talk about ~Ninja-Kid II~(Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shō) Ninja-Kun shouting "Ukyakyah" in a melancholic

• A sequel to "Ninja-kun: Adventure in the Demon Castle," this action game involves conquering over 31 diverse stages to defeat your nemesis, Ashura. A Famicom version was released the year after the arcade version.

• Using two buttons, you can perform a variety of ninja-like moves, such as wall climbing and triple jumps. The game's physics engine also allows for harsh behavior, such as being knocked unconscious if you fail to land properly after falling from a height.

• Enemies are equipped with "thinking AI" that allows them to jump to avoid the player's attacks and react by reading their movements. This "anti-pattern" design, which does not allow for fixed patterns, is still highly praised today.

• Upon clearing training stages, you can obtain bombs and homing shurikens, which can be switched depending on the situation. Bombs, in particular, are important weapons for conquering difficult stages, such as targeting enemies through walls.

• The melancholic "tear-jerking" background music is one of the most popular. The visual and audio aspects are also elaborate, with a synthesized voice saying "Ukya-kya" when a stage is cleared and a palette effect in which the water surface becomes darker the deeper you dive.

• Porting company Micronics' strategy of "slowing the frame rate and cramming in all the elements" paid off, resulting in a well-made port with little degradation. The FC sound source and background music also work extremely well together.

• The high level of difficulty keeps you on your toes from the very first level, with level 4 in particular said to be "beginner-killing."

• There's an anecdote that the arcade version was mass-produced while still in development to raise funds. Furthermore, the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System version was repeatedly delayed, which, for better or worse, allowed it to avoid competition with Dragon Quest III.

• You can enjoy the complete port on the "Arcade Archives." Its unique inertia and tactics against enemies make it a beloved landmark that had a major influence on later action games.