Gaiden stream?), so I wasn't as surprised at that gag.

It's Cage. As in Johnny Cage. This is a licensed game for a Johnny Cage film. What do you mean Johnny Cage doesn't exist?...

I really enjoy Elevator Action, it's the inspiration for my beloved Rolling Thunder franchise. It's also another one of those games that the Game Boy expanded upon with a better version and of course has a lot of great sequels as mentioned.

Kage is one of those games where I think objectively it’s pretty iffy and janky but there’s a lot of fun to be had in its simplicity and ease of play

In elevator action you don't die for falling a flor, you die for falling more than a floor

Certain inspiration for Ninja Spirit.

This could be my faulty memory, but I recall the enemy spies in NES Elevator Action absolutely filling the air with streams of bullets in later stages. The game becomes all but impossible as you can't find a safe path through their constant shooting. And I believe Demon Sword was actually released as a sequel to Legend of Kage.

I had Legend of Kage as a kid and while it's true that it's not a great game, it has a certain....something. The controls are snappy and intuitive, everything moves at a fast clip, and like you said you can really get into a groove on it. Like a Sonic game or a good shmup, it can be simultaneously fast-paced frenetic and strangely relaxing. You can turn your brain off and let muscle memory and instinct take over, and it becomes almost zen-like. Again, not a great game by any stretch, I do recommend at least giving it a try as it will always hold a special place in my heart. Also: Kage is the japanese word for "shadow", so while the pronunciation might be strange to someone who doesn't speak japanese it makes sense in context. Ninja, amirite?

Holy crap! I'm so buying your books when they come out!!

I wish there was a new Elevator Action.

Legend of Kage really reminds me a lot of Ninja Spirit for Turbografx16. And that's one of the best turbografx games. I wonder if they were made by the same devs

I just found your channel for the first time today and I have enjoyed these videos. One correction, Elevator Action used a horizontal monitor in the arcades.

I like the Game Boy version of Elevator Action the best. But Elevator Action Returns was even better!!!

Honestly, I think it’s about time for Legend of Kage 3- the structure of “beat these same level types in a loop or die and start again” feels very similar to something like Nuclear Throne, and god knows people can’t get enough of roguelites. If they tightened up the controls, maybe made the sword deflect easier to do constantly or toned down how much you had to rely on it, made jumping less risky, etc, a game like this could be very popular if updated properly.

So, Muramasa is basically a modern, hand-drawn Legend of Kage!

.... I thought it was suspicious that you'd make sure you had 'Darius' correct over on SNES Works but had it wrong on 'Kage' here, well played! indeed Legend of Kage and Elevator Action aren't AAA must-haves on NES, but for the right price I wouldn't say no to either. Also I didn't really know about the tech for Legend of Kage til I saw this video, back then I don't remember ever seeing the manual. so good to know how that game's supposed to work!!

I used to have Legend Of Kage but I sold it but I do have Elevator Action I might get Legend of Kage again one day

I never expected that Legend of Kage would be so... speedy and fluid. It could be my kind of game. Seems like it was doing the "lithe platforming" feel way before Sonic trended.

I hope that you have the "Link he come to town" song stuck in your head as often as I do.

I love how you replicated my own previous ignorance in pronunciation by purposefully making it a gag. Excellent. Now if only I could stop reading it as "Nobunga's Ambition" *sigh*

I had no idea about the arcade legacy of Elevator Action. This was new to me.

Great review as always. Got my flipgrip. It’s perfect!! Thanks.

I think Elevator Action may constitute my oldest memory of an Arcade machine, with one machine located in a ski resort, which I remember somewhere around the age of 3 or 4...

I can't wait until you get around to the Ninja Gaiden trilogy. That will be fun. I was also fairly partial to the Genesis/Mega Drive Shinobi trilogy, even though each of those three games plays pretty different from one another.

The Legend of Kage also had two other bosses for the autumn and winter seasons.

Is Demon Sword for Nes a sequel or prequel to The Legend of Kage?

Am I the only one that noticed that the rupee counter for the Legend of Zelda shown at the end of the video doesn't look like the counter used in the actual game (At least, the US copy I have)?

Otto would've done great in Track N Field's long jump event.

Hmm? Kage goes with the japanese-- *checks later on the video* Oh, NVM. It actually addresses the Kage pronounciation. Moving on...

Joining the chorus of ancient comments here about the fake-out of the pronunciation. For my part, I KNEW "Kage" was a two-syllable word following standard Japanese pronunciation rules, and yet when you consistently pronounced it as "cage" in the early goings of the video, I began to doubt myself. You always do great research and check on things like this, so I figured maybe I was the fool all along. Turns out that, in a way, I really was.

When I first heard you pronounce it as Kage it didn't bother me but I knew the comment section would be full of people saying it needed to be pronounced Kage. Also your teaser for the next episode had me laughing out loud. Hallelujah!

The DS sequel was great.

I play elevator action at the arcade and I will play the nes version. 😀👍🎮

I kind of want to know the sequence of events and line if reasoning that would lead to the development of an action game about riding elevators.

Kage kinda looks like a slightly better version of the Super Monkey Daibouken action sequences. Frenetic action everywhere.

Yes, Legend of Kate is another of those games that never lets you have the satisfaction of saving the girl for good.

Ok you got my ass with the Cage/Kage thing 😅

ERMAGERD LOVED LOK

Beside the amazing Elevator Action Returns, I would also recommend Toaplan's Pipi & Bibi's. Kinda similar to Elevator Action but equally as fun and more "kinky", if you catch my meaning ;)

Any idea why Micronics first outing seems to be the best one?

Title card errata: Capcom listed as pub/dev

I once thought shadow of the ninja by Natalie for the nes was the sequel to legend of late because it's Japanese title was kage 2

Hey Jeremy. On the getaway car in Elevator Action. Does it say "JHOT"? What does this mean??? I've always wondered about that since I was a kid playing this.

Those System of a Down lyrics though :D (actually not sure if that was really a system of a down performance, but legend says so)

I love elevator action😊

Huh. Legend of Kage was a precursor to Demon Sword. Who knew?

I know that older arcade games often went the cutesy route because on the average it netted more quarters, but this was post-Defender when people finally realized that this rule had big exceptions, why in the hell does this spy-themed game have a cute art style? Fortunately, Elevator Action Returns remedies this error.

The Rah-gey in the Kah-gey.

dear god that Group X reference at the end with the Zelda song.. lmao

"Elevator Action" is one of those titles that sound like someone made them up as a joke for a webcomic or something.

HALLELUJAH!

Elevator Action is one of those great games you can sit down with and just relax, drink booze and kill tons of badguys.

You actually quoted Rabbit Joint..?! o_O :)

I thought Elevator Action took place in an apartment building not an office building

I could never get over how hideous the box art for Kage was when I saw it in comic book ads.

Evil ninjas wear pants and good ninjas wear short skirts

Fuck that. I played the fuck out of this game as a kid. It will always be the legend of "Cage" to me. I know its not right but my childhood depends on the pronunciation of this word. 40 years later, I still feel like that little boy in the shower trying to wash the shame off with brillo and hot water. Please don't take this from me.

At the time, there were people who wanted direct arcade ports. NES reinventions were seen as evidence that the NES was inferior to other systems. Particularly NES Double Dragon. Playing NES Strider and Bionic Commando was fun, but the NES didn't give the ability to play arcade Strider or Bionic Commando. Which did matter when the alternatives were Sega or an arcade, with the latter quite willing to gobble the price of a home cart in quarters. And it was painful hearing "Kage" for the first half of the video.

You have an odd obsession with all things Elevator Action, don't you....

Wow! The graphics in these games (especially Elevator Action) make them seem as if they're direct ports of Atari 2600 games. The action and mechanics of the games, though, are way beyond what the VCS could do.

Excuse me, I hate to be that guy, but it's actually pronounced "Section Zed"

Jeremy, I think we would probably be good friends if somehow our paths crossed. We have similar takes on so many games. What is your beer of choice?

I always thought Kage was a female.. guess I never paid much attention to the game let alone the box art. If I played it for more than 5 minutes I'd just want to play Ninja Gaiden instead

It's not "Cage" like "Cane Kosugi"?

Legend of Cage?!?! Kage! Kah-geh

There's no excuse for that pronunciation in a post-Naruto society.

I also thought it was pronounced cage but I think it’s actually pronounced caw-gay

I wanted to throw up each time you pronounced it like cage. Thank you for the good joke after all was said and done!

Ofc japanese character wouldn't be named CAGE :D

it is pronounced legend of ka gay.