In a mystical oriental land, the evil Shogun and his Samurai warriors live extravagantly and rule with an iron fist. The powerful Shogun fears only one thing - the great Ninjutsu brotherhood. Formed centuries earlier, they're the only people who can oppose him. More than anything else, he craves the knowledge and secrets of the Ninja.

Once a year all Ninjas visit the isle of Lin Fen to pay homage at the shrine of the White Ninja. Realising this is when the Ninjutsu are most vulnerable, the Shogun used his powers of evil against the gathered Ninjas, who were wiped out in the resulting slaughter.

All except one - Armakuni wasn't allowed to go to Lin Fen. Instead, he had to stay at home and guard the Bunkinhan shrine. Having survived the holocaust of his comrades, Armakuni, the last ninja, swore to avenge them.

As Armakuni (surprise, surprise). you must hack your way through six levels and 150 screens of ninja arcade-adventure antics in search of revenge. Most around each of the 3D screens, killing enemies and collecting useful objects and weapons, eventually making your way to the Shogun's inner sanctum.

The graphics were showered with praise when it first appeared. Five years on (has it been that long?) they don't have quite the same effect, but still look very good. Gameplay, however, has dated somewhat and tricky joystick control makes progress a little stunted.

Despite these gripes, The Last Ninja still deserves a place in your software collection. After all, it was good enough to spawn two excellent sequels!

Thai Boxing is one of the most brutal contact sports in the world - anything goes in this barbaric spectacle. The greatest Thai Boxers in the world are (in the game at least) the Bangkok Knights, formidable adversaries indeed.

You play a humble peasant from Thailand whose dream is to share in their glory. Of course, you can't just go waltzing into the great Lumpini stadium straight away, you must first prove yourself worthy of the honour. Your first bout takes place in your own village where you learn the rudiments of the sport - succeed here and you're ready to mix it with tougher opponents on the Bangkok streets. Be sure to sharpen up your skills for the challenges to come! If you survive, you get to take on the Knights themselves: win, and fame and fortune is yours.

If success in Thai Boxing is this easy to achieve, then someone please get me some boxing gloves! I completed the game on my first attempt, within twenty minutes of loading! It takes a couple of bouts to work out the techniques, but after that none of the computer opponents present a problem.

As a two-player game, Bangkok Nights is one of the best beat-'em-ups around. Large, well animated sprites, eight-way scrolling, responsive controls and a good array of moves mean that some very satisfying brawls can be achieved. Pity it's so bloomin' easy on your own!

Multi-title budget releases should usually be treated with caution. I'm happy to say this is not the case with this one. These excellent games would be worthy purchases on their own, but together they're a "must buy"!