I wanted to make a poll about Masters and Ninjas to see which one the general memberships here likes more. Over the years I've found a trend that they either love the Master and hate the Ninja or love the Ninja and hate the Master.
The Master~
May people love the Master because he is a powerhouse. Stronger than the knight, he does more damage dealing than anything else in the game. They also love the free space not equiping him gives the party in the NES version where space is limited.
Many people hate the master because he doesn't gain anything at class change. He gains no magic to learn or even any stat boost really. They also complain that his defense sucks because he can't equip anything, but keep in mind the glitch I found in the NES version that allows him to equip bracelets, ribbons, prorings or whatever without his stats dropping all the way down.
The Ninja~
May people like the Ninja because he gains magic at the class change. That in combination with his ability to equip pretty decent weapons and armor make him an all around solid character.
Many people don't like the Ninja because he doesn't add anything to the party that another character can't add better. If you want more black magic use a Black Mage. If you want more damage dealing use a Knight.
I personally can't stand the Ninja and will go with a Master every time. In comparison, the damage the Master gives out far outweighs what a Ninja can do. The damage taken is of little concern. I've never had much of a problem keeping my Masters alive, even on the playthrough where I used 4 Masters. The black magic a Ninja gains at class change is useless compared to the damage a Master can give out. I would much rather have a Master kill almost any monster in one hit than have to cast a *color*2 spell 2-3 times to kill something. It's simple damage control to concentrate on killing monsters individually instead of taking them all down equally.
What do you think?