Ninja Scooter Simulator

Ninja Scooter Simulator is a side-scrolling action game published by Silverbird in 1988, heavily inspired by Namco's arcade hit Metro-Cross. The name is purely marketing—there are no ninjas anywhere in the game. You control a boy on a kick scooter racing through city streets against a strict time limit (displayed as 4 minutes, effectively 38 seconds). The action scrolls horizontally with five vertical lanes of traffic. Hazards include barriers, rough ground, manhole covers that slow you down, ramps for jumps, and from level three onwards, other scooter riders that must be avoided. Collecting clocks adds extra seconds, while speed boosts provide temporary acceleration. Performing stunts on ramps (by holding up and right) awards bonus points, but mistimed landings cause crashes costing precious time. The game supports one or two players.

Commodore 64

Released in 1988 by Silverbird, developed by Probe Software with music by Jason C. Brooke. The C64 version received poor reviews: Zzap!64 awarded 30% and Commodore Computing International gave 4/10. Critics slammed the "erroneous collision detection and controls"—performing three rotations mid-air yields 1000 points despite being technically impossible. Levels are so tight that reaching bonuses requires slowing down and moving sideways, which wastes time. Before playing, you must choose either music or sound effects, not both. The sound is described as unrealistic, indistinct, and annoying—every time the rider pushes the ground, it beeps twice. A notorious graphical glitch causes the protagonist's upper body to periodically disappear. A flawed but oddly memorable budget title for C64 owners.