Karate Ninja Shou
This game was originally given proto status, but it still remains uncertain as to
whether or not it is indeed a NEO-GEO title, as well as when it may have been originally
intended to be released. It is thought to be from circa 1995/96, and the pics we have
displayed for it here were taken from a magazine article from about that time period.
However, the side-scrolling Double-Dragon-style fighting genre was "retired" for the
NEO-GEO system back in 1993 with the release of Sengoku 2 and remained as such until
Sengoku 3 in 2001. Therefore, we think its roots may go back as far as 1992, and the
1995/96 article covered its considered but cancled re-release.
We have also heard that it may have been manufactured by Yumekobo, although this
would be totally inconsistant with the above theories as they were not a NEO-GEO
licensee until later in the systems lifespan. It appears to be a side-scrolling action
& fighting game along the lines of the sengoku-style theme. Large bosses also
appear throughout the battles to compliment the storyline. Yumekobo did release 2 titles
for the Neo-Geo system. Blazing Star & Pre-historic Isle 2. KNS may have been based on
a popular Japanese theme and postponed due to overwhelming licensing fees that may have
been imposed on it. Such was the case with Super 8-MAN and Legend of Success Joe.
Sadly the few pics that we have of this game are in black & white and are of
poor quality because the source material (the Japanese gaming magazine article from
which these screen captures were taken from) was scanned at a very low resolution.
We believe this article to be from a Japanese GAMEST or NEO-GEO FREAK magazine. If anyone out
there has information on which magazine as well as which issue, please let us know so
that we can acquire the source material and provide much better captures of the screens
here on this site.
