The Legend of Kage

The Legend of Kage is Taito's arcade action game about a ninja, Kage, fighting through four seasons of ninja castles to rescue Princess Kiri. Its signature move — leaping enormous distances into the treetops — lets you fight from the canopy above the enemy horde, dropping down only long enough to carve a path.

The four stages loop endlessly with mounting enemy counts; the 'end' is a matter of score and survival rather than a final screen. On the Famicom it is a short, very hard game by modern standards: one hit kills, opponents respawn rapidly, and the boss swordsman at the end of each season punishes any hesitation.

• ▸Tree-top ninja leaping as a core mobility and evasion tool
• ▸Four seasons of stages that loop with rising difficulty
• ▸Sword and shuriken combat
• ▸Historic arcade-to-Famicom conversion from 1985