GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FRUSTRATION FUN FACTOR OVERALL

NES 1 Player Action A lot of people know and love Ninja Gaiden and there's no reason not to. In the Heyday of the NES ninja games were all the rage. This game proved to be the most popular of the ninja games, even spawning two sequels. In the game you play as ninja Ryu Hayabusa. You're trying to find the two Demon statues and separate them so there isn't mass destruction on Earth. You are also trying to find out the cause of your fathers death and avenge him. Graphics: This game is really a site for sore eyes. They're very smooth and detailed. The backgrounds in this game are some of the best for the NES. They are sort of interactive backgrounds because you can jump and cling on to various things and slash down various things for powerups. The cinema scenes are also very amazing. They feature fantastic graphics that are magnificently portrayed. The cinema scenes have close up pictures which are very detailed and smooth. Sound: Fantastic music. It has an awesome beat, and one of the level tunes is bound to get to get stuck in your head. It got its own soundtrack in Japan, THATS how good it is. You'll seriously want to play the game sometimes just to hear the music. The sound effects are average ninja game material, the sword slash, the whooshing jump, etc. Gameplay: This game was pretty revolutionary. It was one of the first games to use cinema cut scenes between each level to tell the story. It really builds up the tension and many games have used this method since Ninja Gaiden, but haven't pulled it off quite as well. I really like all the amazing bosses in this game, too. They all have patterns that you have to figure out and use to your advantage. You can also get ninja abilities such as throwing stars and the famous Art of the Fire Wheel. The cut scenes are a big plus and are reason enough to check out this game. The control in this game is pretty good. Everything responds well and isn't to hard to figure out. But what is really annoying is when you jump from one ledge to another instead of just getting hit and flying through the guy, Ryu will fly back usually killing you. It'll really get on your nerves in the later levels. Replay: This game is really good and will have you coming back for more. The frustration is high, due to the problem in control, and also to the fact that if you die in stage 6 it automatically sends you back to stage 6-1, no matter what part in stage 6 your at. Due to the challenge, Ninja Gaiden will probably have you playing it non-stop, which is sort of a good thing. There's no telling how many controllers you'll smash. ......BOTTOM LINE: Overall this game is a classic and definitely worth buying if you don't already own it. Some people say the second one is better, but in my opinion this one reigns supreme. -lynx561