When I saw the title of this game, I _knew_ I'd be writing for it. I will admit
half of the attraction was the fact that I could sing "NINJA CRU-U-SADERS!"
while playing it because that would sound like the Toxic Crusaders theme song.
Yeah... well besides that I ahve some good history with Ninja games. And when
it's Ninjas against Aliens, you know you have a winner!
The game's kind of like Contra in that respect, with enemies that kill you in
one hit, teh aliens, and some of the environments. I don't know... as much as
I like Ninja, they almost seem like an afterthought in this game because the
only thing Ninjaesque are some of the weapons and your character. You could
replace the Ninja with another character and the game wouldn't be much
different. Of course, Ninja do ad a certain charm, so it is forgiven.
So what we have is a game with cool enemies that can attack ferociously,
gameplay that can be hard at times, and some killer bosses. That's a winner in
my books!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
| N2: Story |
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One day, a mysetrious intruder from Beyond attacked the world, wreaking havoc
on Earth's inhabitants.
This new menace was stronger than out most powerful defenses and proved to be
unstoppable.
In Japan, Ninja rose from the shadows to battle the alien invaders, but were
eventually driven out as the menace took control of their homeland.
Some Ninja escaped Japan and scattered to remote lands around the world. But
their passion to reclaim their land and crush the enemy raged.
It was decided that two Ninja, Talon and Blade, would be sent to destroy the
evil wraiths.
Left/Right - move Ninja
A - Jump, hold it in to jump higher.
B - Attack
Down - Duck
Down+A - Jump down from ledges
Bown + B - Duck and attack
A rapidly in water - swim
Where I've written "#####" will actually be a graphical representation of how
many lives you have. You can have more than 5 - but it will only show up to
five onscreen.
In the box below "ITEM," you can see what weapon you are currently using.
TWO PLAYER: Two player simultaneous play. Pretty nice! If someone dies, they
will reappear on the screen unless the other player has Game Over. Then the
stage will restart.
If you want to use the whip, jump onto the first building you see. Jump from
this building to the next. There will be a whip up here, take it if you want.
From here, drop down. Take out any enemies that are around you and continue
right. Jump over this hole. There are two enemies here, one that looks like
a head, and another which is a walker that stops to fire off a volley of
missiles. Take out the head by attacking between shots. If you decide to fight
the missile robot, duck to avoid the missiles.
Dropping down after this you'll encounter a red enemy, a heavy missile enemy.
This guy only fires one missile but takes more hits than the standard missile
robot. Duck and swing at him. On the building immediately to the right is
another head dispatch it the same as the last one. Above this is a pole if you
so desire.
Pass the hole by moving across the building. There's a star in jumping reach
here - get it if you already have the star and youw ill get an extra life. Keep
heading right and you'll come eventually to a missile mech, I'm calling it that
because it looks like a typical mech. This shoots five missiles low so jump up
when it ducks dowm.
On the way right are some standard missiles and a heavy missile. There's a
sword above the heavy but it's not worth trying to reach it. There's a head
immediately on the next building after this. On the other side is a whip - take
it if you have the whip for an extra life. Continue off the screen to reach
area 1-2.
You'll start on a building overlooking some water. You have little choice but
to enter the water. When in the water, swim by tapping the JUMP button. Keep
your weapon at enemy height underwater - you don't want them striking your
legs.
Jump into the water. There's what I'll refer to as "thick drones," because they
take a number of hits and have very simple patterns, on some of the buildings.
Red fish, as well, will be swimming towards you. Just keep on right, there will
be a star and a whip. Collect either for a one-up if you already have it but I
seriously suggest using the whip in this stage. It offers good coverage, power,
and range.
Swim on, you'll see a grey part of a building looking like an L. Quickly swim
under it and jump up onto the ledge. A school of fish will pass. Drop down,
kill any remnants, and keep going. After these next Drones you'll see a pit
with bots that look like sea anenome. These move in a set pattern and shoot
straight up. Wait for them to move away from the edge and drop down and destroy
them.
Afterwards drop down from the ledge - dry land from here on out. There's a
Standard here. There's heads around here, climb up the staircase formation
of buildings unless you want a pole. Jump to the tall building and drop down.
There's quite a few heads here. Take out the ones on top first. Drop down
and take out the bottoms. Procced off the right of the stage.
*********
Boss 1
*********
A large, weird skeleton on a grub body. It moves back and forth, it's head bobs
up and down. From its hand, it fires a ball. This ball flies toward you so you
are ebst to stay on the ground unless you are attacking him. Jump over the ball
and attack him. A weapon with range will really help, I use the whip. When he
backs you into a corner a ball will be launched, and another as he backs away
from you and when he;s movign towards you. Learn the pattern. After destroying
its head, hit it in the hand a few times to destroy the entire thing.
You can take the top route briefly if you want the sword. The sword is a strong
weapon but it has a small range. On the route across the top there's an alien
looking enemy, they just move back and forth and swing their arms. No problem.
After getting the sword (if you so desire) take the bottom path. You'll need
to jump after reaching the edge of the holes. There's a shuriken down here.
There are bats in the cave, they attack when you come near but are quite easy.
Look out for the flying enemies. They just fly forwards and don't attack you,
besides flying into you of course. Climb the hill and and jump the gap.
After the gap, pay attention to the birds. They have a pretty large up and
down curve to their flight. You'll come to some missile walkers. If you have a
sword they are easily dispatched. Jumping the cliffs afterwards, there are bats
and birds. The birds are the bigger threat but keep an eye on those bats. Make
sure the bats have passed before you try to jump. You'll come to an area with
a m-walkers, bats, and a chain. There's another missile walker on a narrow
ledge which could cause problems if your weapon has no reach. If you don't want
a weapon with reach, and like the power of say, the sword, then jump from the
ledge beneath the ledge with the missile enemy and attack it. Now climb up and
continue to the right. The exit is soon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage 2-2: Lake of Chaos
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Heh! Gotta love some of these names. Anyways, this is another stage with water.
You'll notice that the level has the return of the fish and standard missiles.
Well, as you head right you'll also notice there is a new anenome. The
stationary anenome shoots three shots up: at 45, 90, and 135 degrees. There is
also a submarine robot. This goes up and down, firing missiles. There's also
another stationary enemy on the land to the left and above the robot. I'll call
it "Head II" for the sake of argument. Destroy this and proceed over it. The
sub robot may leap straight out of the water. If it doesn't you should be able
to get behind it to kill it. There's a whip here. I recommend getting it if you
don't have a ranged weapon already.
It's easier now to take the lower route after getting the whip, only two of the
stationary anenomes and a fish. After this is a sub bot. Duck to avoid its
initial attacks but you must attack it on its next descent or it could get you.
There's a cliff here that you must go under, take your time so the fish doesn't
get you. After passing the cliff, swim up a bit to avoid a missile from a sub
bot on the low end of its path. Take care of it quickly.
There's two shuriken stars to your lef tand up. Take them, they will seriously
help out. To the right after the sub bot you just killed you'll run into
another two sub bots. After this - stationary anenome on the bottom path and a
head II on the top.
There's some cliff faces that look like staircases. You must go down these
stairs. There's an anenome at the bottom firing its shots. Swim down and stay
to the left of the 90-degree shot. After it passes by, swim past the anenome.
Keep to the right, you'll see two whips on a cliff above water, and a sub bot
will attack you. Take the whips.
Jump over the hole - it will kill you. If you don't have the desire to go down
and fight the sub bot in the next body of water, wait till it flies away. In
fact, you can make two robots fly away by standing on the ledge to the right of
the entrance to the water. Jump out of the water - you're at the end of the
stage, there's two poles here if you want it.
*********
Boss 2
*********
If you grabbed the pole - you're in luck. The boss will die in three hits. But
if you decided to be more conservative, here's the boss: A green skeleton with
a tail on a purple platform. It moves back and forth, firing shots from the
tail -> one horizontal high, one diagonally down, and another closer to 270
degrees. Now, it will drive back and forth. When it is towards the back of the
screen it will fire a grey claw shaped bullet. After a short distance it will
explode, sending four shots across the screen at different heights, these are
small but essentially cover the screen. Be to the right of the shot when it
explodes. So keep close to the boss, take your time, and hit it in the face.
Pretty cool stage, you can jump on those branches. There's these bee-like
enemies that stay in the trees and fly at you. They're kind of like a bat with
the exception that they're in greater numbers and they're faster to react. If
you used the pole to defeat the 2-2 boss, you;re in luck as for now only Head
II's can hit you from a distance. There's a sword you can take if you want it
a little ways to the right. It's faster than the bo staff so it could be useful
against those bees, no? You'll come to land soon after finding the sword.
There's a Head III right down there. Head III is like Head except it shots one
shot, then four quick ones. Your best course of action would be to jump over it
and attack from behind. Afterwards, climb the rocks, there's some thick drones
here but if you have the sword or pole they die very easily.
You're now at an area with cliffs and water. Destroy the Head II then jump the
gap. Destroy the next head quickly - there is a Standard Missile robot in the
pit to the right that will cause you some trouble if you lag. Drop down from
the cliff and kill this missile bot after taking out the head II. Get the whip
and attack the Head III's. Jump after they fire their four shots and whip them.
Continue right.
The next water pit has these insect-like enemies that move across the surface
of the water and hop. Kill the water hoopers or let them pass. there's a pole
down here if you want it, I'd stick with the whip for now. Dispatch the
standard missile and then take out the Head II. Drop down the ledges, kill the
enemy, and leave the stage.
Ironfist Castle? Luckily, I know from comic experience that Iron Fist has some
serious limitations on his powers. Wrong guy you say? Ah well, the name is cool
anyways, so shall we start the level?
You'll notice a "head" walking towards you. Let's call it walker I for the sake
of argument. These move around and jump - not too troublesome. There is another
enemy nearby - I'll call it Walker II. It stops briefly to fire a shot at
diagonals up and down from its mouth.
Keep going - you'll have to drop down. There's two Heavy enemies here, that
shoot three shots, one horizontal and two diagonals. Take them out while
avoiding the shots. Grab the whip if you need it. Now jump across from the
platform immediately right of the platform the top heavy tri was on to the
next, and drop down. Go to the right, dispatch the enemy, and keep going.
Okaym, so now there are these very erratic jumping enemies. This is where the
whip would be really helpful. Work your way through them, take them out at a
distance if possible. There'll be a pole, then a star, then the boss.
*********
Boss 3:
*********
This guy's a lot smaller than the previous bosses. He's more like a large
armoured bug, almost two ninjas high. He will close in on you, until he has you
pressed against the back of the screen. He'll then swing high, then swing low.
Duck the first swing but jump just as he's pulling his fist away to avoid the
low. Every second time he back you into the corner, he'll fire three shots.
Wait for him to open his mouth then jump them. This guy is tricky to avoid, but
if you keep attacking between the times he backs you up - you should down him.
Note, if you should try to jump over Ironfist, you'll likely die.
That's no typo, the game calls it a Cruser, rather than Cruiser.
You start right next to a boat and some water. You'll encounter some walker
robots. These guys shoot three shots on an angle down towards you, even if they
are facing away from you. The shots always are always shot towards you, so
nowhere is "safe." Okay, the boat itself, when you're on the parts that look
like this:
_________________
|_________________| <- This is high ground
|______________|__
|_________________| < This is low ground
You can jump between these parts.
So let us go to the right, you'll fight some Walker III and notice fish and
torpedoes in the water. You'll eventually come to an area like I diagrammed
above. There should be one of those large, mech-like enemies from Stage 1-1.
Destroy it from the plaforms if possible, it won't be able to attack you when
you're up here. If you'd recall, they need to duck to attack.
Continue right, there will be some large turrets. You can use these as
platforms. Destroy the Walker III, and pay mind to the "Heads" to the right.
These ones are the same as you fought in 1-1. Destroy them and continue.
You'll come to a dip in the boat's surface, a pit and a mech enemy. This one is
different - it attacks the same way as the Heavy Tri's from 3-2. One shot is
horizontal, the others diagonal up and diagonal down. These will always be
directed towards you. Stay in the pit for safety. After destroying it, there is
a missile mech to the right. Destroy the ehads to the right, using the water
and pits for cover if need be.
You'll soon run into a second version of the submarine robot. Dive into the
water and take them out. They launch a shot towards you, and while it is slow
you don't want it sneaking up on you. After taking them out, get out of the
water on account of the torpedoes. Go right and destroy the missile mech.
There will be a Head in a pit. Jump over it and up onto the cannon. There's a
Walker II here. Stand next to it and duck it's fire after it shoots. Take it
out. Duck into the water, take out the sub bot II's and go back up to take out
the missile mech if you so desire. Now exit the stage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage 4-2: Wraith's Lair
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wraith's Lair has some new enemies that are kind of tough. The Walker IV's are
the same phenotypically as many of the walker enemies, and just hop every now
and then. The speed jumpers are very fast enemies that jump around and pause to
shoot a shot similar to the submarine bot II's. You'll encounter both of these
shortly to the right. Take out the Walker IV before it fires. The speed jumper
will leap up onto the platform the Walker IV was on. Stay on the plaform below,
then jump over its shot onto its platform and wail on it. It will probably turn
around, jump down, then come back up. Dodge its shots.
You'll encounter a new enemy of the thick drone look, a jumping drone. They can
take less hits but can jump very high in the air. There's a star shortly after
it. Consider it, it could be helpful in the immediate area.
There's the return of the Standard enemy from 1-1 here, except it is a third
type, one that jumps up and down in place. There's also a tarp robot here, they
are like bats in a way. They wait until you're close to fly away but they shoot
some rapid shots as they go - dangerous so use the star to take them out at
distance if possible. There's also some jumpers from 3-2 here. Yikes!
The star probably won't take them out, to be honest. So your best course of
action is to just avoid their shots. There'll be another speed jumper soon.
Take it out the same way as the last. However, when yopu begin to go right,
twop are apt to appear. Leap down to the middle platform then back up so that
you land behind the top speeder. Then just run and jump over the to the ledge.
There's a drone here with threeway fire. Jump over the first spread, then go
to the lege above it. Drop down in front of it, then quickly to the platform
below it, and keep going.
There will be jumpers from 3-2 and the water hoppers in this area. No, there's
no water. Keep going with special care to hit or avoid these enemies because
they are fast. One of the hardest parts of this area is the area with the chain
because there will be a water hopper that comes out of nowhere. Jump to the
left end of the platform below the chain, then either duck and strike the water
hopper or try to jump over it.
There will be traps to the immediate right. Get the first onscreen and there
should be a narrow ledge beneath the plaform you are on. Wait for the trap to
attack, jump down to the ledge and then jump back up. There is another just
right. It's lower than the other so you can easily jump over the shots. At the
"staircase," you'll encounter again the jumper drones. Try not to scroll the
screen back because hoppers and jumpers will come flying out after you. Leap
the gap and prepare to fight the boss.
*********
Boss 4
*********
This is one tough dude. It's a green flying saucer that's only vulnerable from
the left side. It fires a huge spread to teh right, you're screwed if you get
caught behind it. A grey shot immediately left from the left orb and a speed-
dependent attack taht is a pain in the hole. The saucer can move at three
speeds: slow, medium, and fast. It starts out slow, after the grey shot it will
shoot a spread of three shots at you. It's best to stand close to the saucer's
bottom and move left after it fires. Take a short jump to avoid it if necessary
but _only_ a short jump because the saucer could be in the way. If you have the
space you can fully jump over the shots even when one is going lateral. At its
medium speed, it launches only one ball after the grey shot, and at fast speed
it launches none. The problem being, however, that you have less opportunity
to damage it. You probably have the whip for this fight, and it's going to take
a while so learn the attack patterns and hit the _left_ side until the right
spread is over.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage 5-1: Shadow Village
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The level begins in a forest though there's no tree branches to jump on. Start
making your way to the right. You'll come to Head IV, an enemy that jumps three
times in place, then rapidly fires four shots. They are easy enough that they
are downed quickly. Jump into the water. There's a sub bot III here, the same
as sub bot II but it swims in little circles. Take it out. There's another to
the right, but be careful of the new version of those first robots you fought
in 1-1. They run back and forth and jump, and attack at close range. They will
be running on top of the water. Maybe take out the sub bot III and then take
them out, or vice versa.
Jumping out of the water, you'll encounter a jumper. A bit father to the right
is two houses with some standard IV's. They will be on the ground and rooftops
but you'll be basically resticted to the ground. Why? It's safest there. When
you reach the next "staircase" there will be a _very_ quick water hopper. Stay
either on the dirt or go ont first step and duck. It will bounce over you.
Jump into the water.
There's a sub bot III here, take him out and mind any water hoppers skimming
the surface. There's another sub bot III in here and a star. Jump out of the
water and walk down the stairs. It's clear sailing from here... or so you
thought!
*********
Boss 5
*********
Really weird looking. A dragonesque head on a torso. It seems to walk on purple
wires. It has four arms, They just bob up and down and aren't a threat. It will
move back forth and shoot a major spread at you. Ducking int he corner will
probably defeat this. After words, he just shoots a spread of there. When he's
up close to you stand on the far left and jump. This should make him shoot high
while you drop low. When he's away from you, just jump over his shots. Keep
attacking him and he'll go down eventually.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stage 5-2: Temple of the Cursed
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This place has a pretty cool theme and is a bit more classically ninja designed
than previous levels. Going to the right you'll automatically attacked by some
bugs. They will fly towards you then fly away. Back and forth, back and forth.
They can also fire a bullet at you. Scroll one onto the screen at a time, and
deal with them. If you don't, things can get hairy. There's a star here if you
want it.
Now when you come to the staircase type area, there will be another varriant on
the 1-1 first robot. Standard V walks back and forth and then stops to fire a
shortrange burst that covers a circular area. After this there's an enemy akin
to the flying drone of 2-1. It waits for a while and then shoots a spread of
three shots while it zips forward.
You'll encounter some more flying drone II's, some fly in from the left so
always watch yourself. You'll come to an area with a jumper. Dispatch it and
keep going to find the new walker enemy, Walker V, which shoots the same kind
of shot as sub bot II. To the right are more bugs so try to take them all out
from the left. Begin to scroll bugs onto the screen. You may get two onscreen
at once because of the jumps. Try to hit them then as they are coming down at
you.
After the jumps is another area of jumpers and flying drone II's. There is also
a new jumper, a star jumper. It jumps but launches three shurikens at you. They
are easy to avoid, but with so much else going on they can be a problem. There
is a Walker VI nearby. They shoot horizontal lasers and are generally easy to
take out. Keep to the right, there are some more flyers and a standard V. Take
out the drone near it first, then time your jump to land beside the Standard V
after it attacks. Destroy it. There is a star and whip here, take one if you
want. Leave the screen.
*********
Boss 6
*********
Kind of similar in appearance to the boss of Ironfist Castle. This guy has more
of a mantis claw which he swipes at you with. Attack him from a distance and
run under him when he jumps. When he begins to back you into a corner: attack,
retreat, attack, retreat. When he's backed you into the corner - jump before
he swings. If you timed it right, his swing will miss you and he'll move away.
He swings after he stops moving.
Uh-Oh! What's this? Mode 2! His skeleton is revealed. He will first shoot a
huge spread. Run over to the corner and duck to hopefully avoid it. Now he
will move in on you and begin attacking like the Ironfist boss. Duck under the
first swing and immediate leap the second. On his second assault like this,
jump over him! He will launch his big spread again, and while it will still go
towards you, you have room to run for safety. Jump back over him because he
won't stop for you when you're to his left. Keep in mind that his swings also
shoot needles forward so don't provoke him and hope to run out of reach.
Only jump over him from the left if he's going to shoot the spread! Anyways,
this is his last form, keep at it and he'll die.
*********
Stage 1:
*********
Anenome: Move in a set pattern, firing upwards. Easy to destroy if you practice
patience.
"Head": Rhythmically fire shots at you. Hit them in between shots and get out
of the way quickly. If you can him them successively, do so, but beware their
shots.
Heavy Missile: A bipedal robot that has a cannon above its head. It will launch
one shot every now and then. Duck and attack to dispatch it with ease.
Missile Mech: A large enemy that really takes a beating. It ducks and fires
five missiles. Jump over the shots and attack it.
Standard: The first enemy you see. Swing their arms at you and die easily.
Standard Missile: A walker enemy that occasionally stops and fires three
missiles. Duck to avoid the fire.
Thick Drone: Short green robo with horizontal rod on top of his head. They
walk back and forth but have decent endurance.
*********
Stage 2:
*********
*Returning: Standard Missile, Fish,
Bat: Waits in place and flies toward you when you near.
Bird: Has a large vertical arc while travelling horizontally.
Flying Drone: Simple enemy that flies in a slightly bobbing horizontal path.
"Head II:" Fires missiles at steady intervals. Handle as per the last "Head"
enemy.
Missile Walker: Acts the same as heavy missile.
Standard II: Alienesque enemy that moves back and forth, and can swing its arm.
Stationary Anenome: An anenome that fires bolts up at 45, 90, and 135 degrees.
Just get beside them and attack.
Submarine Robot: Robot that moves up and down in the water, firing missiles.
Best attacked at a range or from behind.
*********
Stage 3:
*********
*Returning: Head II, Thick Drone, Standard Missile
Bee: Waits a short time then flies at you.
"Head III:" like the "head" enemy in appearance, but shoots one shot, then four
shots in quick succession. Unless you can get behind it, a ranged weapon is
essential.
Heavy Tri: Stops to shot two diagonal shots: one up, one down, and one lateral
shot.
Jumper: Mantis-like enemies that begin jumping wildly when you approach.
Walker I: Looks like Head III. Walks around and jumps.
Walker II: More like missile walker. Will stop on occasion to fire two diagonal
shots - one up, one down.
Water hopper: Insecteque enemy that moves across water's surface, hopping.
*********
Stage 4:
*********
*Returning: Missile Mech, Fish, Head I, Jumper
Jumping Drone: Looks like thick drone but is weaker and can jump very high
into the sky.
Speed Jumper: A wildly fast enemy that speeds and jump around, stopping to fire
a blast similar to Sub Bot II's. It looks like a small walker type enemy.
Standard III: Looks like Standard but jumps up and down in place.
Submarine Robot II: Fires a slow, seeking bullet.
Torpedo: Travels forward quickly.
Trap: robot that waits on the wall and fires rapidly while moving off the
screen when you approach.
Tri Drone: Stays in place shooting with its three-way fire.
Tri Mech: Graphically a missile mech but attacks as per the Heavy Tri, except
the shots are always directed towards you.
Walker III: Stop to shoot three shots you, even if they're facing away from
you.
Walker IV: Similar to Walker I, but looks like Walker III. They jump and stop
at times to fire three shots, one horizontal and two diagonal.
*********
Stage 5
*********
*Returning: Jumper, water hopper.
Bug: Flies abck and forth towards you, and can fire a bullet.
Flying Drone II: Waits a while then launches a spread of three shots and flies
forward.
Head IV: Jumps three times in place then fires four shots.
Standard IV: Run back and forth and jumps. Stops to attack with a close range
attack.
Standard V: Walks back and forth and stops to fire a shortrange circular
burst.
Star Jumper: A Jumper which can toss shurikens.
Submarine Robot III: Like II except moves in little circles.
Walker V: Shoots a shot similar to sub bots II and III.
Walker VI: Looks like "head." Stops to shoot a laser.
Thanks go out to Steven Lybbert for telling about these transformations.
Holding up or down + attack will change you into an animal depending on what
weapon you have. Doing the same as an animal will return you to ninja form.
Shuriken: You are transformed into a tiger. You're low to the ground and are
very fast with decent jumping ability. Your attack is a claw swipe.
Whip: You are transformed intoa scorpion with a tail whip that reaches about
as far as your normal whip. It's low to the ground, but very slow and severely
lacking in jumping ability.
Bo Staff: You are transformed into an eagle. Fly with the control pad, but you
cannot attack. The eagle is fast and small.
Sword: You are transformed into a dragon. You can fly with the control pad or
launch fire waves with the attack button. A powerful and useful transformation
but it has a very limited lifespan - it will eventually change you back and
leave you with a shuriken.
Overall, the animals do stand a chance of making some stages much easier,
especially with the benefit of flight. As far as bosses are concerned, none of
the animals are truly great, in my opinion. The tiger, scorpion, and eagle are
far too limited, and the dragon does not last a long time at all.
My advice is to exploit the animals during the stages, but stick to being a
ninja for the bosses.
