Sasuke vs. Commander

Sasuke vs. Commander (サスケＶＳコマンダー) is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade video game developed and released by Shin Nihon Kikaku (today's SNK) in Japan.

The game is a fixed shooter with the player at the bottom shooting upward at enemies traveling and shooting down the screen. In contrast to the outer-space theme of most such games of the era, Sasuke vs. Commander is set in a magical world with ninja-like enemies and alternative waves of simple attackers and more powerful bosses.

Sasuke vs. Commander was popular in Japan; according to Game Machine, it was in 10th place overall in 1981 grosses, tied with the older, but still popular, Space Invaders and Missile Command. It is historically notable as among the earliest examples of recurring boss fights.

Gameplay
The player controls Sasuke, a ninja dressed in blue who moves back and forth across the bottom of the vertically oriented screen. The game alternates between two types of levels.

The first type of level takes place on a background showing a road leading to a castle seen in the background. A number of ninjas dressed in red or green appear in a puff of smoke and then attack with various weapons while moving down the screen. Sasuke is killed if he touches either, and loses one of his three lives. He returns fire with shurikens, and if he hits an enemy it turns purple and falls directly down the screen, presenting another way to be killed.

When the first type of wave is completed, or Sasuke is killed, the second type of wave begins, the "magic bonus". These start with a boss appearing out of the castle while a fanfare plays, at the end of which the action moves to a new background scene showing a mountain landscape. On these waves, the bosses remain near the top of the screen and use more powerful weapons. These levels are timed, and the player receives a bonus if he kills the bosses based on how much time is left. If he is killed on these levels he receives no bonus but does not lose a life.

The game ends if Sasuke loses all of his lives, or completes all eight levels. If he successfully reaches the end, a cutscene shows Sasuke tripping over a rock and not getting up.

Reception
Although few English language materials refer to the game, the Japanese arcade trade newspaper Game Machine lists it as being the 10th most popular arcade game in 1981 based on income, tied with Space Invaders and Missile Command.

It has since become better known as one of SNK's earliest releases, as well as one of the first arcade games to include multiple boss fights, along with Phoenix and Cidelsa's Destroyer of the same year.

The game has since been re-released on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.