Rare Konami GBA Gem ‘Ninja Five-O’ Gets February Release Date – Nintendo Life
GuestGuestLogin | Sign UpNintendo LifeGuestLogin or Sign UpNinja Five-TwoKonami has announced that GBA action platformer Ninja Five-O will be launching on Switch in just over a month’s time, on 25th February 2025.Pre-orders are live on the eShop right now, priced at USD $24.99 / GBP £19.99 (or your regional equivalent). The physical version is being handled by Limited Run Games, though it’s already sold out.Known for being one of the rarest GBA games out there, Ninja Five-O was developed by Hudson Soft and released in 2013. As Joe Osugi, a ninja who is tasked with taking down a terrorist group wearing magical mask, you’ll be hacking, slashing, and jumping through five different missions to save the hostages kidnapped by the Mad Mask-wearing villains.The rerelease will include a Time Trial Mode, allowing you to revisit completed stages and attempt to beat them in a set time, save states, and a rewind feature.If you’re an avid GBA game collector, Ninja Five-O is likely on your radar. And hey, while the physical release might be sold out, at least the digital release will let you try out this otherwise rare gem.Have you played Ninja Five-O? Will you be grabbing it on Switch? Sneak down to the comments and let us know.About Alana HaguesAlana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate.Comments 31$24.99 is a bit steep for a GBA port. Interested, but will wait for a sale.Always heard about this one. I don’t feel I’m a picky person but I haven’t adjusted to playing GB(A) games on the Switch. Maybe it’s a lack of proper D-pad or feeling more ‘at home’ on a GB console, but I’m just not big on GB games on SwitchVery expensive, but at least it’s a Konami release and (hopefully) not one of many barebones ports out there.Huh, you mean this game isn’t actually out yet?I have the physical copy from Limited Run Games in my hands already, and the v1.0.0 update on the cart has a few bugs:1. The animated video intro (after the Carbon Engine splash screen) will fail to play in Docked mode, it does however play in Handheld mode.2. In the museum, the box art and game manual sections fail to display any images; they’ll also display corrupted versions of the last image you viewed from the other sectionsOtherwise it runs and plays the GBA game just fine, and you get your option of “Ninja Five-O” or “Ninja Cop”, the latter being the European release. Hopefully the bugs I encountered will be fixed in a launch update.Keep an eye on sites like Videogamesplus or Bazaar-Bazaar if you want a physical copy anyway, they stock LRG physicals when they’re printed and distributed.True definition of hidden gem on GBA. When I finally decided to pick It up many years ago, you could no longer find It in stores and the price on second hand was already skyrocketing with so few units available.Looks like it could be fun, but not at that price.Great for people that want to own games, but I would rather just see it on the NSO GBA app. 😬Funny you should say that, because my Switch Physical copy of Ninja Five O came in today.(runs for it)”Ninja Five-O was developed by Hudson Soft and released in 2013.”that cant be right 🧐(stoked this is happening though! 👍👍👍)(really wouldve liked to have had this physically… is this just what it’s like now? ☹️)@NESlover85 I got the game for way cheaper on my GBA flash cart.@-wc- You are correct. 2013 is a typo. It released in 2003.Looks cool but seems dramatically overpriced. Maybe consider on a deep sale…@DwaynesGames Yeap but you had to realize if it’s on the NSO app then the developer (Hudson) wouldn’t be able to earn money on it. Ninja Five-0 getting a digital and physical release means it would be able to be released for multiple platforms and make a profits.What will the Switch Tax be like on the Switch 2? I’m afraid to find out..@NESlover85 While that’s true for an old port with only 15 levels, the game was actually $30 when it first launch for GBA so $25 for the re-release is actually cheaper than the original. Nowadays if you try to find a used copy of this game, the price could range from $60-$250 depending on condition and if it’s still in CIB.The game is releasing in Februrary? I just got my physical game from Limited Run in the mail now. I’m already one month ahead in the future!@Serpenterror I would think that NSO would pay owners for 3rd party titles, but I don’t know how much.Regardless, great point! I hadn’t considered other consoles. Thanks!I thought it was already out considering I got mine delivered last weekGood lord not even a remaster, it’s just straight like emulating the rom file it looks like. I honestly thought it was going to be like $4.99 max.I was very lucky to pick this one up on GBA when it came out. I kept up with GBA news and reviews very closely back in those days. I didn’t know much about the game ahead of time, but knew it was the style I was looking for, so I checked the review right away. Even the review alluded to the fact that the game was likely to get lost in the shuffle, so I knew I should not wait too long. I picked it up a few weeks later. While I did keep a few of my GBA boxes, I didn’t keep that one. I was very happy that I picked the game up, and that’s just for the gameplay and not the collector value, which is just a nice bonus. But I’m glad the game will be more widely available for people.I’ve never played or heard of it before. Sounds interesting.@RupeeClock Really? Sorry to hear there are so many problems with it.@Serpenterror Yikes!@SurprisedRobinChu WHAT BACKWARDS HELL WORLD DO WE LIVE IN THAT LRG IS COMPETENT?!Welcome to 2025, where you can become a proud owner of a free GBA emulator with a single rom of a 20+ years old game for just 25 bucks. Go ahead, throw your money at lazy, shameless, cash-grabbing companies, don’t ever hold them accountable!I played this back in the day, it’s pretty good. Feels like a Shinobi game.I also received my Limited Run copy last week. Sounds like it needs a patch already. Boo!@AlanaHagues as others noted, the original GBA release was 2003, not 2013 @Serpenterror Pretty sure Konami, and other third-party publishers, don’t just give away the rights for their games to appear on NSO without receiving some form of compensation.Love to see GBA games coming to Switch in one way or the other and this is certainly no exception, will eventually get it for sure – most certainly on sale considering not only its starting price, but also that it’s practically a digital-only game for me and that’s what I usually do when it comes to those (glad to hear that those who got the physical LRG release have already received it) and again, the inevitable discounts for most games are the reason why the starting price is what matters the least!looks something between shinobi and shadow of the ninja. I’ll check if its on my GBA@GameName I am with you. I prefer the Namco Arcade collection or the Capcom Arcade Stadium approach.Arcade Archives are more premium and are stand alone titles, but still $8.I like the idea of rare games getting re-releases, but like many have said, this price is high for the digital version. Show CommentsLeave A CommentHold on there, you need to login to post a comment…The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We’ve Made Our Own “Better eShop”Fixing what Nintendon’tRandom: Donkey Kong Country’s Artist Reacts To Nintendo’s Redesign”Everything changes!”Review: Blade Chimera (Switch) – A Ridiculously Fun, Combat-First MetroidvaniaSlice to killRound Up: The Reviews Are In For Donkey Kong Country Returns HDWorth going bananas over?Silksong Fans Think They’ve Narrowed Down The Big AnnouncementIs the cake a lie?Game ProfileTitle:Ninja Five-OSystem:Switch eShopAlso Available For:GBA, PS4, PS5Publisher:KonamiDeveloper:Limited Run GamesGenre:Action, PlatformerPlayers:1Release Date:Switch eShopNintendo SwitchWhere to buy:Buy on Nintendo eShop
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