Conceivably the smoothest and most responsive action platformer on the NES. It's a game that requires precision from the get-go, which makes the first 4 or 5 levels function almost like a rhythm game. The most satisfying way I found to play was to die a lot while memorizing the level and then, once the level was solidly etched into my cerebellum, simply hold down the forward button and enter a fugue state as I rapidly input a cadenced set of jumps and slashes.

For most of the game, this works pretty well. It's a game much more about the hands than the head, which will never be ideal for me. But the slick platforming, paired with some hilariously over-the-top cutscenes, makes for an entertaining mixture.

Then comes the last level.

Level six of Ninja Gaiden has to be one of the cheapest and most demoralizing game sequences on this side of Battletoads. The level of precision required elevates to a whole new level (you basically have to be frame-perfect in several areas). The enhanced difficulty exacerbates some of the NES-era BS (i.e. enemies who respawn the instant their former position goes off screen) that was easier to swallow in the more forgiving early levels. Save states have largely obviated this last issue, but it's hard to overstate how demoralizing it is die on the (extremely tough) final boss and then discover that the last three checkpoints were effectively meaningless. It's not even a darkly amusing troll like the end of Ghosts n' Goblins; it's just sadism, pure and simple. And that's a shitty note to end on.