This is a fairly popular game about a Ninja who must avenge his father's death. It's plot that has been beaten into the ground an infinite number of times, but in Ninja Gaiden's defense, I think this was the first game with a "I must avenge my parent('s)/sibling('s) death" plot. In addition, Ninja Gaiden has a "cinema scene" before every level, adding to the story and making the player feel more involved.
The bottom line: beautiful movie-like cinema scenes don't quite make up for this game's mediocre gameplay and frustrating difficulty. USAgent's personal scoring meter:
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Now for the not-so-good parts. As a game, Ninja Gaiden is an average
side-scroller at best. Graphics are up to par (except for the cinema scenes,
which have excellent graphics and animation). Control is easy enough, but
can be frustrating at times. Ryu doesn't seem to be as manueverable as, let's
say, Mega Man. At times, the enemies on screen can be overwhelming, especially
in the later levels. This game does what I call "respawning." Once you beat
an enemy, if you walk in the opposite direction and scroll the screen over
then walk back to where you were, the enemy will have reappeared, or "respawned."
This is VERY frustrating and one of the main reasons I dislike this game.
And with levels so difficult, I can't see how Tecmo could have thought that
the average gamer has a chance at beating the bosses at the end of the
level.
