Wrath Of The Black Manta box

Wrath Of The Black Manta
- Taito, 1989 -


(NES) Action, Platformer (2D); (with short, First-Person section in pseudo-3D)
SCORE: 47 out of 100
SUGGESTED PLAY, BUT FLAWED!
A mostly-mediocre action platformer, starring a ninja inspired by Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden, ultimately hampered by poor, repetitive design and lazy execution


[REVIEW|+ VS. -|IF YOU LIKE...|SECRETS & TIPS|FINAL SCORE|BREAKDOWN|MISCELLANEA]

The Artlessness Of The Ninja

When children start disappearing and the authorities cannot figure out the cause, it is up to the Black Manta to save the day. It becomes personal when his teacher's prized student, Taro, becomes one of the kidnap victims. Will the Black Manta master his Ninja Arts or is this game an artifact of its era?

For such a figure cloaked in mystery and steeped in legend and lore, the ninja was thrust to the heights of in-your-face popularity in the 1980s. With the supersaturated archetypes of soldiers, police officers and cowboys running thin on both content and originality, martial artists and ninja began filling the void for action in popular, Western culture en masse.


With its compelling backstory, the Black Manta seems poised to become the newest, crime-fighting superhero.With its compelling backstory, the Black Manta seems poised to become the newest, crime-fighting superhero.

Historically, the ninja is renowned for stealth, sabotage and subterfuge in feudal Japan. He/she received special training to master his/her discipline.

It is the acquisition of these arts—ninjutsu (sometimes ninjitsu) or the ninpo arts—that becomes a driving force, motoring a big part of the mechanics of gameplay in Taito's 1989 action platformer, Wrath Of The Black Manta.

These ninpo arts impart superhuman abilities upon the ninja whom headlines this game: the Black Manta. And it is a good thing, too; because our solitary ninja will need all the help he can get to fight off a heinous organization whose global reach is threatening children everywhere.

As the game opens, crime is plaguing New York City. Children are mysteriously disappearing. As the feared Black Manta—one-part aspiring crime fighter; one-part drug enforcement agent; 10 parts American(?!) ninja—you navigate a number of cities across the globe, rescuing the aforementioned missing children in search of your faceless sensei's prized student, Taro, who has, also, been kidnapped.

Across the game's five levels—each staged in some of the international hotspots of the world: New York City, USA (presumably three different times[?!?]); Tokyo, Japan; and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil—Black Manta platforms his way in this mock arcade/throwaway script from a 1980s, low-budget, straight-to-video, action movie that plays overtly like Sega's classic hit, Shinobi, with a half-hearted effort at Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden cutscenes thrown in for good measure. [To learn more about the NES version of Ninja Gaiden and how its animated Acts inspired Wrath Of The Black Manta, read our Ninja Gaiden - Delights... Cameras... ACTION! review here.]

Main boss, Tiny, of Part 1 New York City in Wrath Of The Black Manta is impressive.

The detailing in many of the portraits in Wrath Of The Black Manta - like with this child from Rio De Janeiro - is well-executed.
Wrath Of The Black Manta probably impresses most with its artistic touches on portraits and boss enemies.

Each stage feels like a smudged carbon copy with Shinobi's designs in mind - heavily-derivative, but not quite distinct or sharp enough to hold up on its own (with, perhaps, exceptions being small segments of the Tokyo, Japan set and the Rio De Janeiro set that have the Black Manta riding the wind in a human-sized kite - a tale of legend that has yet to be confirmed in the annals of the ninja).

To make things worse, unfortunately, after "Part 1 - New York City", every stage in Wrath Of The Black Manta feels, looks and plays like an instant replay of the one before.

Essentially the scenes of each level have the Black Manta doing his best Joe Musashi (the hero of Shinobi) impersonation: leaping up-and-down between two planes of play, scurrying through large, blocky spreads of concrete streets, sewers and warehouses, ducking behind crates, swinging his short sword/knife up-close or dispensing "darts" from a safer distance at simple-minded henchmen who do little to stop the Manta's march forward.

Instead of untying or cutting the guarded hostages loose like in Shinobi, the Black Manta has to work a bit harder at finding the kidnapped in his game. Secret walls give way and crumple under Black Manta's dart attacks, revealing hidden offices and rooms. Many other children can be found trapped in cages, behind any number of doors that are readily-visible and accessible in open sight throughout each of the game's locales (similar to Namco's Rolling Thunder or Capcom's later play-alike, Code Name: Viper).

Upon freedom, some of the children will share invaluable information about hidden doorways or locations or will provide other hints that will keep the Manta in hot pursuit of Taro's whereabouts.

Black Manta improves his abilities and chances vastly as he learns new Arts of the Ninja or Ninpo Arts.
Black Manta improves his abilities and chances vastly as he learns new Arts of the Ninja or Ninpo Arts.

By entering every door (although many, inexplicably, seem to be labeled as EXITs in-game [?!?]), if the Manta doesn't find children, he may be able to pick up full life refills or gain expansions for his POW Indicator.

The POW Indicator plays an important role in the Black Manta's chances of survival. It allows for the unlimited charging and expulsion of the Ninpo Arts that the Manta possesses and earns. The longer the gauge stretches, the longer the duration or the strength of the Ninpo Art used. (Holding down the B button (B) charges up the Ninja Arts.) This is a generous and potent gift that the game developers bestowed upon the player.

Only one other type of item can be found in the game. Letters are scrawled-out scraps of paper, left behind as clues.

One important letter—in particular, found early in the game—points the Manta in the right direction for solving the mystery behind the culprits committing all of the unusual crimes and what their motives are. It reveals that: "The man in red knows something."

While exploring each city, the Black Manta will continually encounter and will stay on the heels of a "man in red". If Black Manta runs up on him, he will discover that he is an informant. (By faulty controls, the Black Manta can, sometimes, initiate contact and force a conversation through headlock, chokehold or half-Nelson. There may be an easier way to engage in contact, click here to learn about this strategy below (↓).)

If the Black Manta stays persistent, he will extract key intel on the insidious goings-on of the shadowy organization, DRAT (probably not the most subtle or smartest acronym to name your criminal enterprise - Drug Runners And Terrorists).

Following the Black Manta's last meet-up with the reluctant mouthpiece in red, the big boss of the current city awaits. DRAT brings its heavy hitters in to shutdown the meddlesome Manta with one of the absolute best aspects of the game - its main enemy design. Tiny shows what it means to be a big boss stomping on the scene.

One way to bring him down to size and to equalize DRAT's other enforcers is by way of the Ninpo Arts that we mentioned earlier.

Glitches—like this instance of the Black Manta, unexpectedly passing through metal piping—combined with other issues found in the game detract from its lasting reputation.
Glitches—like this instance of the Black Manta, unexpectedly passing through metal piping—combined with other issues found in the game detract from its lasting reputation.

Just as Joe used special attacks to inflict major damage across the screen in Shinobi, Black Manta uses his Ninpo Arts to a similar effect.

Upon defeat of a stage, his master imparts wisdom and shares new arts to power Black Manta forward. Some of these Ninpo Arts are of a more traditional type, like Art of Invisibility. Others are more modern and fictitious, taking liberties with the ninja lore: Art of Lightning (sending lightning bolts at enemies) or Art of Missiles (blasting off fiery missiles from his bare hands). (By pressing SELECT at any time, you can change up the collection of Ninja Arts you can use.)

☆ ☆ ☆

Up until this point, Wrath Of The Black Manta compares favorably to its motivational source, Shinobi.

It tries to do more than just be a simplified, action title. It endeavors with its attempts at a backstory and with its slow revelation of the reason and guilty party behind the missing children.

By careful pacing, the Manta slowly pulls together the pieces of the tale per informant confrontations and dialogue reveals from the rescued children and interstage acts. The game tries to organically build up interest in the mysterious crimes.

The 'Just Say No' campaign of the 1980s was an anti-drug initiative in the United States. Throughout the game, the Black Manta does his part in the War on Drugs.
The "Just Say No" campaign of the 1980s was an anti-drug initiative in the United States. Throughout the game, the Black Manta does his part in the War on Drugs.

It even participates in preaching a prevailing message of the time by condemning drugs and getting the message out about "just saying no" to its target audience of gamers.

But, while it successfully deviates from its inspiration in the previous manners (and with other changes in gameplay and mechanics), it ultimately languishes in the long shadow cast by Shinobi's superior, sustained, higher level of quality and effort.

Overall, it feels like the development team of Wrath Of The Black Manta poured most of its resources and productivity into the creation of some of the game's graphic work and then just decided to skimp on the rest of the production quality by resorting to use lazy, copy-and-paste tactics on the remainder of the game's image art, as well as the other components of the title: the level design, the mechanics and the music included.

For example, the game's graphics take on an uneven keel, seesawing from impressive, intricate portraitures and detailed bosses to an unimaginative, repetitive look and layout of the majority of the stages.

Watch out for that hole in the street! What hole, you ask? The background art didn't get the same grade-A attention as other imagery in Wrath Of The Black Manta.
Watch out for that hole in the street! What hole, you ask? The background art didn't get the same grade-A attention as other imagery in Wrath Of The Black Manta.

To take it a step further, while it is true that portraits of the kidnapped children are, arguably, some of the best imagery seen throughout, the appeal begins to wear off after one realizes that every single, rescued child on a stage looks identical. The only thing that distinguishes one from the next is the dialogue.

(Even a simple palette swap of the clothing or skin tones or different facial expressions would have been an appreciable upgrade. Instead, is the gamer to believe the preposterous notion that each imprisoned child found on a stage is a part of a set of identical siblings (be it quintuplets, sextuplets or whatever multiple birth number present on that particular level) wearing the SAME exact clothing and having the SAME exact hairstyles?!)

The next offender of lethargic leveling-off of quality control goes to the game's programming.

As previously stated, aside from the uninspired level design (and redundancy - yes, out of the game's five levels - two of them are stationed in New York City, with DRAT Headquarters probably being there as well!), the game's mechanics feel stale and predictable.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Unfortunately, the game shows its frayed edges, as the creators' lazier tendencies start to show after "Part 1".

Continually chase down "the man in red". Enter every door. Save cloned hostages. Stand or kneel against walls and throw your "darts" to reveal hidden areas that eventually feel humdrum.

While it is true that many games rely on repetitive in-game tasks and goals, Wrath Of The Black Manta's actions can feel more like tedious chores - especially after the first city.

The new, first-person perspective seen during the elevator segments in Wrath Of The Black Manta gives the game a fresh and welcomed change... too bad, it only appears near the game's end.
The new, first-person perspective seen during the elevator segments in Wrath Of The Black Manta gives the game a fresh and welcomed change... too bad, it only appears near the game's end.

The music is another letdown. While the main stage theme is solid and the secondary track found inside rooms is decent, those same songs are recycled throughout... no effort was made to create unique songs for each of the five locations (and that is barring two songs since New York City is played through twice).

(On a similar note - by 1989, gaming had evolved beyond using a single song throughout an entire game and it was common practice for games in the action and arcade genres to have several, unique tracks assigned per level.)

If you stack these more-or-less "cosmetic" issues on top of the much-more egregious violations of unsteady hit detection, unreliable controls (at times) and glitches, not even the Black Manta can sneak away unscathed.

As we come to a close, perhaps the Black Manta's wrath was misguided? Maybe what was really incurring his wrath was his frustrations with the tedium, repetition and mediocrity from the development team's bare-minimum efforts. Unfortunately, it is a shame because their inactions may have sabotaged the makings of a more memorable game.

In a most ironic twist, as the Black Manta dedicated himself to perfecting his Ninpo Arts, it is the developers' nonchalance and lack of commitment that ultimately results in a truly artless assault on most of the potential this game could have had.

b. jones © 2022

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+'s vs. -'s

PROS:
  • nice graphic work with portraits of kids and villains
  • unique, major boss design
  • any of the acquired Ninja Art powers can be reused over and over again; it just takes a bit of time to recharge your POW indicator
  • can build up POW indicator and max out life meter fairly easily
  • no time limit
  • hidden areas to be found
CONS:
  • repetition plagues game design (similar level designs and objectives), soundtrack (same stage and behind door music throughout)
  • hit detection isn't always clearly-delineated
  • poor build of some levels (especially "Part 3 - Rio De Janeiro") allows for glitches with Black Manta's interaction with environment (i.e. some background areas are not solid, at times, causing unintentional damage or deaths; also, issues with the wrecking balls in "Part 4 - New York City")
  • enemy design is shoddy (poor A.I., respawns are frequent, little diversity of types of foes)
  • selection screen of "Ninja Arts" is counter-intuitive and hard to figure out

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If you like Wrath Of The Black Manta, perhaps you would like these titles:

  • Shinobi [arcade, Sega Master System, NES, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, Switch, etc.]
    (very similar overall design from gameplay to level and enemy design; ninja as protagonist and assignment of special powers; prisoners are saved)

  • Rolling Thunder (series) [arcade, various]
    (similar arcade and platforming feel)

  • Michael Jackson's Moonwalker [arcade, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega Mega Drive, various]
    (similar arcade and platforming feel; kidnapped children are rescued)

  • Code Name: Viper [NES]
    (similar arcade feel and gameplay; plot of war on drugs; rescuing prisoners)

  • Ninja Gaiden [arcade, NES, SNES, PC Engine, various]
    (influence of groundbreaking cutscenes; ninja as protagonist)


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Secrets & Tips for Wrath Of The Black Manta

INFINITE LIFE REFILL

The Black Manta has to face a lot of hostile members of DRAT, as he tracks down Taro and rescues all of those missing children. It's not always easy to stay healthy and avoid injury.

Anytime that the Black Manta reaches a room that is guarded by three enemies (like below ↓), he can quickly refill three blocks of life. This can be done repeatedly until his current strength tops out at eight blocks. See below (↓):

Wrath Of The Black Manta Infinite Life Refill Tip (1)
Enter a room that has the three enemy layout.

Wrath Of The Black Manta Infinite Life Refill Tip (3)
Quickly dodge and defeat the trio.

Wrath Of The Black Manta Infinite Life Refill Tip (4)
Once the enemies are defeated, Manta will gain three blocks of life. (See the green highlighted blocks in the picture.)

Wrath Of The Black Manta Infinite Life Refill Tip (5)
Simply exit and re-enter as many times as needed to build up your full life!



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THE ART OF INVISIBILITY

The Black Manta receives mastery of a set of new Ninpo Arts with each new city he investigates. The Art Of Invisibility is one of the more effective ones.

This art can be used as a semi-reliable form of "invincibility" that allows the Manta to, sometimes, pass through and safely fight some enemies.

Black Manta can use the Art Of Invisibility to sometimes get close enough to the Informant to get him to talk

Also, it can be an easier way to engage with "the man in red" found throughout the various stages of the game.

Because of the unpredictable hit detection, Black Manta, oftentimes, may lose energy when he tries to move in to physically grab and speak to the red informant, but, if he uses the Art Of Invisibility first, the Black Manta's chances to safely question him may improve. (See above picture. ↑)



RETURN TO REVIEW - "THE MAN IN RED" SECTION
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THE ART OF SPIDER

The Art Of Spider is one of the more unusual of the Ninpo Arts. When used, it lets the Black Manta burrow through the soil and travel underneath and across a section of a stage protected from enemy detection.

Black Manta can use the Art Of Spider to good effect in the Tokyo, Japan stage.

Black Manta can use the Art Of Spider to good effect in the Tokyo, Japan stage.

This art is especially useful in the "Part 2 - Tokyo, Japan" level. See the image above (↑). (NOTE: Follow the yellow arrows. The far right portion of the picture shows the Manta digging down; the middle section shows him tumbling through the earth to the left; the far left panel shows the Art Of Spider wearing off and the Black Manta bursting up through the ground for a surprise attack.)



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HOW TO DEFEAT THE ROBOTS IN "PART 4 - NEW YORK CITY"

Finally, a letter reveals another important power that the Art Of Invisibility has:

Wrath Of The Black Manta Letter that reveals secret to defeating the robots at the end of Stage 4
The Art Of Invisibility is very useful when fighting the robots at the end of Stage 4.


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CHOOSE WHICH ENEMY BOSS YOU WANT TO FIGHT BEFORE THE FINAL BOSS

On "Part 5 - DRAT Headquarters" immediately before you encounter the final boss, you have to choose one of four doors. Each door conceals a major boss you defeated earlier in the game. Use the image below to pick the main enemy you are most comfortable with battling:

You can choose a door to any 1 of the 4 prior main bosses before the final boss in Wrath Of The Black Manta.


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HOW TO DEFEAT THE MAIN ENEMY

This review is SPOILER-FREE, but to see the revelation of the main enemy and to learn the best strategy to beat the game, click here.


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1UP Ratings Scale for
Wrath Of The Black Manta

Presentation: 8 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for PresentationWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 8 out of 10 for Presentation

The bright, bold color and illustrative design of the cover and box art were well-done, quickly relaying that despite the title, this game was about ninja; the manual was thorough and had its information well-organized with minimal discrepancies between the actual programmed game and the written material; the story and descriptions of the game levels were completed with care; the instructional materials seemed to be proofread well with concise information and useful black-and-white illustrations; helpful hints and tips are included to aid in play.

Originality: 2 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 2 out of 10 for OriginalityWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 2 out of 10 for Originality

The ninja was the go-to character for the arcades of that era and it was hard to stand out unless you had something truly unique. Wrath Of The Black Manta takes liberally from the arcade hit, Shinobi, while mixing in the animated cutscenes that Ninja Gaiden (NES) made famous.

Creativity: 3 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 3 out of 10 for CreativityWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 3 out of 10 for CreativityWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 3 out of 10 for Creativity

The collection of Ninpo Arts at the Black Manta's disposal are wide-ranging in effect and variety. Major boss design is fresh. The Black Manta's war on drugs is a positive message for children and adults alike. But, the extent of the developers' overreliance on copying and pasting really hurts the creativity of new ideas in the game layout and mechanics. Furthermore, the game's identity mimics Shinobi's too much (i.e. the first big boss is a taller figure that takes damage to the head; there's an area on the water; there's a first-person perspective that has the protagonist tossing shuriken; many more similarities...).

Programming/Debugging: 2 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 2 out of 10 for Programming/DebuggingWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 2 out of 10 for Programming/Debugging

Glitched-out platforms and barriers that the Black Manta sometimes fall through, while other times cannot pass; inconsistent hitboxes around our hero and enemies; poor and predictable, enemy A.I. that runs the same pattern repeatedly; respawning enemies; lazy efforts of reusing hidden areas, children portraits and music - all of these hurt this game's quality of enjoyment drastically.

Challenge/Fairness: 6 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 6 out of 10 for Challenge/FairnessWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 6 out of 10 for Challenge/FairnessWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 6 out of 10 for Challenge/FairnessWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 6 out of 10 for Challenge/FairnessWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 6 out of 10 for Challenge/FairnessWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 6 out of 10 for Challenge/Fairness

Inconsistent hit detection brings this title's fairness down dramatically, while teleporting and sprinting ninja speed by, oftentimes, leaving a slashed-and-hacked Black Manta dying in their wake (Tokyo, Japan and DRAT Headquarters stages). The repetitious layout and enemy patterns are, too often, too easy to remember, but the boss battles bring balance back by creating challenge through well-timed attacks and parries. Poor jump mechanics taint the early climb of "Part 3 - Rio De Janeiro". "Part 4 - New York City"'s difficulty increases with armed, military characters and wrecking balls, but the game does leave a letter forewarning of the level's challenge. Finally, although a clue is left behind telling Black Manta that four Ninja Arts must be used to defeat the final enemy, the last battle can prove tough or frustrating, learning which combination and in which order to use them.

Replayability: 3 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 3 out of 10 for ReplayabilityWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 3 out of 10 for ReplayabilityWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 3 out of 10 for Replayability

Some of the boss battles are fun and trying to find the kids and all of the hidden doors may draw some players back. The relative short time of completion of play (less than an hour) makes for a quick pick-up-and-play title, but the game can feel more like a chore, as finding all of the hidden areas can seem fruitless, monotonous and drawn-out. Although there is a scoring system in the game, there's not much incentive to play for score.

Controls: 7 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for ControlsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for ControlsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for ControlsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for ControlsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for ControlsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for ControlsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for Controls

Overall, the game handles fairly well. Black Manta can leap to different heights (just like Joe Musashi in Shinobi) and can crouch under enemy fire. However, once he vaults to his highest jump, he can't move about freely in the air (ascent or descent). He tosses shuriken (or "darts") and swings his short sword at the rapid, manual speed of the gamer's tapping of the controller. Sometimes, it feels like the Ninja Arts aren't as receptive as they should be. The interface for selecting your Ninja Arts—while decorated well—is very confusing to use.

Graphics: 7Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for GraphicsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for GraphicsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for GraphicsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for GraphicsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for GraphicsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for GraphicsWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 7 out of 10 for Graphics

Stage backgrounds aren't detailed and are poorly rendered for the most part (several seem to be mere palette swaps of bland backdrops of sewers, warehouses and cityscapes), but there are excellent renderings of portraits of the kidnapped kids and informants, and the major bosses stand-out (especially Tiny). Due to poor shading, it is hard to pick up on or distinguish where the Black Manta can fall through the ground or not.

Music/Sound FX: 4 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 4 out of 10 for Music/Sound FXWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 4 out of 10 for Music/Sound FXWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 4 out of 10 for Music/Sound FXWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 4 out of 10 for Music/Sound FX

The tracklist is short - coming in at about seven tracks total. The main theme is a solid song (the lonesome loop of a woodwind-like melody that stretches over a choppy, syncopated bassline), unfortunately, it is repeated throughout every stage... and being that the game only has five stages— three of which are, essentially, the same New York City level (?!?)—it should not have been too much to ask for two more distinct songs for the Tokyo and Rio De Janeiro parts. The shrill sound of metal-on-metal ringing is an unfortunate, forgettable sound effect.

Ending: 5 Wrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 5 out of 10 for EndingWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 5 out of 10 for EndingWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 5 out of 10 for EndingWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 5 out of 10 for EndingWrath Of The Black Manta gets a 1UP Ratings Score of 5 out of 10 for Ending

The ending reunites kidnapped student and Manta with master, and brings closure. The same static graphic remains fixed, as a congratulatory dialogue and gesture is shared with the Black Manta for his heroic deeds. However, there are no credits to celebrate the creators' efforts.

FINAL SCORE:

47 Wrath Of The Black Manta (NES) earns a 47 out of 100 score in www.Retro-Grades.com's 1UP Ratings's out of a possible 100

Despite its score, overall, Wrath Of The Black Manta is a decent play—especially for its cheap price and quick time of playthrough—but, ultimately what holds it back from being a truly memorable game is its lazy execution and repetition.

It starts off with a lot of promise (strong graphics, good boss design, cool Ninpo Arts, intriguing plot for an action/arcade type of game at that time), but grows tiresome and tedious quickly, as the developers fail to follow-through.

Because of its availability and low cost, it may not be a bad addition for a retro collection.


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Wrath Of The Black Manta

© 2022 (mmxxii) b. jones




 

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