Save the world from the evil Emperor Garuda as Lord Hayate or Lady Kaede in Blue Shadow.
Save the world from evil in Blue Shadow
Blue Shadow is a clone of the very successful Ninja Gaiden, which is also used for the NES was released after being ported from the arcades. In Blue Shadow, you take on the role of Lord Hayate or Lady Kaede to defeat the evil Emperor Garuda, who is trying to take over the USA. The gameplay takes you through five levels with sixteen stages and past a variety of enemies. You will receive power-ups and additional weapons to guide you in your search for the evil Garuda.
Blue Shadows gameplay
While the storyline is usually simple, the gameplay is not. Blue Shadow is extremely difficult to play. The game gives you a life bar, but only five lives in total and no continuation once they're all gone. It's a trial and error game that can get very tiring and frustrating after a while. The difficulty is not made easier by the tough enemies. For that, the bosses are pretty easy to defeat compared to the enemies in the game. The game can be played as either a one-player or two-player co-op experience, which helps make the difficulty a little less challenging, but it's still a tough game.
The control
The controls are very fluid, fast and responsive. Hayate and Kaede can run, jump, crouch, grab onto overhangs, and jump up. The controls strangely make you feel like a true ninja, only compounded by the lightning-fast reflexes needed to dodge and attack enemies. The characters also have special moves they can perform against enemies, but this comes at the cost of losing some of your life gauge. That's why you have to act strategically and only use them when you really need them.
Graphics and sound
The graphics and sound of the game are brilliant. The graphics are very colorful, atmospheric and responsive when there are many enemies on the screen. The in-game music and sound effects are of high and classic 8-bit quality, which helps create a great overall experience for the NES game.
Conclusion
In summary, Blue Shadow is quite a good game. With great gameplay, graphics, sound, controls, and the ability to play either solo or co-op, this game truly is a must-have in any NES collection. The game was ported to the Wii Virtual Console.