The Story Behind The Last Ninja

A Groundbreaking Vision

The Last Ninja was originally designed by Mark Cale and coded by John Twiddy, with graphics and animation by Hugh Riley, early C64 concept pixel work of static screen layouts by Bob Stevenson, and collision-detection support from Mark Snowball.

First released in 1987, The Last Ninja became an award-winning global number one hit that redefined what was possible on the Commodore 64. At a time when most adventure titles offered either text only or text with static image screens, it broke new ground as the system’s first interactive arcade adventure. It combined real-time martial-arts action, environmental puzzles and free-roaming isometric exploration.

Redefining the 8-bit Standard

With an atmospheric soundtrack and the best graphics yet seen on the machine, The Last Ninja delivered a cinematic experience that set a new benchmark for 8-bit gaming. The game launched the C64’s best-selling series and became the first computer title to surpass twenty million sales. The trilogy has sold more than twenty-three million copies in total.

At the time, only Super Mario Bros. could rival its cultural impact and sales. However, Nintendo’s title was bundled with every NES console, giving it a one-to-one attach rate by default. The Last Ninja achieved its success entirely on merit, selling across a global Commodore 64 user base of roughly seventeen million machines. It became one of the most successful original franchises of the entire 8-bit era.

The Eyes of a Legend

Central to its visual identity are the eyes of the Last Ninja. Inspired by Mark Cale’s vision for a striking, minimal image that could stand alone, he provided direction and concept sketches that illustrator Steiner Lund rendered in airbrush. Those powerful eyes have become one of gaming’s most recognisable icons, capturing the stealth and resolve of the ninja hero Armakuni.

Many fans believe this distinctive artwork even influenced the cover design of Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album, released in 1991.

Sound and Style

The distinctive atmosphere of The Last Ninja was not just down to its graphics and gameplay. Music played a critical role in immersing players in the world of feudal Japan, reinforcing both the cinematic quality and emotional weight of the experience. From the beginning, Mark Cale wanted the soundtrack to stand out. He initially approached Rob Hubbard, whose work had defined the sound of the Commodore 64, but Hubbard was fully booked at the time.

Around that same period, a young musician named Anthony Lees wrote to System 3, explaining that he was a fan of International Karate and wanted to compose music for the company. Recognising raw talent and enthusiasm, Mark brought him on board. Lees’ compositions captured the mystery and intensity of the ninja world, helping define the game’s unique tone.

To ensure the full soundtrack could be completed on time and offer enough musical variety across all levels, Mark also brought in Ben Daglish. The two composers worked independently on separate sections of the game. While they did not collaborate directly, their individual contributions combined to create one of the most memorable soundtracks of the 8-bit era — a vital part of The Last Ninja’s legacy.

A Story Across Borders

Behind the global success lay a remarkable development journey. The game’s early concept coding, based on Mark Cale’s original designs, began in Budapest, Hungary, while the country was still under Soviet control behind the Iron Curtain. While the game design and visual concepts were created in the UK, Mark Cale, Tim Best, Hugh Riley and Bob Stevenson flew in regularly to collaborate with the local development team.

Working from Mark Cale’s design direction and Bob Stevenson’s early static screen layout pixel work, the Hungarian team built high-resolution background blocks using a pioneering tool called the Integrator. Hugh Riley later joined to refine the in-game animations and help develop the game's signature aesthetic.

Bridging East and West

The effort was coordinated through Robert Stein of Andromeda Software, in partnership with NovaTrade, as no company outside Hungary at that time could control a company within the country. NovaTrade was the only Hungarian company officially authorised to trade technology with the West through Robert Stein and his contracts, which were supported by his long-time friend and fellow industry pioneer Jack Tramiel.

In fact, Andromeda had managed to secure early prototypes of the Atari ST directly from Tramiel before most other publishers in the West. This gave them a crucial head start with next-generation hardware, and was one of the key reasons why Mark Cale chose to work with both Andromeda and NovaTrade to produce the Atari ST conversion of International Karate.

During this same period, while The Last Ninja was in development, Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov shared a prototype puzzle game with NovaTrade called Tetrus through ELORG, the Soviet agency that officially controlled software licensing. Robert Stein, having early access to the game, turned to Mark Cale and asked what he thought of it. Stein knew that Cale had a unique eye for gameplay and a strong instinct for a title’s commercial potential.

NovaTrade introduced the game to Robert Stein and Andromeda, and Stein believed he had secured the rights to publish it in the West. Mark Cale, who was advising Stein at the time, and Tim Best were both in Budapest when these early negotiations were taking place. In one room, the Mirrorsoft team were in discussions. Meanwhile, Henk Rogers, founder of Japan-based Bullet-Proof Software, was also present. Shortly after these meetings, Rogers travelled directly to Moscow and began secret talks with ELORG. His goal was to reverse the deal Stein had arranged and secure exclusive rights for Nintendo, cutting out Andromeda, NovaTrade and Stein entirely. It is widely acknowledged that Rogers would never have known of the game had it not first been shown to him by Stein and Cale. To this day, many in the European games industry view Rogers’ actions with scepticism, seeing them as a pivotal moment in the complex battle over Tetrus rights.

Although NovaTrade played a central role in bringing the game to the West, their involvement was later overshadowed and is not reflected in the 2023 film Tetris, which dramatises the story of the rights battle. Years later, Robert Stein partnered with Mark Cale on the value publishing label Play It, launched under the control of System 3. This continued a creative alliance that began during the formative and often turbulent years of home computing.

From Prototype to Perfection

Although the Hungarian team, led by István Bodnár, were unable to deliver a working gameplay system, their early contributions played a vital role in defining the game’s visual direction, based on the 3D screen concept art that Mark Cale and Bob Stevenson had provided. One of their most important innovations was the original version of the Integrator, a tool designed to assemble reusable blocks of high-resolution artwork layered over a blank canvas. This system was instrumental in creating the rich, atmospheric backgrounds that helped set The Last Ninja apart from any other game of the time. It laid the foundation for the adventure-style environments that Mark Cale had envisioned from the outset.

However, the tool had serious limitations. Written in the Forth language, it was slow and cumbersome to use. Producing a single screen could take several days. More critically, the Hungarian team never managed to produce any working animations. The only on-screen character was a static Ninja sprite that could be moved across the background like a mouse pointer. It offered no movement, no combat and no interaction, just a placeholder within a static world.

Despite these shortcomings, Mark Cale held deep respect for István Bodnár and his team. Without their original concept of building a tool like the Integrator, The Last Ninja may never have evolved into the isometric arcade adventure it became. Instead, it might have followed the path of a more conventional side-scrolling format, similar to Bruce Lee from Datasoft.

The Hungarian team also worked on the International Karate conversion for the Atari ST. During development, a third player was added as a way to slow down the processor, allowing the developers to observe how much additional graphical content could be handled while the visuals were being created. That experimental addition led to a breakthrough. The result was not only the best version of International Karate, but also the inspiration behind what would become IK+, expanding the concept into a three-player martial arts experience.

To this day, Mark remains in contact with István and some members of the original team. István Bodnár is now a professor at Central European University (CEU). The story of this pioneering Hungarian development scene, including early work on The Last Ninja, is explored in the documentary Moleman 4: Longplay (originally Vakondok 4: Végigjátszás), where István Bodnár, Robert Stein and Mark Cale all appear as themselves.

A Lasting Legacy

This official merchandise celebrates a true cult classic, a landmark in gaming history that continues to resonate with retro fans around the world. It honours a global achievement in creativity, technical innovation and storytelling that defined an era of home computing. The Last Ninja is not only a cult classic, it is a symbol of what was possible when vision, design and determination came together across borders during one of the most transformative times in video game history.

From the Soviet-controlled streets of Budapest to the drawing boards in London, and from pioneering development tools to unforgettable music and art, The Last Ninja continues to resonate with retro fans across the world. Much of its magic came from the British developers, coders and artists whose talents helped elevate the Commodore 64 to its full potential. During the 1980s, Britain led the way in game creativity, producing some of the finest talent in the world, and The Last Ninja stands as one of the best examples of that excellence. But without the vision of the Hungarian team in tackling the technical challenge of fitting high-resolution background art and multiple screens into a single 64K load through the creation of the Integrator tool, this project may never have happened at all. Its legacy remains not just in the game itself, but in the boundary-breaking ambition, artistry and international teamwork that redefined what the 8-bit era could achieve. It went on to become one of the biggest British video game IPs in history, recognised globally for its innovation and influence.