Ninja Spirit – TurboGrafx 16/PC Engine Or Arcade?

Is the arcade the best version of Ninja Spirit or is it better on the Turbografx 16 / PC Engine? Some time ago, I released a video with a side by side comparison of the two games. In that video, you can clearly see which game looks and sounds better, but the controls and gameplay mechanics are left to the imagination.

Brief TurboGrafx 16 / PC Engine History

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Turbografx 16 / PC Engine, the PC Engine was a console released in the 1980s by NEC and Hudson Soft, to compete with the Famicom in Japan (Nintendo Entertainment System [NES] in North America).

The PC Engine was the original console, and was very successful. The Turbografx 16 was the rebranding for the North American market. Due to the time wasted on the re-design, the system was released just in time for the 16-bit consoles, and languished in third place, against the Super Nintendo (SNES) and Sega Genesis. Because the system was not successful in North America, the console and games are very expensive in the United States, today.

Opinions

Overall, the games are similar, but the arcade game is considerably harder. The arcade game also looks and sounds much better. The Turbografx 16 / PC Engine game was re-balanced, and although the graphics and sound are not as good, they are still very good for the time. I love these mini consoles, and just ordered Sega’s Astro City, which I will cover in a future video and blog. I prefer the console port over the arcade counterpart.

Availability

Like Splatterhouse, the game is available on both the Turbografx 16 Mini and Arcade Archives. Personally, I recommend the PC Engine version of the “Mini,” because it is easier to find on Amazon (Amazon was the only place that sold the console) and it includes the Japanese version of Splatterhouse, which is uncensored. As for the Arcade Archive of Ninja Spirit, you can buy it on the PlayStation and Nintendo Switch eShops.