Version: 1.2
Author: Cameron White (PanzerJumper[at]gmail.com)
This file is Copyright (c)2004-2008 Cameron White. All rights
reserved.
This file may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission, except for all websites affiliated
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00. ASCII/File Information
01. Table Of Contents
02. Introduction (K1)
03. Walkthrough
03.1. Basics of the Game (K2-B)
03.2. Stage 1 (K2-1)
03.3. Stage 2 (K2-2)
03.4. Stage 3 (K2-3)
03.5. Stage 4 (K2-4)
03.6. Stage 5 (K2-5)
03.7. Stage 6 (K2-6)
03. Credits (K3)
04. Conclusion (K4)
Welcome to my next big project! This time, I've decided to write an FAQ on
something that has gotten very little attention to FAQers recently: A Game Boy
Color game called Return of the Ninja! It does seem a little weird, writing for
what is one of the last great GBC games we'll ever possible know, but still,
someone's got to do it, and I've decided to! So let's get started!
Before we do get started, I'd like to take the time to dedicate this guide to
Chris MacDonald, one of the greatest contributors to GameFAQs ever. God Bless,
CMac. May you game on in heaven forevermore.
Any comments I made in this section about Incubus should be ignored. Big
Brother strikes again!
This game, while classified as action, actually requires a lot more strategy.
Your rank at the end of each stage is determined by how fast you go through the
level and how many times enemies actually spot you with their own eyes (bosses
and animals not included). If you want a good rank, you must be very swift
through each level, and always avoid being seen. The flow of the game also
changes if you are seen; when someone spots you in one screen, the next screen
will have more enemies than if no one had spotted you. Use this to your
advanatage and always stay out of sight. Remember that killing enemies
is not always a necessity.
Also, your rank determines what card you will receive at the end of the level.
These cards serve no purpose except to collect, but they also teach you some
neat facts about ninjas! At the end of each level, I'll explain what rank you
need to get which cards, but you'll have to e-mail me if you want to figure out
how the ninjas used them. (I don't want to spoil anything for you!)
There's something wrong in the village where Tsukikage and Saiyuri live, and
you must get them to the village to figure it out. Start by moving forward and
quickly knocking out the blue guard on the ledge. Jump across the building
rooftops and blindly jump as far as you can so that you land on higher land,
avoiding the fire. Now quickly take out the deer, then climb to the watchtower
when the guard isn't looking and knock him out. The fire right in front of the
watchtower will hurt you, but the fires burning the house down in the
background will not. Avoid the fire and go into the next area.
This next area has green platforms loaded with snakes. Take them out quickly.
The guards near the end of this area aren't hard to knock out, as long as you
remain hidden from their view. Better yet, don't even bother with them, and
stay on the green platforms until you can enter the next area.
This area can be easy or difficult, depending on how you do it. Climb down the
cliff you are on first, then carefully move across the water to the other
cliff, then scale up that cliff and go to the next area. There are quite a few
enemies here, so watch your every step.
BOSS: RED SWORDSMAN
This dude isn't too hard if you know what to do. Every few seconds or so, and
every time you hit him, he will teleport out and reappear right where you are
(not just a few steps away from where you are, but directly on you). To avoid
this, jump around a lot. Each time he teleports in, hit him with your sword.
Repeat this until he's defeated!
After the first level, you will arrive at your old teacher's temple. He will
tell you about the evil plan to gain eternal power from the four scrolls, and
how only you can stop it. In the next few stages, you'll be required to pick up
the legendary 'Shinobi' tools to complete your quest. If you do the levels in
order, picking them up is no problem; that's how I did it. Here's a complete
listing of the Shinobi Tools and how you can use them in the game.
Iron Claw: On soft patches of ground (ground that looks light brown) with this
item, you can burrow into this soft soil and essentially hide from enemeies AND
go under anything that's on the soil. Just press 'Down' when you're on the soil
to dig underneath, and press 'Up' to resurface.
Tabi: This nifty little item will allow you to walk on the ceiling. It is very
useful for the last few stages, thus I've listed to pick it up in Stage 4.
Press 'up' when you touch the ceiling to cling to it, and press 'down' to jump
down again. Classic Ninja Style!
Ninja Sandals: Ordinary sandals, right? WRONG! These little babies allow you to
double your jumping power! Just hold down 'down' until you start to flash,
then, while still holding down 'down' press 'A'! This is useful for reaching
high places you couldn't otherwise get to, and to reach that really high
ceiling to cling to.
Kabuto: Basically, a hard hat. Use it to break through breakable platforms from
below. Used only in Stage 5.
Mantle: A cape with floating capabilites, like in Super Mario World. Hold down
'Up' while in the air and use the directional buttons to control your fall.
Mizugumo: You start the game with this; it basically lets you walk and dive
into water. 'Down' to dive, 'Up' to resurface, just like Iron Claw.
Now for stage 2! When you start, you are outside. Your goal here is to break
into an old samurai house and find the boss. First, knock out that guard you
see before he sees you. Then, go forward, jumping onto platforms, until you
reach a switch. Walk onto it to activate a platform, which will get you up to
the next area. Kill the scarecrows as you make your way up, and be careful of
the black guy at the top; it takes 2 hits to kill him. Go to the next area.
You'll immediatly see smiley-faced lanterns. If you hit them with your sword,
they become sad-faced platforms! So, make a platform ladder leading to the top
of the building, then jump to the building rooftop and enter the next area, a
graveyard.
The graves in this area are tricky. There are scarecrows hidden in the
background, which may surprise you, but the graves are the hard part. Knock out
the graveheads to knock off this problem. Get past them and enter the next
area. More guards... and spikes. Kill them and move on.
The next area requires a bit of climbing, but that's no problem, right? Just
climb up the platforms avoiding spider spit, until you reach an open door. Go
through it, and you'll be at the top of the area you were just in! Kill the
guards (or avoid them if you can) and fall down the pit onto soft soil (you may
need to fall down platforms to get to the bottom). Make sure the skeleton
doesn't see you, and enter the next area. As you cross the soft soil, be
careful of the creepy-looking hands that poke out of there. At the end of this
area is the Iron Claw! Now that you have it, you can dig into the soft soil and
avoid the hands as you make your way back.
Now, with this nifty little item, you can go underneath the skeleton and the
rock, and keep going until you reach solid land. Surface, and drop down the pit
that's a few steps ahead.
BOSS: BUDDHIST GOD
This guy is really annoying, trust me. To beat him, you'll have to hit his
head; it's the only vulnerable point on his body. Here's a little trick I
invented: When he throws a green fireball, if he's near the ground, jump over
the fireball and hit him in the head before you land. Repeat until dead. If you
like that trick, learn it well, because it will save your skin when you're up
against the Stage 3 boss.
This underground hideout will be your next stop. The boss here is a Molten
Golem, an enemy made up entirely of volcanic rocks from this hideout. He's
tough, but none too difficult to beat. To start, go to the left, and jump
across the small ledges to the next rock platform. There's a new type of enemy
on this platform, one made specifically for this stage. Knock him out when he's
not looking. Go forward until you reach some ropes. Go to the SECOND ROPE and
jump down that hole. You should land on some platforms fall down until you
reach some molten lava, then make your way left into the next area.
This area is full of bats. When you enter, jump down, but try to work your way
over to the left. If you stay as far left as possible, you'll land on a ledge
and get the Ninja Sandals. Now fall down to the bottom and go left into the
next area.
This place has a cannon wall that you must climb, and at the top is an enemy
waiting to greet you. Give him a friendly 'ninja' hello, then burrow under the
soft soil and go underneath the rock. Resurface and go into next area. Head all
the way to the left, then enter the big door way to face the boss. (Hey, that
was fast, huh?)
BOSS: MOLTEN GOLEM
This guy is a big dunderhead, yet really smart. The screen is constantly moving
left, so be on the move. Walk at a medium speed (not too fast that you're too
far ahead of him, not too slow that he stomps all over you) and wait for him to
throw a fireball. When he does, jump over it and smack him in the head/chest
before you land, then skedaddle before he punches you. Repeat this over and
over until you crumble him, gaining the next scroll. This is easy, right?
Better not hope it's this way all the time, 'cause it's not...
Boy, all this work is pretty hard, huh? You deserve a break... NOT! The luxury
cruise you've chosen is really a hideout, and another scroll to collect. There
isn't much fighting to be done here unless you're careless, and if you are, you
shouldn't be playing this game. The boss here is a mysterious samurai warrior
that slips through darkness to strike his foes down before they can counter. It
won't be easy, trust me. But you will have some fun, and get some new toys
along the way!
First, go all the way to the left, killing seagulls (*cry* poor little birdies)
until you reach a pit to fall down. Go down, then enter the first door you come
across. Jump onto the platform before they can see you, then pick up the Tabi
(at last!) and use the ceiling for a quick and sneaky escape. When you're back
in the main hallway, continue to go down, avoiding enemies, and continue going
to the left until you exit this room. There are some crates blocking entry, but
you can just squeeze through the hole at the top if you cling to the ceiling.
You'll see another stack of crates after that; jump on top of them, then jump
onto the platform on the left. Enter the room.
Use the Ninja Sandals to get to the ceiling and work your way over to the
Mantle (yay, more toys!) and pick it up. Now, make your sneaky exit from this
room. Once back in the main room, drop down below the platform you're on right
now and go left, JUMPING OVER THE PITS! You'll be sorry if you don't. Now, once
you've gone all the way left, climb upwards until you exit this room. Be
careful of the green samurai; they hurt, and they're fast, and they hurt!
You'll be outside the ship. Use the Ninja Sandals (boy, these things are really
useful, aren't they?) to get to the ceiling of the roof (uh, right.) then get
across the spikes, drop down, and enter the door. Boss time again...
BOSS: SAMURAI MASTER
For the first couple hundred tries of this guy, I figured "Ah, well, I'll get
him next time!" and, well... let's just say that after that I was getting, how
you say, super mad?? This guy is almost impossible if you don't know what
you're doing. To beat him, you must always be hitting him with the sword.
Keeping the pressure on will make him stop his attacks to take the hit, and he
can take a lot of punishment. If he even dares to start moving forward to
attack, jump and float. This way, he can never shift into darkness for
those few precious seconds he needs to attack. Keep up the pressure (don't
forget about your specials) and you'll win. Good luck, you'll need it... oh, by
the way, if you can't handle this guy, I say quit right now; beating this guy
means you have the skill and luck to defeat the next boss.
This level is all about stealth. There's a new samurai warrior in town, and he
uses ground-based electricity to attack. There are two ways to deal with him:
either sneak past him on the ceiling (which you should; it takes a lot more
time to kill him then to sneak by him) or attempt a from behind attack.
Whatever you choose, deal with him one way or another.
The level starts on the outside. Go forward, but as soon as you see the spider,
STOP! Jump up and hit the spider twice to kill it, then use the ninja sandals
(again with the sandals??) to get to the ceiling (again with the... ah, why
bother?) and you see the electric samurai. Get past him via one of the two ways
mentioned above, then enter the door. There's another electric dude in here,
but he's got his back turned when you walk in, so knock him out, then go left
into the next area.
From here on out, you'll be revisiting places you'll recognise, because this
place is like a maze! In this next room, fall down the pit you see in front of
you. If you like extreme stuff, don't move, but if you'd like a safe landing
(wimp) then use the Mantle to slow your fall. This area is full of spikes and
bats, two of each. Get past them, since they aren't too hard, then get to the
right side of this cave and climb upwards.
Since when does a well have spikes? Ah, well, ANYWAYS, go left back into the
building. Immediatly take out the blue guard who's got his back to you, then
jump to the ceiling and go on. There's a disappearing samurai here; the moment
he sees you, he teleports to directly behind you and attacks. Hit him from
behind twice to kill him, then go up the stairs. There's a bat, an electric
guard, and a door. Kill, kill, and enter, in that order.
The final Shinobi tool; the Kabuto! Now, go forward via the ceiling, knock out
another teleport guard, and enter the door. Look familiar? It's the same room
you entered at first! Go left, then in the next room, go up the stairs. Go all
the way right, killing guards, enter next area, kill guard, enter next area
(boring, yet?) now fall down a pit, kill the blue guard behind the stairs, then
dig in the soft soil on the ground. Go all the way left, emerge, kill blue
guard, enter door. Kill the blue guard and the spider, then jump up the stairs
via Ninja Sandals. Get up on the platform, kill the blue guard on the crate,
then Ninja Sandal directly up. You'll crash into a platform and knock it out.
Go to the left, kill the spider, and enter the door. Go to the right, kill all
the guys, and enter the door. Go all the way left, killing guys (use the
ceiling) and enter next area. There's one blue guard and one BIG doorway. Boss
time!
BOSS: ULTIMATE SAMURAI
Wow, wow, wow! If you guys are DBZ fans, this should make sense: this guy's
taken on a Majin Buu strategy, and has absorbed every boss you've met! Now,
he's invincible whenever he's on the move (whenever he flashes, in other words)
and he's only vulnerable when he's on the ground. That's when you strike. Avoid
all his other attacks at all costs and you'll win. For this boss, I'll accept
any strategies you come up with, since this guy is hard! Don't worry, though -
Level 6's boss is a breeze after this guy.
Alright, kids - let's kick some butt! From the start, move to the very edge of
the forest background, then crouch until your Sandals charge. Jump up high and
use the Cape to slow your descent onto an off-screen enemy cannon. Crouch down
and swing like crazy until the guard and the crow are both dead, then use the
Sandals' charge to jump over the spikes and onto another off-screen enemy
cannon. Again, crouch and swing, then use the Sandals to jump over the second
set of spikes and head right into the next area.
If you got caught performing Ninja Acrobatics in the previous section, there'll
be falling rocks in this area. In any case, walk across the water to the very
end, then press DOWN to fall into the water. You'll land on a small ledge -
move left and fall off that ledge, but stay to the right so you don't get hit
by the spikes. The same thing goes for the next ledge - fall off and stay to
the extreme right. You'll find a passageway into the next area. This area has a
bunch of small gray ledges on both sides of the wall, with spikes guarding each
one. Stand on the bottom-right ledge and crouch 'til your Sandals charge up.
When the spike moves over to the left, use the Sandals to jump up to the next
ledge. Continue jumping up the ledges on the right until you get reach the top
of the screen, then use them once more to jump into the next screen and out of
the water. Be careful of the falling rocks as you cross the water and head into
the next area.
DON'T MOVE AN INCH ONCE YOU REACH THE NEXT AREA. Wait for the guard to turn his
back on you, then strike with a vengeance. Then climb up the stairs to the very
top and stand on the edge of the landing. Use your Sandals to jump to the upper
ledge, then head into the open doorway to continue.
Immediately grab the ceiling and move to the right. You can try to knock out
the guard if you wish - otherwise, keep moving right until you reach the
staircase. Jump off the ceiling and head left and into the open doorway. In the
next area, fall off your current platform, then press DOWN to dig underneath
the sand, then head right (beneath the lightning guard and the wooden posts)
until you reach the cannon. Press UP to unearth yourself from the sand, then
grab the ceiling and head right (past the lightning guard, unless you feel a
need to hurt someone). You'll come to a staircase after the guard - get onto
the second step WITHOUT LETTING THE GUARD ON THE LANDING SEE YOU. Use your
Sandals to jump to the upper floor, then head through the open doorway.
The next room will have another staircase - use your second-step Sandal trick
to reach the next floor, then grab the ceiling and head left (again, you can
fight the guard if you want to, since you'll want specials for the last boss,
but don't waste any more time than you have to - and don't get caught, either)
into the next area. Keep moving left into the next area.
IMMEDIATELY GRAB THE CEILING IN THE NEXT AREA. There'll be a guard there, and
if he catches you... um... they'll have Chopped Suey Ninja for dinner?
Something bad will happen, in any case, so you'll have to be careful. It's
advised that you fight these guys, but the one on the staircase will spot you,
and there's really no way around it, so... good luck! Make sure you've got
enough health after these battles, then use your second-step Sandal trick to
reach the upper level. Alternatively, fight the first guard you see, then use
the Kabuto to break the wooden platform and get onto one of the small ledges.
From there, jump out of your small space and use the Cape to land safely on the
next floor. Once you get up to the next floor, head right and into the open
doorway.
Grab the ceiling and right. You'll pass over another guard (again, unless you
have this irresistable urge to hurt someone) and head into the next open
doorway. Be very careful as you traverse the next room - there are no more
enemies to deal with, but there ARE some strange-looking fireballs that move in
unpredictable patterns. Get up onto the next floor, then grab the ceiling and
head left to the big open doorway, where your destiny awaits...
BOSS: EMPEROR
So, after all those guards, power-ups, samurai, and Dragon Ball Z references...
THIS is what you have for a final boss? ...Natsume, how could you? Anyways, use
all your power-ups at first, then keep moving left at a steady pace to avoid
getting trampled. This guy uses two main attacks: striking the ground with his
spear (causing a fireball to fly across the ground - be careful) and lobbing a
fireball in the air with his spear. You can dodge both easily, so all you have
to do is strike the horse's head to cause damage. Keep the pressure on and
you'll finally beat the game. That wasn't so bad, right?
Watch the cool cutscene, then write down your password - you can use it to
start the game over with all your cards and (possibly - haven't tried it yet)
power-ups intact. This'll give you the opportunity to get all of the remaining
cards you haven't gotten yet.
