Hey, this is pretty good! I feel like every button in this game lends itself to a unique, viable playstyle. Throwing shuriken towards the top of the screen is cozy if you're at home with ascending SHMUPs. Throwing in all eight directions gives a lot of flexibility in hitting angles. Disappearing leans into a more defensive playstyle and strikes a good balance for how frequently you can use it while still leaving yourself vulnerable. The ratio of button use the player adopts informs their playstyle, but I feel like there are a lot of viable ways to tackle this game.

I also really respect the level variety at play here. You have your standard levels, but then you have experimental stuff like the horse run, the river ride, and the wall ascents. Every level's short enough that the gimmicks never overstay their welcome, and turnover between play styles is always engaging.

Good Idea: referencing SEGA Ninja in your bestseller novel, based around the dual trivia of this being one of Rieko Kodama's first games and the gender-swapped protagonist between releases. Bad Idea: having a dorky play-by-play recap of SEGA Ninja in your bestseller novel capped with an incel turning into the final boss.

Ninja Princess is the best 80's run-and-gun game. I’m just going to say it. Obviously my heart lies with next year’s Kiki Kaikai for eventually spawning some of my favorite games of all time, but Ninja Princess is so chock-full of unique ideas that I still have not seen developed on to this day. The key to its excellence is the game’s weapon of choice both for its hero and its enemies: the kunai. This isn’t any old shoot-em-up where the player and the enemies are shooting all sorts of different projectiles at each other; everyone’s got the exact same equipment. What this means is that Ninja Princess can go insanely hard on making this weapon as deep and versatile as possible. The most important feature of the kunai is that two will cancel each other out when colliding, which makes it both an offensive and defensive tactic for both sides to use at any time – well, “any time.” The game’s scoring system is founded on the number of shots fired versus the number of shots landed, meaning it’s always in the player’s best interest to only throw a kunai when it’s certain to hit. This means players who choose to play more defensively will live longer but maintain a lower score, and the more aggressive player will have to be more strategic with their throws – not just in terms of lining up their shots with constantly moving enemies, but also watching their behaviors to predict when an enemy’s kunai might come out as a deflection. All this, on top of the absolutely genius decision to have bosses chase the player backwards through the stage rather than just sitting at the end of it makes for one of the most uniquely engaging overhead shooters ever made. Too many people are sleeping on this one. An early masterpiece of the genre.