Inindo: Way of the Ninja

Inindo: Way of the Ninja (伊忍道　打倒信長 or Inindou Datou Nobunaga, スーパー伊忍道　打倒信長 or Super Inindou Datou Nobunaga in its Super Famicom version) is a role-playing video game developed by Koei. Originally released for the PC8801SR, PC9801, MSX2 home computer, it was remade for the Super NES platform, which was released in North America.

The game is a non-historical account of Japan's warring states period. In that sense, Inindo can be considered as a spin-off of the long-standing Nobunaga's Ambition series.

Set in 1582, the player assumes the role of an Iga ninja whose village has been destroyed by the conquest of the ruthless warlord Oda Nobunaga. The ninja must travel across feudal Japan, enlisting the aid of numerous ninja, sages, hermits, ronin, samurai, wizards and other companions, in order to avenge his clan.

The actual game begins in the year 1582. If the player does not kill Nobunaga by the year 1601, the game is over.

Several hazardous dungeons stand in the path of victory, as well as a selection of optional dungeons which can be played in any order the player chooses. Encounters with monsters and outlaws occur randomly in dungeons and in the game's world map, during which the player characters and NPCs can move around the battlefield in turn-based fashion to attack, cast magic spells and use items.

To complete the game, the player must recruit NPCs in order to successfully survive dungeons and large scale battles. In order to recruit other characters, the player must build up a certain degree of trust by talking with them at Tea Houses and Inns. Not every character can be recruited: characters of rival clans will not join the player.

There are strategy and war simulation elements to game as well. By gaining the trust of a Japanese feudal lord, (by spying or committing acts of sabotage on competing daimyo), the player can join in the battle for the provinces that characterized the era. The outcome of these battles changes the lords' possession of individual provinces, which can alter the outcome of the game and aid or hinder the player's progress. Neighboring provinces to Nobunaga's must be conquered in order to advance to the final section of the game.

In the middle of the stories, the player follows either the "normal" path or the "magician" path, which is randomly selected after completing the first dungeon quest. Each path leads to different enemies during random encounters. For example, "magician" path causes Western type monsters such as Hellhound or Marchosias to appear.

Source: Wikipedia, "Inindo: Way of the Ninja", available under the CC-BY-SA License.