The last couple of years have been great for fans of classic gaming. Between retro revivals like Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Prince of Persia Classic, and retro-styled sequels like Contra 4 and Mega Man 9, there’s no doubt about it: retro-gaming is big. Now it’s Taito’s turn to get in on the action, and they’ve brought us Legend of Kage 2, the sequel to their little-known NES action game from 1986. And although Kage might not be a household name in the gaming world, Taito’s sequel delivers some impressive 2D ninja action.

Legend of Kage 2 lets players choose between the titular Kage, a ninja armed with a katana and shuriken, or female ninja Chihiro, who fights with a kusarigama (a big chain with a blade on one end). In either case, your character is called upon to escort a princess back to your ninja enclave, but wouldn’t you know it, she’s captured by rival ninjas. Obviously, there’s only one solution to this situation — you’ve got to slice and ninja-star your way through hundreds, nay, thousands, of enemy ninjas (and demons, and evil wildlife) until you get her back. The story sequences are your first indication that this game is straight out of the 16-bit era: cut scenes are quick and totally unnecessary. Instead, the game’s focus is where it counts — on slick 2D action gameplay.

 
Regardless of which character you choose,
rest assured they’re well-prepared to kill just a ton of enemy ninjas.

The original Legend of Kage was a largely forgettable NES game, but its one memorable feature was its focus on vertical platforming; Kage could jump ridiculously high, and stages progressed upward more often than side-to-side. This is the one element of Kage 2 that really resembles the original — Kage and Chihiro can both launch themselves about five times their height from a standing start. The levels do usually scroll side-to-side here, but vertical platforming is still a big part of gameplay: heading left to right through the treetops of each stage is a valid alternative to walking along the ground, with its own challenges and rewards. And believe me, there are plenty of challenges — this game is tough. The first few levels lull you into a false sense of security, with reasonably placed (and numbered) enemies, leading up to a tough and clever, but still very winnable, pattern-based boss encounter. Stick with the game, though, and you’ll realize that Kage 2 is old-school hard; by the third or fourth level, devious new enemy types begin assaulting you unrelentingly, and bosses begin to drain your lives with alarming speed.

But that’s not to say that you’re totally helpless. In fact, there are a ton of techniques and maneuvers to master, from slides and flips to combos and special attacks, with a new skill or two available after just about every mission. You also gain new abilities by finding elemental orbs, which are hidden around every level, often well-guarded. Between stages, you combine these orbs into shapes on a small grid; different effects are created based on the colors you combine, but since you’ve got limited room, you’ll need to try different combinations to produce the set of powers that you like. Arranging your orbs adds an almost puzzle element to the power-ups in the game, and it’s really satisfying when you achieve the perfect combination that grants you access to exactly the powers you wanted. As for the powers themselves, you can use everything from damage-bonuses to elemental projectile attacks to shield-type abilities, with more interesting and powerful attacks becoming available as you make your way through the game.

 
The types of orbs you put in this grid, along with where you put them,
determines what special abilities you’ll be able to use.

Along with the story and gameplay, Kage 2’s presentation is straight out of the late eighties or early nineties — but that’s a good thing. Although it’s not technically impressive, the game has a gorgeous visual aesthetic. Characters and environments are more impressionistic than detailed; its soft edges and bright, dramatic color scheme make the game look like a watercolor painting in motion. The music is mostly traditional-sounding Japanese tunes, which sound great and serve as a nice counterpoint to the often frantic action.

 
The environments may look idyllic, but the action is anything but.

As a new title that manages to acknowledge the original, while also bringing its (very dated) gameplay into the modern day, Legend of Kage 2 is a success. It’s a budget-priced serving of very solid 2D action, with enough depth to make you want to go through it more than once, and enough challenge to make you earn every stage you conquer. It might get overshadowed in the coming Christmas rush, but that would be a shame, because Legend of Kage 2 is a great DS title, worthy of any action fan’s time.

Gameplay: 8.2
This is old-school action at its finest: with a button for close-range attacks and a button for projectiles, you’ll be bouncing around the screen, killing enemies from every direction in no time. The action can get pretty relentless, but there’s enough depth to your character’s abilities and skills that no matter the situation, there’s always a way for you to counter it — if your reflexes are quick enough.

Graphics: 8.0
Sure, there’s not a lot of detail to the sprite graphics. This soft look actually looks great, especially since the characters and enemies animate so smoothly. It doesn’t push the limits of the hardware, but it’s still fun to look at.

Sound: 7.8
The classical Japanese-inspired audio is fitting for the setting and tone of the game, but the songs aren’t very memorable.  Still, it’s nice to listen to while cutting your way through your enemies. Sound effects are about what you’d expect, so prepare for plenty of sword-singing and enemy death-groaning.

Difficulty: Hard
Kage 2 is old-school tough, and as you get deeper into the game, the enemies become more sinister, tricky, and numerous. You’ve got the abilities to get you safely through the game, but actually getting there is going to require mastering every technique, as well as hair-trigger reflexes and a little luck.

Concept: 7.5
If someone asked me to pick a license out of Taito’s back catalog to reintroduce into today’s gaming landscape, I probably wouldn’t have picked Kage, based on its obscurity alone. Still, it was a sound idea then, it still works today, and the new ideas Kage 2 brings to the table are well realized.

Overall: 8.0
It’s not the sort of game that’s to everybody’s tastes, but for the old-school gamer who’s finished Contra 4, Legend of Kage 2 delivers a dose of good old-fashioned platforming action. Don’t worry if you don’t have nostalgia for the original — Kage 2 deserves to be played based on its own merits.