Ninja Five-O (Ninja Cop in Europe) was a peculiar release when it was new on the Gameboy Advance in 2003. Hudson Soft designed it strictly for a Western audience; there was never a Japanese release, and in the regions where it was released, it had a low print run.
Sales were really bad despite the positive reviews and became a bit of a cult classic on GBA. Ninja Five-O became one of the earliest expensive and rare portable games. Collectors went nuts trying to get their mitts on it despite it being a pretty modest and humble action platformer. These days, you could expect most listings to be above the $300 range for just a loose cart in mediocre condition.
Thankfully, Limited Run Games has swooped in giving gamers a chance to own another rare classic, like they did with, Rocket Knight Adventures, Tomba!, and Clock Tower. The big question is, why were collectors going crazy for this action platformer, and was paying hundreds of dollars for it worth it? Find out in our Ninja Five-O review!
Ninja Five-O
Developer: Hudson Soft, Konami
Publisher: Limited Run Games, Konami
Platforms: Windows PC, Gameboy Advance, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Price: $24.99
Ninja Five-O came out in 2003, only a couple of years away from the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launches, yet it feels like something out of the late 1980s. You play as Joe Osugi, a loose-cannon police officer who plays by his own rules and wears a gi on the beat. At least that is the impression of the character I invented because he isn’t given any characterization at all.
It would’ve been nice to have some manga panels to inject some personality into the story. The bosses have striking designs and I’d like to know why there is such a thing as a ninja cop and what the Mad Masks want. Some panels would go a long way in building the setting and making it more memorable.
This new version of Ninja Five-O begins with an animated intro that fails to convey much infomation. Its quality would be impressive as a fan project. All you need to know is the Mad Mask syndicate has taken a bunch of hostages around the city and only Joe is sent to thwart the thugs and save the civilians.
Why evil magical Japanese warlords are hassling the city is never explained. I probably put more thought into it than the developers. Not that it matters much because who wouldn’t wanna play as a Ninja Cop? All you need to do is save the hostages and find the exit across three areas with multiple stages.
Joe doesn’t have to save all the hostages, but he does lose health if they die, and staying alive can be tough when pinned between snipers, grenadiers, and ninjas. Sometimes players can freely explore multiple rooms in any order, searching for keys. Enemies don’t respawn which makes exploring fairly relaxed after areas are cleared.
Joe’s main abilities are his sword, projectile, and dodge rolling. Surprisingly, his grapple hook doesn’t play as big a role as one would think. It’s useful for sure, but the level design is forgiving enough that you won’t find yourself grappling through gauntlets of bottomless pits. It’s great for hard-to-reach places to save a hostage or reach a locked door, but it’s never used in a tense or precarious scenario.
The gameplay is simple, yet effective and challenging… so long as you don’t use the rewind feature that every retro port comes with these days. Ninja Five-O is challenging, but it isn’t so hard that a rewind is necessary. Joe can be upgraded up to three levels, going from blue gi to gay pink, and finally a cool dark gray. He’ll only level down if he takes a hit. It’s very retro, even for 2003 standards.
Joe can kill multiple foes with a devastating screen-wiping attack to contend with some cheaply placed foes and his projectile upgrades to a penetrating missile that cuts through enemy fire. So long as you avoid getting hit, he stays overpowered, even capable of killing bosses in about a minute or two.
Why was Ninja Five-O ever worth such absurd amounts in the second-hand market will always be a mystery. The game is very short and bereft of features apart from a time-attack and hard modes which are lazy features, especially hard mode which should have been available at the start. There are only six stages and Joe doesn’t get any other weapons or abilities.
Unfortunately, Ninja Five-O is a very barebones port. This should have been a part of a compilation of other Hudson Soft games on Gameboy and Super NES, especially considering that this is overpriced compared to past Limited Run Games’ releases. Tomba! was a PSX game and its release came with interviews, a redone soundtrack, and was only $19.99.
Ninja Five-O is five bucks more than Shadow of the Ninja Reborn; a similar action platformer ninja game that had completely redrawn and reimagined everything. Ninja Five-O seems so quaint and overpriced for what you get. It is a pretty good action platformer and solid controls, but it needed more than an art gallery and a cheap intro animation.
Ninja Five-O‘s biggest claim to fame is how absurd it is while playing itself completely straight. Yes, you are a ninja cop saving people while fighting cyborg samurai, frogs, and magical warlords. It feels like a bizarre 80s actionsploitation film from Hong Kong meets Shinobi and it’s totally sincere.
The gameplay is pretty standard for what it is, but for its time, it would have been incredible to have an action game like this on a portable like the Gameboy Advance. Ninja Five-O was never truly worth the insane eBay prices. Curious gamers will finally get closure and play it to see what they were missing out on. As it turned out, it was just pretty good.
Ninja Five-O was reviewed on a Nintendo Switch using a code provided by Limited Run Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Ninja Five-O is now available for PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
