Ninja Bodyguard

"敵襲(てきしゅう)だ！ 十字ボタンとAボタンで応戦(おうせん)だ！ フジヤマ（ふじさん）！！" "(It's an enemy raid! Fight them with the D-pad and the A button! Fuji-yama (Fuji Mountain)!!)"

- Ninja Bodygaurd Description (Rhythm Tengoku)

"敵襲だ！ 左ボタンと右ボタンで応戦だ！ フジヤマ！！" "(It's an enemy raid! Fight them with the Left and Right buttons! Fuji-yama!!)"

- Ninja Bodygaurd Description (Rhythm Tengoku Arcade)

"An enemy is attacking your lord! Block the arrows with your sword-- and maybe next time bring a shield!"

- Ninja Bodyguard Description (Rhythm Heaven Megamix)

Ninja Bodyguard (忍者) is the 22nd Rhythm Game in Rhythm Tengoku and the 63rd game in Rhythm Heaven Megamix. This game is about a Ninja who protects his Lord from the enemy onslaught. A sequel is later unlocked in Rhythm Tengoku called Ninja no Shison.

Gameplay
In this rhythm game, the player controls the Ninja who wears all black. He uses the A button, and then the D-Pad, to swing his sword back and forth in time to destroy the arrows shot as his lord.

Button Mode

 * A: Swing sword right. Can only be done if the sword is to the left.
 * D-Pad: Swing sword left. Can only be done if the sword is to the right.

Arcade Version

 * D-Pad: Swing Sword Left and Right (depends on its current place).

Simple Tap Mode

 * Tap: Swing sword left or right (depends on its current place).

Timing Notes

 * Hit: The arrow is split in half.
 * Barely: The arrow will bounce out of the way, making a shing noise. A barely counts as a miss.
 * Miss: The arrow goes past the ninja and pins to the wall, shocking the master.

Header

 * "トノから　ひとこと" (A word from the feudal lord)

Try Again

 * "ちゃんと　守ってよネ…" (Please protect me properly...)
 * "すばやい　剣さばきが　みじゅくである. " (Your fast sword timing is unskilled.)
 * "「四連矢」　に　コテンパンである. " (You couldn't handle the "four arrows in a row".)

OK

 * "う~ん．．．" (Yeah...)
 * "まぁまぁ、　かな. " (OK, I guess?)
 * "とりあえず．．．" (Anyway...)
 * "よしと　します. " (You did your best.)

Superb

 * "すばやい　剣さばきであった！" (Your fast sword timing is good!)
 * "「四連矢返し」　が　おみごと！" (The "four arrows in a row" reflection was wonderful!)

Header

 * "My Lord Solemnly Intones"

Try Again

 * "I hired you to protect me."

OK

 * "Eh. Passable."

Superb

 * "Impressive swordplay."

Skill Star
When the enemies shoot four arrows at once, slice the arrows perfectly to collect the star.

Ninja Bodyguard 2P
"敵襲だ！ 左ボタンと右ボタンで応戦だ！ フジヤマ！！" "(It's an enemy raid! Fight them with the left and the right button! Fuji-yama!!)"

- Ninja Bodygaurd 2P Description

Ninja Bodyguard also appears in the 2P mode of Rhythm Tengoku (Arcade) where it is referred to as Ninja Bodyguard 2P (忍者 2P). It plays the same as the 1P version, except the two players take turns on each section. This effectively doubles the length of the game.

Trivia

 * This is the only Rhythm Game in the entire series to start with a skippable cutscene instead of a practice.
 * The game did, however, get a practice in Rhythm Heaven Megamix in addition to the cutscene.
 * The towers during the cutscene look similar to the ones seen in Dog Ninja.
 * Also, the Ninja Bodyguard prologue shares the same scenario as the one for Dog Ninja: A big yellow moon with grass in foreground, in a dark blue sky.
 * According to the debug menu in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, a short version of this game was intended to appear.
 * In Rhythm World: The Best Plus, the characters' clothing were changed.