Yōkai, Yōkai everywhere...
Ninja Emaki (Japanese: Youma Ninpou Chou, lit. Demon Ninja Power Book) is a 1986 arcade action game that follows a Run-and-Gun format similar to Ikari Warriors (which was in fact released in the same year) but in a Sengoku-Era setting.
You are an unnamed young ninja warrior mastering the elements, and on a quest to rescue a kidnapped princess. Along the way you'll fight off enemy ninja, rogue samurai, and assorted kinds of Yōkai of all varieties. To facilitate your battles against the forces of evil, you can collect magic scrolls allowing you to summon all kinds of elemental attacks on your foes.
Contain similarities to Garyo Retsuden, released a year later but set in Three Kingdoms-era China instead of Japan.
Ninja Emaki contain examples of:
- Amphibian at Large: Ōgama - giant frog Yōkai - are an occasional threat in the game. These enemies are immobile and doesn't move, but can slap you with their Overly-Long Tongue.
- Antlion Monster: There's a level in a desert where giant antlions will regularly tunnel out to take potshots on you.
- Bat Out of Hell: A bat-themed Yōkai called a Nobusuma serves as one of the bosses. She first appears in humanoid form as a lady sorceress who blasts you with projectile attacks, but after inflicting enough damage on her she then turns into her true form, a gigantic black bat-monster swooping everywhere.
- Bigger on the Inside: Enchanted huts will occasionally pop up in levels, and entering them will lead you to a dank, dark and seemingly never-endless void, loaded with all kinds of Yōkai monsters, and the only way out is by locating the exit portal. Justified because, well, magic.
- Creepy Centipedes: Ōmukade, centipede-like Yōkai enemies which can pop out of lava pools to spit projectiles at you.
- Difficulty by Region: This game was made easier for it's American release. In the Japanese version, you die in one hit, but in the American version you get a life bar that lets you take three hits. You can also get power-up scrolls, which let you use one of several power-ups for a short time. In the American version, you get a life extension when you get a power-up scroll. In the Japanese version, if you get hit while using a power-up scroll, you lose it. In the American version, you can keep using the power-up scroll, even when you're taking damage.
- Elemental Powers: What the power-ups manifests as, allowing you to deal damaging attacks ranging from sending a small tidal wave at foes, summon tornadoes surrounding you and launch orbiting fireballs to incinerate mooks.
- Fish People: Ningyo - fish-men Yōkai - appears on the stage where you're on a boat, leaping out of the water making a straight line for you.
- Flying Face: The Nukekubi and Rokurokubi Yōkai are recurring enemies, with an extra powerful version of the latter serving as the Final Boss. You can also fight large numbers of Wanyūdō, but they're weak and goes down in one hit.
- Flying on a Cloud: The very first stage have you on a cloud as you battle assorted airborne Yōkai.
- Gashadokuro: A floating giant skeleton serves as one of the bosses, attacking you while your atop a platform surrounded by lava.
- Giant Spider: Jorōgumo, the Yōkai that resemble human-sized spiders, shows up as frequent enemies.
- The Great Serpent: The giant snake Yōkai , Uwabami, shows up as a boss.
- Kite Riding: Ninja enemies on kites are a recurring enemy in the city and fortress.
- Man on Fire: A power-up turns your default bow and arrows into enchanted flaming arrows which incinerates human-sized foes immediately.
- Ninja: Well, it's an action game set in ancient Japan... you play as one, and many of your enemies too.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: In the original Japanese version, at least. The American version allows you three hits before dying.
- Summon Magic: One of the scrolls can turn into two ninja allies, who serves as an Assist Character by firing flaming arrows on your enemies. They only last for a few seconds before the disappear entirely, or if you die.
- Yōkai: A recurring non-human enemy variety, showing up all over the place. You would've seen at least eight examples on the list above by the time you reached this point.
