Ninja time!

On Monday we reported that Taito is releasing a Darius collection on Switch, but it would seem that the company has other retro-themed projects in the works, too.

The latest issue of Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu reveals Ninja Warriors Again - a tentative title at this point - is in development for Switch and is expected to launch next year. Screenshots in the magazine show a 2D title that is in keeping with previous entries in the series. 

The very first Ninja Warriors came out in 1987 and used the same three-screen arcade hardware as Darius. It was ported to various home systems - including the PC Engine and Mega CD - and was remade on the SNES in 1994 as The Ninja Warriors Again (plain old The Ninja Warriors in North America).

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In the same magazine, it is also revealed that emulation experts M2 are handling the aforementioned Darius Cozmic Collection.

Gematsu has kindly translated some quotes from the interview with Taito which state that the company is looking at resurrecting other classic franchises, and could produce some original games as well:

We decided that it would be necessary to release Taito’s IPs and technology on all platforms in order to increase profit in the future.

We have titles that are already moving towards release.

These are the first steps of our new developments.

Projects are underway from re-releases to new titles on various platforms.

However, console games are an extremely difficult current business for us. With that in mind, we’d like to release things that will be welcomed by all of you, but if we get the chance, we might also make something original.

Getting buzz in the console game market is a big deal and makes it easier to appeal to customers.

With Darius and now Ninja Warriors getting a much-needed revival, what other classic Taito series would you like to see on Switch? Rainbow Islands? Bubble Bobble? Rastan? Space Invaders? Let us know with a comment.