Limited Run Games has announced that they’re going to be re-releasing Hudson’s 2003 Game Boy Advance game, Ninja Five-O, both physically and digitally for Switch, PS4, and PS5.
You might be thinking that Ninja Five-O is a quirky early-’00s localization title, but it was never released in Japan despite being developed by Hudson and published by Konami. That’s actually what it’s called, though it was released in Europe as Ninja Cop. It’s an extremely rare GBA game that now commands an impressive price tag on the collector’s market.
I was considering it for coverage as part of my Weekly Kusoge column, but then I found out that it’s actually a good game. Despite being rather obscure and having a small print run, the critics who reviewed it at the time gave it high marks.
Just look at that trailer. You can tell it’s fun to play. Featuring a ninja in the modern world, it resembles 1988’s Ninja Gaiden on NES, but Joe Osugi’s fancy footwork and flashy ninjutsu gives him a more impressive presence than Ryu Hayabusa of that series. According to the Blurb, Joe is out to “protect the city of Zipangu and take down the evil Mad Mask bosses.”
Ninja Five-O is another in a lineup of games that are starting to come from Limited Run Game’s new partnership with Konami. Previously, the distributor announced Rocket Knight Adventure and Felix the Cat. Given Konami’s history of not respecting their back catalog, it’s nice to see that old library revisited. I still have my fingers crossed for some localized Ganbare Goemon games.
Ninja Five-O is coming to Switch, PS4, and PS5 sometime in 2024.
