Shadow of the Ninja is a side-scrolling action game developed by Natsume. It first came out on the Famicom in Japan on 10 August 1990 as Yami no Shigotonin Kage, then in North America in December 1990 and in Europe on 25 July 1991, where Taito published it as Blue Shadow.
The game is set in a futuristic New York City in 2029, taken over by Emperor Garuda. One or two players control the Iga ninja Hayate and the kunoichi Kaede; Nintendo Power's 1991 'Weird Heroes' article called them the first male-and-female team in video games. Five levels are split into fourteen stages, and the default katana can be swapped for a kusarigama with longer reach.
A planned Game Boy port became Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden Shadow in 1991. The NES game later returned on the Wii Virtual Console in 2010, on 3DS and Wii U in 2015 and on Nintendo Switch in 2020. A remake, Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn, followed on 29 August 2024.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Shadow of the Ninja | NES | December 1990 | Natsume | 1 |
| NA | Shadow of the NinjaVirtual Console; Japanese Wikipedia says the re-releases came out only outside Japan | Wii | 2010 | — | 1 |
| NA | Shadow of the NinjaVirtual Console; Japanese Wikipedia gives 2014 for the 3DS and Wii U releases | Nintendo 3DS | 2015 | — | 1 |
| NA | Shadow of the NinjaVirtual Console; Japanese Wikipedia gives 2014 | Wii U | 2015 | — | 1 |
| NA | Shadow of the NinjaNintendo Switch Online (Nintendo Classics) NES library; listed as a Western exclusive | Switch | Feb 29, 2020 | Nintendo | 2 |
| JP | 闇の仕事人KAGEYami no Shigotonin KageFamicom | NES | Aug 10, 1990 | Natsume | 3 |
| EU | Blue ShadowAlso released in Australia as Blue Shadow | NES | Jul 25, 1991 | Taito | 1 |
Also known as: 闇の仕事人KAGE JP3Yami no Shigotonin Kage JP1Blue Shadow EU1
Box art by region
NA Shadow of the Ninja 
EU Blue Shadow
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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TitleNES (EU/AU)
In Europe and Australia the game came out under the title Blue Shadow.1
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GameplayGamePro contest copies (1991)
In 1991 GamePro gave away 10 special copies in a contest; the magazine said they had a password feature that no retail version has.1
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ContentGame Boy
A planned Game Boy port was taken over by Tecmo and released in 1991 as Ninja Gaiden Shadow, a Ninja Gaiden spin-off that reuses much of this game's content with Ryu Hayabusa as the hero.3
Translations
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English Official
Natsume1990NES · Japanese Famicom versionReleased · complete
The English-language NES release appeared as Shadow of the Ninja in North America in December 1990 and as Blue Shadow in Europe in 1991.1
Where to play legally today
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Nintendo Switch Online Subscription
Reception
GamePro gave it 23 out of 25 and Electronic Gaming Monthly praised its graphics and sound, while Famitsu's cross review gave the Famicom version 23 out of 40 and criticized its small sprites. The Virtual Console release got mixed scores: 6/10 from Nintendo Life, 3/5 from USgamer and 7.0/10 from IGN.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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