Ninja Gaiden / Shadow Warriors

Ninja Gaiden Arcade Game

Ninja Gaiden was a scrolling arcade game released by Tecmo in 1988.  Other names for the game included Ninja Dragon Sword Legend and Shadow Warriors.  In this game, the player (or players) controlled a ninja who must defeat an evil cult controlled by a decedent of Nostradamus called Bladedamus.  The action takes place in US cities like New York City and Las Vegas.  There was an 8-way joystick and three buttons (grab, attack, jump) used to fight off cult members.  The ninja had five main fighting techniques that were accomplished by various joystick and button combinations, such as hanging from signs and kicking, or doing a backflip by running up a wall.

Ninja Gaiden Arcade Game Cabinet

Some of you may remember the end of the game (the continuation screen), which featured a crowd of cult members standing around helpless Ninja who was about to be cut about by a circular saw.  Ninja Gaiden was released on the NES just after the arcade release, but this version was much different than the arcade.  In later years, the game was released for the Xbox and as a virtual console game for the Wii.