In Japan,
Game Machine listed the game on their December 15, 1990 issue as being the eighteenth most-popular arcade game at the time. It was more successful in North America, where it was an arcade hit. The
RePlay arcade charts listed
Ninja Combat as the second most-popular software conversion kit from November to December 1990, and then the top-grossing software conversion kit in January 1991. The game has received mixed reception from critics since its release in arcades and other platforms.
Electronic Gaming Monthlys four reviewers commended the audiovisual presentation and playable characters having their own fighting style but criticized the Neo Geo AES version for using unlimited continues, short length, easy difficulty and repetitive gameplay.
Razes Julian Boardman also shared a similar opinion, stating that the use of unlimited continues hampered both gameplay and challenge. However,
ACEs Tony Dillon argued with this sentiment by claiming on his review that the unlimited continue feature was a hardware design flaw on the first batch of AES systems. Dillon praised the game's audiovisual presentation, stating that "this game is fulfilling what the Neo Geo promises - a standard arcade machine for the home" but criticized its short length. French magazine
Joystick regarded
Ninja Combat as one of the best beat 'em ups on consoles and comparing it with
Double Dragon and
Final Fight, praising the audio and visuals as well as the sprite animations and controls highly but criticized the overall short length.
Superjuegos Alberto Pascual praised the game's ability to recruit defeated minibosses as playable characters and two-player mode but felt mixed in regards to the originality on-display.
Computer and Video Games Mean Machines compared the title with
Shadow Warriors, commending the audiovisual presentation but criticized the gameplay for being dull and boring to play, easy difficulty and short length. In a similar manner, Italian publication
Consolemania also compared it with
Shadow Warriors, praising the graphics but criticized certain aspects of both audio and playability.
Retrospective Retrospectively, the Neo Geo and Wii releases hold a 38% score on the video game review aggregator
GameRankings, based on three reviews.
AllGames Kyle Knight heavily criticized its overall design, unacceptable graphics, audio, controls, technical issues and cheap gameplay, stating that "
Ninja Combat is a poorly conceived, poorly executed game."
Eurogamers Dan Whitehead claimed
Ninja Combat to be a "rip-off" of other titles in the beat 'em up genre such as
Shinobi (1987),
Ninja Gaiden (1988) and
Streets of Rage (1991), praising the graphics and ability to recruit additional characters but criticizing the collision detection, stiff animations, poor controls, lack of ideas and short length.
IGNs Lucas M. Thomas called it "a profoundly unappealing gameplay experience," opining that "anything potentially innovative or interesting about
Ninja Combat gets totally defeated by its terribly stiff control and overly difficult programming."
Nintendo Lifes Damien McFerran criticized the visuals for being uninspired and character designs, while stating that its gameplay is not comparable to
Streets of Rage or
Final Fight. == See also ==