With 29 days still to go, The Last Ninja Collection has smashed its £10,000 Kickstarter target – and by quite some margin, with the total currently sitting at a handsome £29,026.
The campaign was launched by original developers System 3, with support tiers including physical Switch versions that’ll only be available through Kickstarter.
This collection will include the Amiga, Spectrum and C64 versions of The Last Ninja, Last Ninja 2, Last Ninja 3 and Ninja Remix, along with IK+ and the Muay Thai beat’em up Bangkok Knights.
The Last Ninja series was huge during the ‘80s, selling over 23 million copies across all formats while gaining positive reviews. IK+ (International Karate +) was a smash success also, becoming the first European game to top the USA C64 billboard charts.
System 3 has tried to bring back IK+ and The Last Ninja over the years, and this Kickstarter reveals more information on those abandoned projects, with PC WIP builds on offer to higher tier supporters.
Remake IK++ was intended to be released on PS5, Xbox and PC in 2021 and was delayed before being cancelled after the original creator Archer Maclean passed away. It featured 3D visuals and bonus games from the original. Footage is available on YouTube.
Before that, in 2017, System 3 tried to resurrect The Last Ninja 4 for PS4 – with the demo showing off a snow covered temple – but was forced to cancel after the demise of retail and various other industry factors. The Last Ninja 4 has been kicking around since 1996, with numerous publishers associated with it, including Philips, EA, and Simon and Schuster. The 2002 iteration was allegedly denied concept approval by Sony while under EA’s wing. Diamond tier backers will be able to play the 2018 build, released on a DVD ROM for PC. A neat extra.
The Last Ninja Collection is expected to launch on PC and Switch in early 2025. Take a look at the Kickstarter if you fancy owning a physical copy for Switch.