The Ninja Kids

The Ninja Kids is a 2D belt-scrolling brawler developed and released by Taito for arcades (running Taito F2 System hardware) in 1990.

Designed as Taito’s answer to Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, players take control of one of four puppet ninja kids (Hanzo, Sasuke, Akane, and Genta) as they fight the forces of a satanic cult (including random punks, grotesque monsters, and rival ninjas) in a modern-day city. Each ninja has their own unique weapons (each granting them a special ability, such as Hanzo’s dash attack and Genta’s ground pound).

Like TMNT, the game came in two multiplayer variants: Two Player (where each player picks their character) and Four Player (where the character chosen is based on the player position). Unlike TMNT, the arcade operator can change between these variants at any time using dipswitches.

Source: TheGamesDB