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It must be some kind of achievement for System 3 to have the entire Ninja trilogy on sale simultaneously, with Ninja II hardly off the shelves due to the current Remix and III only just released as I finally makes it onto budget. The basic plot is that virtually the entire Ninja brotherhood has been wiped out by the evil shogun Kunitoki.

The only survivor is Armakuni, the last ninja himself, who must defend the Bunkinkan Shrine against the shogun's occupation army. Starting in the Wilderness, Armakuni must battle through the Wastelands, Palace Gardens, Dungeons, Outer Palace and Inner Sanctum. Each of these is a massive load composed of over a dozen isometric screens. Besides the numerous guards who must be fought and defeated, there are several puzzles which must be solved.

Issue 28 saw Ninja win unanimous praise (94%); 300K and 150 varied screens added up to a game which would "satisfy both adventurers and martial artists". Ciaran Brennan enthused "The Last Ninja is one of those rare games which offers hours of consistently puzzling and enjoyable gameplay". Gary Penn drew attention to the graphics - "nothing short of brilliant" - although "gameplay isn't anything special... the concept has been executed extremely well".

Four years and two games later, the background graphics are still impressive, a bit sparse in places but generally varied and atmospheric in a way no-one else has attempted to match. The various warriors are nicely drawn and very well-animated, although Armakuni himself is a bit crude compared to later incarnations. The control system takes some mastering, involving movement in 3D and numerous combat moves, while pixel-perfect picking-up can be irritating.

As with all the Ninja games, there's plenty of leaping over rivers and the puzzles aren't massively complex, but for £3 this is an unmissable opportunity for arcade adventure fans.