Wrath of the Black Manta

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Wrath of the Black Manta

Developer(s)	Kyugo Trading
Publisher(s)	Taito
Release date(s)	^JPN November 17, 1989 ^NA April 1990 ^EU January 24, 1991
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Platform(s)	Nintendo Famicom, Nintendo Entertainment System

Wrath of the Black Manta (known as Ninja Cop Saizou in Japan) was a game for the Nintendo Entertainment System created by Taito in April of 1990. This side scrolling action game had the player control the Black Manta, a ninja who has to save children from kidnappers.

[edit] Gameplay

In the game the player goes through five levels, using throwing stars and special abilities called the "Ninja Arts", to stop a gang and the evil mastermind behind a slue of kidnappings, El Toro. One of the kidnapped is a student of the Black Manta's sensei, Taro.

The Black Manta has many powers, which he gets after beating a level. The player can choose which power to use by pressing start. These powers can help the Black Manta defeat enemies and bosses more quickly. Part of last level is seen through a first person perspective. The Black Manta also has to defeat one of the bosses from the previous levels.

[edit] Version Differences

Before Wrath of the Black Manta was released to the U.S. and Europe, it was known in Japan as Ninja Cop Saizou, with several notable differences:

All of the cut scenes in Ninja Cop Saizou are different from those used in Black Manta. The graphics in these scenes are more in the style of anime or manga than the more realistic graphics used in the U.S. and Europe games. Anime and manga wasn't popular in countries outside of Japan during the early 90s, so Nintendo made sure these scenes where localized.
Tiny, the boss of the first stage, is also different in both versions. The Ninja Cop Saizou version, like the cut scenes, is more in the style of anime and manga, and is a little more animated than the Black Manta versions. The Japanese game also has him shoot a projectile from his fists, where the other versions do not.
The Rio de Janeiro stage on the Japanese game has a boss creature made of electricity, where in Black Manta the boss is replaced with the Voodoo Warrior. It is also worth noting that the backgrounds for these boss fights are different in both versions.
Both games have completely different soundtracks.
The sprites used for jumping upward are different in both versions. The Japanese game's sprite is drawn to show speed and motion in a jump.
Many of the Ninja Arts are learned in different order in each game.
There are six stages in Ninja Cop Saizou where Black Manta only has five. The second stage in Ninja Cop Saizou is completely removed from Black Manta. This Japanese exclusive stage also has a floating eyeball boss that isn't in Black Manta.
In the final stage of the Japanese game, you must take on all of the bosses from the previous levels, where in Black Manta, you only have to take on one of them.
The final boss is also completely different in both games. In Black Manta, the player only has to fight a character named El Toro using four of the "Ninja Arts". In Ninja Cop, the player has to take on a space ship which drops a variety of enemies from the game. After that, the games final boss transforms into an alien, which the player must fight normally, unlike having to use "Ninja Arts" like in Black Manta.