The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors

Play it on: PS4, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck OK)
Current goal: Get more folks playing this hotness
Buy it now: Amazon | GameStop | Target

I don’t remember how I heard about The Ninja Saviors a few years ago, but holy crap if it didn’t turn out to be one of the most enjoyable action games I’ve ever played. After being stuck on PS4 and Switch for four years, now it’s finally on Steam.

Tengo Project is a trio of old-school developers who worked at Natsume back in the ’90s making classic sleepers like Wild Guns and Pocky & Rocky. They reformed a while back and are now producing largely excellent remakes of their old hits. This one’s a revamp of 1994’s The Ninja Warriors Again, the best beat ‘em up on SNES which was itself a sequel to a triple-screen 1988 Taito arcade game.

It’s fantastic. The Ninja Saviors manages to push TNWA further in almost every way. The playfield’s now way wider, allowing far more havoc to transpire as mobs flood onto the screen to assault your ninja android. The graphics look like how you remember the SNES looking, while in reality being far more detailed, but not overly so. Same goes for the memorable soundtrack, now tastefully enhanced. (The SNES music and the 1988 arcade soundtrack are unlockable, too.)

The original’s three playable characters are joined by two new ones, and each delivers a unique gameplay experience. (One of the new ones is literally a three-story mech that fills the screen and is difficult to turn around.) The returning characters have expanded movesets, and air juggles let you style mercilessly on your foes. The eight stages of action are fast, fun, utterly fair, and superbly paced, making The Ninja Saviors a joy to try to master as you strive to achieve the coveted one-credit clear. The co-op’s a blast, too.

I could go on and on but I already blew my word count. The Ninja Saviors is the gold standard for 16-bit revivals and one of the best action games currently available. If you like arcade-style 2D brawling, I can’t recommend this game enough. — Alexandra Hall

And that’s it for this weekend’s roundup. What games are you playing?