With Ninja Gaiden Ragebound coming out later this month, we're spending July looking back at the critical impact the franchise had in the early days. Last week, we dug through the Nintendo Entertainment System trilogy, so now it's time to look at a few of the lesser known Ninja Gaiden games, including the Lynx port of the arcade brawler, the exclusive Game Gear release, the Game Boy game spin-off made by the people who gave you Shadow of the Ninja and the hidden Sega Master System gem that everybody has forgotten about. That's a lot of Ninja Gaiden, but are any of these games actually worth playing? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, ACE, Computer & Video Games and more classic magazines that reviewed these games back when they first came out. So grab your throwing stars, because we're digging into the portable entries in this episode of Ninja Gaiden Review Crew!


For many gamers, their first exposure to the Ninja Gaiden franchise was through the 1988 arcade game. This was a side-scrolling beat ‘em up in the spirit of games like Double Dragon and Final Fight, only with a ninja hero who was surprisingly nimble. It also had one of the most gruesome Game Over screens of all time, something that helped to set it apart from the other brawlers in the arcade. While that version of Ninja Gaiden never made its way to the Nintendo Entertainment System, it did eventually land on the Atari Lynx in 1991. Although corners were cut to fit it on the handheld, this is a more-or-less faithful translation of the 1988 beat ‘em up. Lynx owners were excited to have another high-profile game on their fledgling system, but what did the critics say?

If you watched the first episode of Ninja Gaiden Review Crew, then you already know that Electronic Gaming Monthly liked both Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3 on the Nintendo Entertainment System. As it turns out, they also liked Ninja Gaiden on the Lynx, with Steve calling it “an excellent conversion of an excellent game. Ninja Gaiden hits the mark on all counts. There are lots of good moves and the scrolling is very smooth. Like Warbirds, this shows what the Lynx is capable of, even with its small screen. One of the best Lynx games produced.” Sushi-X agreed: “Nice job, dudes! The Ninja Gaiden coin-op never looked better. Maybe a little. Anyway, this is still a marvelous job done bringing home one of the most popular action games of all time. How they got it all into a little Lynx card is beyond me. Keep ‘em coming.” EGM gave Ninja Gaiden an average score of 8 out of 10.

That score is right in line with the 4 out of 5 we saw GamePro give the game in their 25th issue. For what it's worth, the lowest score comes to us from ACE, but seeing as they employ a ridiculous one-thousand-point scale, it's also the highest score. Giving Ninja Gaiden a score of 715, they concluded that “Oh, it's a beat ‘em up all right, but – surprise, surprise – it takes place in an urban setting. The catsuit-clad hero must negotiate these mean streets, taking out the homicidal maniacs who besiege him from every direction, with the ultimate aim of finding and slaying a fellow Ninja possessed by a demon. In the game's favor, the ninja has some novel moves and his disposal, extra weapons and power-ups can be found inside the wreckage of smashed telephone booths and packing crates, and the bizarre bunch of foes range from masked thugs to log-wielding fatmen. But despite that, there's nothing here to shake you from the ennui-induced lethargy of seeing yet another Ninja game.”

Moving back up the scale, we saw that GameZone more-or-less agreed with the consensus, giving this arcade port a solid 83%. The highest score actually comes from Computer & Video Games, which ended up giving Ninja Gaiden a fantastic score of 89%. “For the Lynx's first beat ‘em up, Ninja Gaiden is little short of superb, and really addictive, too. An excellent title, and one which any self-respecting Lynx owner should race out and shell out for at once.”

And you know what? I agree. While it's true that I prefer the NES games over the arcade original, there's no denying that this is a great port and one of the early standout games for the Lynx. With an overall average of 81%, pretty much everybody agreed that this was yet another winner under Ryu Hayabusa's black belt.

1991 was a big year for Ryu Hayabusa. This was the year that not only brought us Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, Ninja Gaiden Shadow on the Game Boy and the Lynx version of the arcade brawler, but Sega fans also got a taste of Ninja Gaiden with a completely different Game Gear game. Although visually similar to the side-scrolling NES trilogy, this is a whole new game, complete with a different story and a bunch of new cinema scenes. It's actually a slick package that has been mostly overshadowed by the more popular NES games. Let's see if what the critics said.

Published in the very same issue that saw a review of The Ancient Ship of Doom, Electronic Gaming Monthly wasn't as excited about Ninja Gaiden on the Game Gear. Giving it an average score of 6.75 out o f 10, this was seen as Ryu's one misadventure. Steve complained that “this game has an awkward look and style that reminds me more of Strider than Ninja Gaiden. That point aside, Ninja Gaiden for the Game Gear is a nice addition to the portables growing list of action carts, but it still comes up short on gameplay and, in some areas, graphics.” Martin liked the game a bit more, but agreed with the comparison: “This cart is just Strider with a stronger license, namely the mega popular NES hit. What's the matter, Sega, don't you have any faith in your own titles? Good graphics and gameplay make this one of the better Game Gear carts. The game is too easy and a password was not needed.”

While EGM's score was not the lowest, it might as well be, as GamePro gave the action game a so-so 3 out of 5. Moving up the scale, we see Sega Force give the game a 71% in their first issue, which is the same score Sega Pro gave the title in their 3rd issue. GameZone, on the other hand, went three ticks higher, giving the game a 74%. “The key word really is ‘ninja' rather than ‘gaiden'. This is an attractive, if fairly standard, horizontally-scrolling ninja beat ‘em up. This means that it's all fairly standard ninja fair, but none too bad for all that. Action is smooth and colorful, as are the backdrops. The main sprite animation is okay with the ninja able to execute the usual range of whirls, twirls and wall scaling for which the hooded ones are famous. Reasonable though it is, the Game Gear's Ninja Gaiden isn't a patch on the Lynx game of the same name. Good, but not special.”

As we continue our trek up through the higher scores, we see ACE once again employ their ridiculous one-thousand-point scale, giving Ninja Gaiden an easy to understand 800. That's right, just 800, on the dot. That's interesting, but the highest score actually comes from Sega Power, which gave the game an 81%. They praised the great graphics, good soundtrack, clever game design and short length, though also complained that it's too short. Go figure. “A great hack ‘em up that just manages to survive on the Game Gear's limited display. Solid frantic action that will keep you hooked, but probably not for very long ‘cos you'll have finished it by them. If you liked GG Shinobi, then you'll love this one.”

While not quite on the same level as the NES trilogy (or even the Lynx game), the reviews paint this Game Gear title as a good but flawed action game that is more like Strider than Ninja Gaiden. With an overall average of 72%, many critics gave this Sega-published entry a tepid recommendation.

While it may have the Ninja Gaiden name and may even star Ryu Hayabusa, make no mistakes about it, this Game Boy spin-off started its life as a portable version of Shadow of the Ninja. You can certainly see that in the name, Ninja Gaiden Shadow, as well as the level designs and even the gameplay, which takes a lot of its cues from the 1990 Natsume game. And there's good reason for that, because this Ninja Gaiden spin-off was actually developed by the same team that made Shadow of the Ninja, making this a fun hybrid, no matter which ninja franchise you are a fan of. But what did the critics say all those years ago? Did they mind that this wasn't a proper Ninja Gaiden sequel?

Of all the magazines that reviewed Ninja Gaiden Shadow, only Video Games & Computer Entertainment brought up the connection to Shadow of the Ninja. I like the way they handled it in their review: “Ryu Hayabusa's first appearance on the Game Boy is called Ninja Gaiden Shadow because it was created by Natsume as a portable version of its NES hit, Shadow of the Ninja. A little tweaking, a new introductory sequence and a title change were all it took to convert Natsume's efforts into Tecmo's latest martial arts masterpiece. Aside from the missing intermissions, you won't hear any complaints from me. In some ways, Shadow of the Ninja could be considered a better game than the original Ninja Gaiden.” They concluded that “detailed graphics, realistic animation, a throbbing musical score, nasty boss characters and satisfying gameplay have been the hallmarks of the Ninja Gaiden series to date, and Ninja Gaiden Shadow has no problem meeting any of those criteria.” Video Games & Computer Entertainment gave the game an 8 out of 10.

For what it's worth, not every magazine was as won over by the palate swapping. For example, you saw Nintendo Power give the game a 3.7 out of 5. GamePro went even lower, giving the game a surprising scoring of 3 out of5, arguing that “video ninja masters will note that although Ninja Gaiden Shadow closely resembles the NES games, it doesn't live up to the standard in length or challenge. However, the crisp, authentic graphics and that old black ninja magic make this a good cart for ninja wannabes and a nice afternoon's diversion for hardcore Ryu fans.”

Naysayers aside, most of the critics loved Ninja Gaiden Shadow. You saw ACE ditch their usual (and ridiculous) one-thousand-point scale to give this Game Boy game a 4 out of 5. Computer & Video Games off-shoot, GO!, liked it even more, giving it a high score of 90%. Paul Rand was nearly out of breath when he reviewed it in the magazine's eighth issue: “Phew! Ninja Gaiden Shadow is a furious frenzy from start to finish! You'll go glassy-eyed over the graphics, slaver over the sound and pop a cork over the playability! A brilliant beat ‘em up worthy of anyone's time and money.”

While I prefer both the NES versions of Ninja Gaiden and Shadow of the Ninja over this hybrid version, I would still argue that this Game Boy game is worth playing. It's one of the better action games on the handheld. With an overall average of 76%, Ninja Gaiden Shadow rates higher than the Game Gear game, yet lower than the Lynx port. Not a bad place to be.

If you're one of those people who loved the Ninja Gaiden trilogy on the Nintendo Entertainment System and always wanted another installment, then let me introduce you to Ninja Gaiden on the Sega Master System. While it doesn't continue the story of the NES trilogy, it comes close enough and gives Ryu Hayabusa another amazing side-scrolling adventure to conquer. Not only was this game released exclusively on the Master System in 1992, but it was never released in the United States, so there's a real good chance that you've never played this hidden gem. Let's take a trip across the pond and see what the critics said about the Master System version of Ninja Gaiden.

When it comes to the reviews, almost everybody was on the same page, giving Ninja Gaiden scores in the 80% to 90% range. I say “almost,” because there was one big outlier – Sega Power. They went all the way down to a 53%, so I figure that we might as well get that review out of the way and then focus on the rest of the bunch. Sega Power praised the eight long levels, the variety of weapons and, for some reason, the lack of moves, yet complained about the graphics, the empty space in each level and that parts are both too easy and too hard. “Looking for an excellent fighting/platform game? Well, keep looking. This game doesn't cut the mustard. The sprites are too small, the gameplay's lacking and it's dead tough.”

As I mentioned a moment ago, Sega Power was the outlier when it came to Ninja Gaiden. In fact, the next lowest score comes to us from Mean Machines, and it's a full 30 points higher. Giving it an 83%, Rob argued that “Decent platform games have been a bit scarce on the Master System recently. Ninja Gaiden more than makes up for the relapse. It boasts excellent graphics, full of color, with a detailed attention to backdrops. I was also impressed by the animation which, like Prince of Persia, manages to fulfill its potential. While Ninja Gaiden doesn't have much in the way of new ideas, it does prove very successful with the old ones, and it's this fact that makes it a game well worth a look.”

Moving up the scale, we see GameZone champion the game with an 86%, while Sega Master Force went all the way up to a 90%. That's the same score we saw from the similarly-named Sega Force: “Wade through the multitude of opening screens on this one and you find a real belter of a platform romp. The scenario's uninspiring, but that doesn't matter when the gameplay is so smooth. Who cares about sacred scrolls? Just get out there and start dishing out death. Ninja Gaiden's great to look at, the music and in-game effects are nicely atmospheric, and above all, the controls work a treat. Jump up to a branch or across the ravines and Ryu holds on and sticks where you want him to without any fuss. If you're a ninja freak, you've gotta get hold of this one quick; even if you're not, Ninja Gaiden's got a whole lot to offer. Grab it now!”

Maybe it's because it came out a little later and was stuck on the Sega Master System, but I'm surprised more people haven't discovered the greatness of this version of Ninja Gaiden. It tells its own story, with new levels and an adventure that I would put above Ninja Gaiden III on the NES. And with an overall average of 80%, the critics agree. This is a good Ninja Gaiden game.