The Legend of Kage is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash game developed and published by Taito in 1985. In this game, the player controls the ninja Kage, with the objective being to get through five stages in order to save the princess Kirihime. These stages are littered with enemies, however Kage has various skills and weapons on his hands in order to get through them.
The arcade release was considered a success for Taito, and exceeded sales expectations at the time of its release.
The Legend of Kage (NES)
It has been ported to a variety of home systems, has had sequels and spinoffs, and has been featured on various Taito compilations.
The player takes the role of a young Iga ninja named Kage ('Shadow'), on a mission to rescue Princess Kiri (hime) - the Shogun's daughter - from the villainous warlord Yoshi (ro Kuyigusa) and fellow evil samurai Yuki (nosuke Riko). The player is armed with a kodachi shortsword and an unlimited number of shuriken. Kage must fight his way through a forest, along a secret passageway, up a fortress wall, and through a castle, rescuing her twice (three times in the FC/NES version) in order to win the game. Each time the princess is rescued, the seasons change from summer to fall to winter and back to summer.
In home versions, grabbing a crystal ball causes the player's clothes to change to the next level in color and thereby attain certain powers (bigger shuriken or faster speed). If Kage is hit in a home version while in green or orange clothes, he does not die but reverts to his normal red clothes. Cycles repeat after five levels are completed, and play continues until all lives are gone, which ends the game.
The Legend of Kage was released by Taito in Japan in 1985, with a European release later in the year, and an American release in January 1986. According to Hisayoshi Ogura, the game's composer, development came after a fast-paced period of game development within Taito, where it eased up around this game. Ogura specifically gave the game's music a distinct Japanese feeling in order for it to fit in better with the setting of the game, and he felt it was a worthy challenge for him to be able to adapt it to the sound hardware. Earlier versions of the game used a sound board based around the MSM5232, the same chip found on synths such as the Korg Poly-800. However, an FM version of the soundtrack was also produced given Ogura's experimentation with FM sound at the time. This proved to be helpful as the final version of the game used an FM sound board. The game was almost shelved, but after it was placed in a game show, it was highly praised and Taito decided to give the game a full release due to the postive reception.
More details about this game can be found on
Wikipedia.org.
Find digital download of this game on
GOG
or
Steam.
Game controls:
The NES version of The Legend of Kage was originally controlled via the NES controller with a cross-shaped joypad and two action buttons. The basic description of game controls is summarized in the table below. Detailed description of how to play this game can be found a in the attached game manual. Please note that individual
gamepad buttons are emulated by different keys on your PC keyboard depending on the settings of your online emulator (see the table next to the game).
Use the LEFT and RIGHT arrows to move in the corresponding direction. Use UP arrow to jump up and to climb a tree or pole. Use DOWN arrow to duck and to climb down a tree or pole.
Use A button to control Kage's sword.
Use B button to throw Kage's star knives.
Press Select on the title screen menu to select between a one or two player game.
Press Start to begin a new game or to pause the action mid-game.
Videogame Console:
This version of The Legend of Kage was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found here.
Recommended Game Controllers:
You can control this game easily by using the keyboard of your PC (see the table next to the game). However, for maximum gaming enjoyment, we strongly recommend using a USB gamepad that you simply plug into the USB port of your computer. If you do not have a gamepad, buy a suitable USB controller on Amazon or AliExpress or in some of your favorite online stores.
Available online emulators:
6 different online emulators are available for The Legend of Kage. These emulators differ not only in the technology they use to emulate old games, but also in support of various game controllers, multiplayer mode, mobile phone touchscreen, emulation speed, absence or presence of embedded ads and in many other parameters. For
maximum gaming enjoyment, it's important to choose the right emulator, because on each PC and in different Internet browsers, the individual emulators behave differently. The basic
features of each emulator available for this game The Legend of Kage are summarized in the following table:
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This version of The Legend of Kage was designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was an eight-bit video game console manufactured
by Nintendo in the years 1983 - 2003. In that time, it was the best-selling video game console for which more than 700 licensed games and a number of non-licensed
games were created. Worldwide, approximately 62 million units of this console were sold at approximately price $ 100 per unit. More information about the
NES console can be found 
