![legend of kage nes legend of kage nes](http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/nes/b/legk-3.png)
During the run till end credits, I had 3 deaths. The problem I'm having reviewing the video is that because of the glare from the light, and because this is a 5 life maximum track, I can't make out and keep track of when deaths occurred to know what the score was after the 5th death.Thanks for the post and clarification, I thought it was 5 lives max until the ending credits. Special Rules: This game loops after you beat the Winter Boss so your scoring attempt ends when either you lose your 5th life or if you manage to max out the score. Since the game loops, and you can continue playing after beating the game, and the score at the final animation is not relevant: Even at the low price of 500 Wii points ($5), the NES version of The Legend of Kage that's available on the Virtual Console isn't worth buying.Based on these rules, your score should be whatever is shows after your 5th death.
![legend of kage nes legend of kage nes](https://www.retrogames.cz/games/353/NES_01.gif)
Its design is repetitive, Kage's attacks are lame, and the constant cheap deaths are frustrating. The Legend of Kage isn't one of those games. Some games are brief but beg to be played over and over again. Of course, with luck being such a factor in whether you live or die, you'll probably make numerous attempts before you get through the whole thing in one sitting. In theory, it's possible to beat the game in 10 minutes. Every time the game loops, the stages change color and enemies become more plentiful. However, the catch is that you have to go through the game three times to truly beat it. Each stage takes less than a minute to get through. You're mostly helpless as you land from a jump, which often leads to an unavoidable death from a fireball hitting you in the face.Īs far as overall length goes, there are only five different stages and six different enemies. The NES didn't have any trouble with the graphics and audio when Taito ported the game to it in 1987, and the Virtual Console has no trouble emulating the NES game now. Surprisingly, the short melodies that play during each stage have an Asian flavor about them and aren't altogether unpleasant, even though they're also made up of beeps and blips. The game's sound effects consist of beeps and ticks.
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The trees and decorative screens in the background are intricately detailed, but everything else is painted shades of blue, grey, or pink. The faceless ninja characters look fine painted with four colors, but there are only two frames of movement for every action. That's what people will probably remember most about The Legend of Kage: cheap deaths that you have no control over.Īlso, since the game was originally developed as a quarter-munching arcade cabinet way back in 1985, it reflects the limited capabilities and bite-size play sessions offered by arcade games from that early period. If you happen to be standing in the line of fire or landing from a jump when an enemy appears, you're going to get hit and lose one of your three lives. When new enemies appear, they tend to throw a knife or fireball immediately. Even if you get the hang of these restrictions, success is more a matter of luck than skill. That works, except that you can only throw two of them at a time, and then you have to wait until they leave the screen before you can throw more. So, you end up throwing knives most of the time. You can stab enemies and block attacks with your sword, but your sword has a range of about four pixels and stays drawn for just an instant. You can jump to ridiculous heights, but you're open to attacks until you land. However, accomplishing those tasks isn't simple at all, because every action in the game has some frustrating consequence inherent to it. You're supposed to run to the end of the level, use your jump to scale platforms and avoid attacks, and use your weapons to kill the bad guys that constantly appear. In simple terms, The Legend of Kage is like every other side-scrolling action game. It's all downhill from that point.Īs Kage, you can attack with your sword or hurl throwing knives. Once the cinematic is over, you're thrown right into the game. So, with your trusty sword and an endless supply of throwing knives, you set out to fight your way through multiple levels of a dojo that's populated by other ninjas bent on killing you. Apparently, it's the Edo period in Japan, a princess has been kidnapped by a warlord, and you've been hired to rescue her. After you press the start button, a brief noninteractive scene introduces the story. Now that the Nintendo Entertainment System version of The Legend of Kage is available for the Wii's Virtual Console, you can experience the same sinking feeling that players felt within minutes of powering up the cartridge 20 years ago.