I first saw Wrath of the Black Manta at the flea market in the heat of a blazing Summer day. Even some 20 years later, games are still sold there by independent sellers, yard-sale style, cascaded and cooked on cheap tables under the blinding light of the sun. It's amazing it worked when I got it home, because it turned out to be one of the coolest games I ever got through the vicious cycle of trading games. Of course, the game eventually got traded, and for what, I can't remember. I do remember, though, how awesome the game was when I got it. It wasn't like now, where you get to try everything out before you buy it; back then, there were no downloadable demos or preview videos. You judged a game by its cover, and the ninja I saw on the cover made it an instant buy. Along with another Taito classic, Renegade, it was one of the games I went to scandalous lengths to play before school every day.

But even at scandalous lengths, fighting the war on drugs was just as much of a lost cause in the game as it was in real life. That is, just like the real life setbacks that keep law enforcement from making any progress, there were setbacks that kept me from making any progress in the game. With no save function of any type, it wasn't easy always starting out from the beginning and trying to rush through the game to get farther than I had gotten the previous day. I always got to Tiny. And I think the reason I liked the game so much was because of the saving kids from drugs, and I was a kid around shit like that, so I could relate to it (even though the kids look like David Hasselhoff, Jackie Brown, and that stupid hippie kunt Janis Joplin). This is who we need on the streets of America in real life to keep drugs away from kids in real life...

Kill A Junkie
This guy is not stealth at all. He's not like the ninjas in other games; down low, in the shadows, moving through the shadows. The Black Manta walks upright and tall, in no rush at all, stopping all comers dead in their tracks. Even when he takes damage, the Black Manta continues his march forward, showing no reaction to assault with deadly weapons that include (but are not limited to) guns and bazookas. Thankfully, every time the Black Manta enters a room and slays the junkies inhabiting it, he gains any of that lost energy back. Ninjas work in mysterious ways, but it's safe to say that the blood of junkies gives him strength. Too bad the law protects junkies as a welcome strain on our social system in real life.

As for intel, the Black Manta gets his own. He doesn't do it through a mole, and he sure as hell doesn't do it by any means of stealth. He does it by good 'ol fashioned intimidation. The Black Manta can sniff out a rat like fresh shit, so when he discovers one (they always wear red), he slow walks straight toward them (walking through gunfire and anything else dangerous), tracks them down, and gets them by the neck when he catches them. It's not entirely hard to understand why they give up, either; if some crazy motherfucker walks through gunfire and rockets to get to you, there ain't no way in hell you're getting away.

It would seem that not even death can stop the Black Manta (since the blood of junkies revives him), but even he carries the burden of death. Just because he does the Reaper's bidding doesn't mean he is exempt from death itsself. The Reaper, however, does acknowledge the Black Manta's purpose, simultaneously recognizing his potential to aid Hell in meeting its quota of souls. It could be for this reason that even when the Black Manta seems to have been killed, he flickers and rises from the ashes as if he had never fallen. It is at this point that the Black Manta knows it's game over for even the slightest of missteps.

Smile Now, Fry Later
But even with the human burden of death on his shoulder like everyone else, the Black Manta is more than capable of taking on cartels. The proof is in his game; he's went up against a motley crew (no, not the shitty butt-rock band) of junkies, ninjas, three-story tall bikers, voodoo pimps, robots, ninja totem poles, and militia guys. Sure, he may not have gotten through them without the help of the reaper granting him a raincheck on death, but still. He's bad, he gets the job done, and the proof is there. He may not have the most stylistic approach, and he may not conduct any of it in stealth, but he gets the job done, and that's the bottom line.

Jugular slashes to rival ninjas, "chinese stars" to the throat of militia guys and into the foreheads of junkies, and fireballs to airborne ninjas. Let's not forget how he deals with rats; after getting intel he needs, there isn't even a body left! Sure, it could have been some work of ninja magic, but who knows? Is it ninja magic? Yes, the Black Manta does ninjas magic, and he decides what ninja magic options to use before venturing out into each area. Though his unorthodox, non-stealth commando approach probably make him seem like a hack to other ninjas, he does know ninja magic, and he does wreck shit.

As if one of him wasn't already terrifying, the Black Manta can split into two and wreak even more havoc; snipers and airborne foes especially hate it. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. He can blaze fire straight at enemies, or flush them out of their hiding spots with seeker fireballs on the ground. For groups of enemies holed-up in tough spots, he summons rain of fire and lightning to go with it. Who needs stealth and all of that when you got magic this POWerful?

Ninjas X Football
Ninja magic takes incredible focus and POWer, so of course he can't use it all of the time. That's why he has that incredible raw strength to fall back on. Manta's a pretty solid dude, and most people mistake him for a linebacker (in a ninja suit). That could explain why he walks-off bullets and other dangers. What it doesn't explain is how he can cast spells while using a ninja carpet to fly. But that matters little, because cartels would stand no chance against a ninja built like a linebacker who can cast magic and use carpets for aerial assaults. Further, the Manta has destroyed robot gunner drones, so he could definitely handle any armaments the cartels are reported to have. He could probably blow up the average tank with a few magic fire shots. The manta is serious business (as demonstrated by his lack of tact or emotion when saving children).

He's battled pushers in the streets and underworld of New York, the skies and coastline of Japan, and jungles and factories in Brazil. With all of this experience fighting the war on drugs in the late 80s, he'd be a perfect candidate for the drug war that has spilled over the border in the present. With all of the guns and armaments cartels have, the present war on drugs could really use a virtually indestructible ninja who's built like a tank, as heavy as a tank, and moves like a tank. Alongside Mr. Smith from Code Name: Viper, these two are capable of resolution on both sides of the border. He also has experience saving children; an invaluable asset in saving the persecuted innocents victimized by drug trafficking.