When I hear the word “ninja”, two things immediately come to mind- smoke bombs and the 80’s. Yep, those were the years when every kid wanted to be a master of ninjitsu after viewing a movie, TV show, or anime involving a man (or woman) dressed in dark colors and wielding a sword and throwing stars. Meanwhile, video game developers where also busy cooking up games of the same subject matter in the arcades.
Tecmo was one of those developers, and in 1988, they released a brawler of sorts called Ninja Gaiden. A year later, they ported the game over to the NES, but took care to change the style of gameplay for the better. They replaced the “beat ‘em up” theme with a simple “slice ‘n dice” approach and had the players concentrate their efforts on timed jumps and using some pretty nifty ninja skills.

Ninja Gaiden is best known for its fun mechanics and steep difficulty that presents itself fairly early in the game. Your primary weapon of choice is your sword which you use to quickly slash through your foes. Most enemies will go down with one hit, but some of them can be hard to reach if they are firing projectiles at you, so some of your attacks will take some specific timing. Taking a cue from Castlevania, Ryu can collect special icons that allow him to use his ninjitsu skills by slashing certain stationary objects, like small lamps, bugs, or other objects within a level. These ninjitsu skills include using the Windmill Throwing Star, Jump-N-Slash, Invincible Fire Wheel and a few other abilities that can prove to be very useful when used correctly.

While these extra abilities provide some ease in dealing with the hordes of enemies, it still doesn’t diminish the challenge of this game one bit! This is due in part to the fact that when you take a hit, you’ll get knocked a few inches in the opposite direction. Most enemies are strategically placed so that they will present a problem for you when you’re trying to jump to the next ledge, especially the commandos and birds of prey that constantly swarm around you. For me, there’s nothing more frustrating than landing on the edge of a platform, only to get knocked off into a chasm. That being said, the good news is that every enemy has a specific pattern of movement. Once you catch on to what it is, you’ll have an easier time getting through each level. Also, you have unlimited continues, so even if you keep losing your lives, it’s not a total setback.

Graphically speaking, everything looks pretty darn good! There are a few levels that are less detailed than others, but it’s nothing that will make you turn the game off and pop in “Rocky & Bullwinkle” instead. There’s also the occasional flickering that mostly shows up when bosses are defeated and explode, but that was pretty much on par for most of the NES games of that time anyway. For the most part though, the graphics are bright and beautiful. However, the most impressive part of the graphics is the cut-scenes that are shown as you progress through each level, or “Act”. Each scene adds depth and a sense of real purpose to Ryu’s cause. Also, you’ll get a few plot twists along the way. It can truly be said that Tecmo pioneered a form of story-telling that was otherwise uncommon in that particular era of console gaming.

Play or Stay? It was pretty rare for a game to be better on an 8-bit system than it was in the arcades, but Ninja Gaiden turned out to be an exception to that notion. And thanks to its success, Tecmo went on to produce two sequels to make a trilogy of the series on the NES. While it can be frustrating at times, Ninja Gaiden still rewards the player with a good story and a true feeling of accomplishment once the game has been completed. I highly recommend this game to the NES player that’s looking for a challenge that doesn’t let up once you get past Act II. You’ll be in for a quite a ride.