Mystic Warriors
Encyclopedia
is a ninja
-themed side-scrolling action game
released as a coin-operated video game
by Konami
in . It was developed by the same team that also produced the earlier arcade game, western
-themed Sunset Riders
, and features similar gameplay
to its predecessor.
Mystic Warriors is set in a dystopia
n future where an evil organization known as the Skull Enterprise has taken over Japan
and are now plotting a worldwide takeover. The player takes control of one of five young ninja who are being targeted by Skull forces: Spyros, a ninja hailing from USA and the group's de-facto leader, Keima, a blue-haired ninja outfitted as a kabuki
performer, Kojiro, samurai
-like ninja, Brad, an African-American ninja and streetwise Buddhist monk, and Yuri, a spear-wielding kunoichi
and the game's only female playable character. The game can be played by up to two or four players (depending on the game's configuration); after each player chooses their character, one of the remaining members of the group will get kidnapped, prompting the remaining four to begin their mission. During their journey across several regions of Japan, the four ninja eventually find and rescue their kidnapped friend. However, their reunion is short lived, and the rescued ninja soon performs a sacrificial attack to free them from an electric trap, killing himself/herself in the process. The rest of the game is spent with the remaining ninja avenging the death of their fallen comrade.
s, or using their blade at close range. Unlike Sunset Riders, the player has a life gauge that allows their character to sustain three hits from enemy attacks (instead of just one) before losing a life. The game also includes other improvements that were not included in Sunset Riders, such as the ability for players to change characters after they lose a credit.
The player must defeat box-carrying enemies in order to obtain power-up items. These includes a shuriken power-up that can increase the player's shooting power by up to two levels (which differ between characters), food (sushi
, tempura
, udon
, sukiyaki
) that will replenish the player's life gauge, a blue orb with the kanji
that will surround the player with a barrier for a limited period, a yellow orb with the kanji that will destroy all on-screen enemies, and various kinds of jewelry for extra points.
There are a total of nine stages in the game, in which its own boss awaiting to challenge the player. Like in Sunset Riders, each player will be graded at the end of stage by how much they shot the boss; the player with the highest hit percentage will receive bonus points.
to Mystic Warriors is featured in the 2-disc CD album Konami Amusement Sounds '93: Summer Edition, which was released on August 21, 1993, with the catalog number KICA-7616-7. Tracks 23-46 on Disc 2 are from the game.
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
-themed side-scrolling action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
released as a coin-operated video game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
in . It was developed by the same team that also produced the earlier arcade game, western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
-themed Sunset Riders
Sunset Riders
is a side-scrolling run-and-gun style shoot-'em-up released by Konami as a coin-operated video game in . The game is set during the American Old West, where the player takes control of a bounty hunter who is seeking the rewards offered for various criminals. The coin-op version was released in two...
, and features similar gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
to its predecessor.
Story
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n future where an evil organization known as the Skull Enterprise has taken over Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and are now plotting a worldwide takeover. The player takes control of one of five young ninja who are being targeted by Skull forces: Spyros, a ninja hailing from USA and the group's de-facto leader, Keima, a blue-haired ninja outfitted as a kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
performer, Kojiro, samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
-like ninja, Brad, an African-American ninja and streetwise Buddhist monk, and Yuri, a spear-wielding kunoichi
Kunoichi
is the term for a female ninja or practitioner of ninjutsu .-Etymology:The term is thought to derive from the names of characters that resemble the three strokes in the kanji character for ; said in the order they are written: ku - no - ichi...
and the game's only female playable character. The game can be played by up to two or four players (depending on the game's configuration); after each player chooses their character, one of the remaining members of the group will get kidnapped, prompting the remaining four to begin their mission. During their journey across several regions of Japan, the four ninja eventually find and rescue their kidnapped friend. However, their reunion is short lived, and the rescued ninja soon performs a sacrificial attack to free them from an electric trap, killing himself/herself in the process. The rest of the game is spent with the remaining ninja avenging the death of their fallen comrade.
Gameplay
The game's controls consists of an eight-way joystick and two buttons for attacking and jumping. Like in Sunset Riders, the player can jump between higher or lower levels, as well as slide. The player character attacks primarily by shooting an unlimited supply of shurikenShuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
s, or using their blade at close range. Unlike Sunset Riders, the player has a life gauge that allows their character to sustain three hits from enemy attacks (instead of just one) before losing a life. The game also includes other improvements that were not included in Sunset Riders, such as the ability for players to change characters after they lose a credit.
The player must defeat box-carrying enemies in order to obtain power-up items. These includes a shuriken power-up that can increase the player's shooting power by up to two levels (which differ between characters), food (sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
, tempura
Tempura
], is a Japanese dish of seafood or vegetables that have been battered and deep fried.-Batter:A light batter is made of cold water and soft wheat flour . Eggs, baking soda or baking powder, starch, oil, and/or spices may also be added...
, udon
Udon
is a type of thick wheat-flour noodle of Japanese cuisine.Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form as kake udon, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi, soy sauce , and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions...
, sukiyaki
Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish in the nabemono style.It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin...
) that will replenish the player's life gauge, a blue orb with the kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
that will surround the player with a barrier for a limited period, a yellow orb with the kanji that will destroy all on-screen enemies, and various kinds of jewelry for extra points.
There are a total of nine stages in the game, in which its own boss awaiting to challenge the player. Like in Sunset Riders, each player will be graded at the end of stage by how much they shot the boss; the player with the highest hit percentage will receive bonus points.
Soundtrack
The complete soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to Mystic Warriors is featured in the 2-disc CD album Konami Amusement Sounds '93: Summer Edition, which was released on August 21, 1993, with the catalog number KICA-7616-7. Tracks 23-46 on Disc 2 are from the game.
External links
- Mystic Warriors at GameFAQSGameFAQsGameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by CBS Interactive. The site has a database of video game information, cheat codes, reviews, game saves,...
- Mystic Warriors on the Killer List of VideogamesKiller List of VideogamesThe Killer List of Videogames is a web site featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for players."....