A second playable ninja named Chihiro is armed with a spear with a hook at the end. Chihiro's secondary weapon is a chain of sorts which she throws out. She's just as versatile as Kage in terms of mobility and attack skills. The game utilizes both NDS screens for an vertical aspect gaming experience where enemy ninjas attack from above and from the sides. Interaction sequences take place on the top screen for added dramatics.

Jan Code: 4988611207239

View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.

» At the outset of the game, players may choose to play as either Kage or Chihiro. Kage's main weapon is a flaming sword (press A) and his secondary weapon is an endless supply of shuriken (press Y). Chihiro seems to move the same and jump just as high as Kage can.

» The game engine keeps track of the number of consecutive hits that you can achieve when surrounded by enemies. Since each ninja opponent is killed with a single slash or shuriken, it's a challenging feat to run along and chain together 10-15 consecutive hits against a ninja crowd which hangs onto trees and runs along the ground. Once the chain is over and you can't get another hit, you'll be congratulated with the word "Good!" which appears on the lower right corner of the screen. We would have preferred a bonus power-up or something.

» When NCS first started preorders for Kage 2, we mentioned that the visuals were reminiscent of Ninja Spirits from Irem. After playing the game for a few stages, we can state emphatically that at least one element has been borrowed from Irem's game. On the third stage, pressing the "A" button will power-up the hero and split him up into a triplicate of himself so that every attack is trebled. This is exactly the same skill that the hero in Ninja Spirits was able to power-up into. Unlike Ninja Spirits however, the effect is only temporary and governed by the little timer on the lower-left corner of the screen. Other than that similarity, Kage 2 is basically a modern version of the original Kage. Much of the action takes place on the ground but the trees on some levels are thick and you'll be able to take to the branches and run across tree tops and shoot stars in eight directions to dispatch enemy ninja. Retro-players may remember that the original Kage was all about shooting the shuriken and leaping from tree to tree.

» The end-level boss for the second stage is an elderly monk who's afflicted with what looks like a massive boil on the back of his head. He rushes and attacks with a rebel yell and blows fire from his mouth. When the monk loses roughly half of his HP, he'll transform into a huge monster which shoots out a blast of flame that covers the entire length of the screen. When the monk is about to unleash the mega-blast, simply jump to the top of the rock on either side of the screen. The blast will pass beneath Kage/Chihiro's feet and won't do any damage. After the monk unleashes his immense firepower, he'll naturally be tired and will breathe heavily and wheeze. That's your cue to drop down right next to him and slash away. You should be able to get in about eight slashes before he recovers.

» At the end of every stage, your score, max combo, combo bonus, total score, and items collected are tallied up.

» To perform a ground slide just like Strider, push down on the d-pad and press the "B" button.

» The boss of the third stage is a young woman who lobs neatly arranged bombs onto the ground which explode shortly afterwards. If you try to attack her directly with slashes, she'll jump into the background where she'll throw some more bombs onto the playfield.

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