History VideoGame / TheLegendOfKage

''The Legend of Kage'' is an action game developed for arcades by Creator/{{Taito}} in 1985 and ported to various 8-bit systems and computers, including the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem.

More than two decades later, in 2008, Taito and Lancarse released ''The Legend of Kage 2'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, published by Taito's new parent company, Creator/SquareEnix, outside of Japan. The basic plot of ''Kage 2'' is mostly the same as in the first game - Kage is still fighting to rescue Kiri (now called "Kirihime") from the villains Yoshi ("Yoshiro") and Yuki ("Yukinosuke") - but now Kage has a new ally in the kusarigama-wielding Chihiro.

* TheLegendOfX
* {{Ninja}}

* HighlyVisibleNinja: All of them.

* SmartBomb: The scrolls
* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Demon Sword'' for the NES.
* {{Wuxia}}

* ActionGirl: Chihiro.

* BigBad: Yoshiro.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Hanzo.
* DamselInDistress: Princess Kiri, again.

* DualWielding: Except this time, it's Yukinosuke that's doing it, not Kage.
* EvilCounterpart: Not so much for Chihiro, Yukinosuke is this for Kage.
* EvilOldFolks: Yojubo.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: All of them, just like in the first game.

* OmnicidalManiac: [[spoiler: Yoshiro.]]

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Three Sisters - Ayame, Kaede, and Koume.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Both Kage and Yukinosuke.

* ZigzagPaperTassel: Kaede uses this to command her ''shikigami.''

* BoobsOfSteel: Ayame is the oldest of her sisters, the strongest fighter, and thus the bustiest as well.

* ChristmasCake: Ayame has issues with her age.

* {{Mentor|s}}: Hanzo.

* PlayingWithFire: Yojubo.

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Kage and Yukinosuke.
* ShesGotLegs: Chihiro and Kaede.
* TokenMiniMoe: Koume.

* DistressedDamsel: Princess Kiri, who gets captured a total of four times.

* BlueOniRedOni: Not in terms of personality, really, but Yukinosuke and Kage provide the visual equivalent with ice powers and blue color theme for the former, fire powers and red color theme for the latter, and otherwise identical designs.

* DistressedDamsel: Princess Kiri, again.

* TheMentor: Hanzo.

* WhoWearsShortShorts: Kaede certainly does.

* ZettaiRyouiki: Chihiro ranks a Grade B, while Kaede is the Grade D.

* AGodAmI: Subverted - everyone else is going about how she's pretty much a GodInHumanForm, but she herself seems quite down-to-earth.

* EverythingIsBetterWithPrincesses: Princess Kiri.

''The Legend of Kage'' is an action game published and developed for arcades by Creator/{{Taito}} and ported to various 8-bit systems and computers, including the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem.

More than two decades later, Taito and Lancarse released a sequel, entitled ''The Legend of Kage 2'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, published by Taito's new parent company, Creator/SquareEnix, outside of Japan. The basic plot of ''Kage 2'' is mostly the same as in the first game - Kage is still fighting to rescue Kiri (now called "Kirihime") from the villains Yoshi ("Yoshiro") and Yuki ("Yukinosuke") - but now Kage has a new ally in the kusarigama-wielding Chihiro.

The player controls an Iga ninja named Kage, and he has to rescue a princess named Kiri from an evil shinobi clan. Kage is armed with a ''kodachi'' shortsword and an unlimited supply of shurikens, and can also jump ridiculously high. Kage must fight his way through a forest, a waterfront, and a temple to defeat the villains and rescue Kiri, and then do it all over again with faster enemies and a new color palette to reflect the changing of the seasons.

* DistressedDamsel: Princess Kiri, who gets captured a total of ''four times''.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: ''All'' of them.

''The Legend of Kage'' is a video game for the arcade and UsefulNotes/{{NES}} about a ninja (the titular Kage) who must rescue Princess Kiri from a shinobi clan. It has a sequel on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, which has much more in terms of a story.

* InASingleBound: You're a ninja, of course you can leap 50 feet in the air.
* OneHitPointWonder

* {{Wutai}}

''The Legend of Kage'' is a video game for the arcade and {{NES}} about a ninja (the titular Kage) who must rescue Princess Kiri from a shinobi clan. It has a sequel on the NintendoDS, which has much more in terms of a story.

* {{Ninja}}

* {{Ninja}}

* EverythingsBetterWithNinjas: Lots.

* EverythingsBetterWithNinjas: Lots.

* DarkActionGirl: Kaede is a straight-up version, while her sisters provide with variations such as...
** [[BadassAdorable Dark Badass Adorable]]: ... the bomb-throwing Koume and...
** [[LadyOfWar Dark Lady Of War]]: ... the magic orb using Ayame.

* TheDragon: Yukinosuke, who is also...
** TheRival: ... for both Chihiro and Kage.

* [[spoiler: TheHeartless: Yoshiro's demonic powers were born from the restless and resentful spirits of the innocent people that were killed during the chaos of the Sengoku Period.]]

* [[spoiler: LetsGetDangerous: Realizing their master Yoshiro is depending on them to hold the player off as much as possible, the Three Sisters become a lot more serious in their triple team battle.]]

* [[spoiler: LukeIAmYourFather: Chihiro is actually Princess Kiri's younger sister, who was left with the Iga Ninjas to raise, but only the latter remembers this at first.]]

** [[spoiler: BrokenPedestal: Arguably, he was only doing his job, but his portrait made him look a bit too enthusiastic to kill Princess Kiri, plus his crazy laugh and rant after he finds out that she is "dead" in Chihiro's story implies that he is possibly in league with the demons. Of course, he could have just been putting on an act...]]
** [[spoiler: TheUnfought: Despite his cool design and antagonistic nature revealed later on, you never fight Hanzo.]]

* [[spoiler: OmnicidalManiac: Yoshiro.]]

** AGodAmI: Subverted - everyone else is going about how she's pretty much a GodInHumanForm, but she herself seems quite down-to-earth.

** [[spoiler: HappilyAdopted: None of them are related by blood, but that does not matter one bit to them.]]

* [[spoiler: WalkingTheEarth and NobleFugitive: After finding out that the Tokugawa Shogunate intends on having Princess Kiri killed, Kage renounces his loyalty to them and goes on the run with the princess.]]

* {{Wutai}}
* {{Wuxia}}

* BlueOniRedOni: Not in terms of personality, really, but Yukinosuke and Kage provide the visual equivalent with ice powers and blue colour theme for the former, fire powers and red colour theme for the latter, and otherwise identical designs.

* TheDragon: Yukinosuke, who is also...
** TheRival: ... for both Chihiro and Kage.
* DualWielding: Except this time, it's Yukinosuke that's doing it, not Kage.

* [[spoiler: LetsGetDangerous: Realising their master Yoshiro is depending on them to hold the player off as much as possible, the Three Sisters become a lot more serious in their triple team battle.]]

* TheBattleDidntCount: You can take no damage and wreck him in under a minute, but you will still be shown as being exhausted and Yukinosuke smugly fine after your first battle with him.

* FlamingSword: Kage - Yukinosuke gets the version with ColdFlames.

* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: More silver, but Yukinosuke is basically this.

* BadassLonghair: Kage.

''The Legend of Kage'' is a video game for the arcade and {{NES}} about a ninja (the titular Kage) who has to rescue a DistressedDamsel multiple times. It has a sequel on the NintendoDS.

* DistressedDamsel: And she gets captured a total of ''four times''.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: Every ninja in this game.

* DistressedDamsel: Princess Kiri.

* HighlyVisibleNinja: Every ninja in this game.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: Justified - you can actually straps that tie Ayame's kimono's neckline to a choker on her neck to keep it from falling all the way.

* EarWorm: The first stage music, which was remixed and used as BGM for the credits and the castle stage in the sequel.

* ActionGirl: Chihiro
* BadassLonghair: Kage
* BerserkButton: Ayame does not like to be interrupted
* BigBad: Yoshiro
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Hanzo
* BlueOniRedOni: Not in terms of personality, really, but Yukinosuke and Kage provide the visual equivalent with ice powers and blue colour theme for the former, fire powers and red colour theme for the latter, and otherwise identical designs
* BoobsOfSteel: Ayame is the oldest of her sisters, the strongest fighter, and thus the bustiest as well
* ChristmasCake: Ayame has issues with her age

* DistressedDamsel: Princess Kiri
* DoppelgangerAttack: You are capable of doing this, as is Yoshiro
* EverythingIsBetterWithPrincesses: Princess Kiri

* EvilCounterpart: Not so much for Chihiro, Yukinosuke is this for Kage

** TheRival: ... for both Chihiro and Kage
* DualWielding: Except this time, it's Yukinosuke that's doing it, not Kage
* EvilOldFolks: Yojubo
* FlamingSword: Kage - Yukinosuke gets the version with ColdFlames
* [[spoiler: TheHeartless: Yoshiro's demonic powers were born from the restless and resentful spirits of the innocent people that were killed during the chaos of the Sengoku Period]]

* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: Justified - you can actually straps that tie Ayame's kimono's neckline to a choker on her neck to keep it from falling all the way
* [[spoiler: LetsGetDangerous: Realising their master Yoshiro is depending on them to hold the player off as much as possible, the Three Sisters become a lot more serious in their triple team battle]]
* LighterAndSofter: Chihiro's story is noticeably more light-hearted than Kage's. For example: [[spoiler: the Three Sisters survive; Princess Kiri is able to bluff Hanzo into not killing her, in contrast to Kage being forced to strike him down in his story and go on the run with her; and there are just generally more comedic moments between Chihiro and the Three Sisters]]
* [[spoiler: LukeIAmYourFather: Chihiro is actually Princess Kiri's younger sister, who was left with the Iga Ninjas to raise, but only the latter remembers this at first]]
* TheMentor: Hanzo

** [[spoiler: TheUnfought: Despite his cool design and antagonistic nature revealed later on, you never fight Hanzo]]
* {{Miko}}: Kaede dresses in a hakama similar to that of a miko, barring the short shorts
* MindOverMatter: Yoshiro fights with bronze swords launched using telekinesis
* [[spoiler: OmnicidalManiac: Yoshiro]]
* PaperMaster: Kaede uses traditional Japanese paper talisman/familiars called ''shikigami'' in battle
* PluckyGirl: Chihiro never gives up in her quest to rescue Princess Kiri, even when way over her head against an army of demonic goons on what is her first real mission as a kunoichi
* PlayingWithFire: Yojubo
* PhysicalGod: Princess Kiri, although she doesn't seem to be very good at defending herself from kidnappers
** AGodAmI: Subverted - everyone else is going about how she's pretty much a GodInHumanForm, but she herself seems quite down-to-earth
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Three Sisters - Ayame, Kaede, and Koume

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Kage and Yukinosuke
* ShesGotLegs: Chihiro and Kaede
* TheBattleDidntCount: You can take no damage and wreck him in under a minute, but you will still be shown as being exhausted and Yukinosuke smugly fine after your first battle with him
* TokenMiniMoe: Koume
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Both Kage and Yukinosuke
* [[spoiler: WalkingTheEarth and NobleFugitive: After finding out that the Tokugawa Shogunate intends on having Princess Kiri killed, Kage renounces his loyalty to them and goes on the run with the princess]]
* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: More silver, but Yukinosuke is basically this
* WhoWearsShortShorts: Kaede certainly does
* WorthyOpponent: What Yukinosuke and the player character deem each other to be after their first fight

* ZettaiRyouiki: Chihiro ranks a Grade B, while Kaede is the Grade D
* ZigzagPaperTassel: Kaede uses this to command her ''shikigami''

* InASingleBound: You're a ninja, of course you can leap 50 feet in the air.