In The Great Games column we look back at titles that have defined video games over the years and earned a special place in the history of the medium.

Sixteen years passed between the original Ninja Gaiden’s release on the NES in 1988 and the franchise relaunch on the Xbox in 2004. In those 16 years a lot of things changed in gaming, including the passage of three console generations and the arrival of 3D graphics as the norm. The one thing that did not change is Ninja Gaiden’s name standing for hardcore action.

Younger gamers may not be able to fully appreciate the way the gaming market used to work. Games arrived with little or no fanfare and were seemingly dumped onto the market. Yes, there were advertisements in magazines, but hardly the full media blitzes gamers are so used to today for even the most modest of releases. Amidst all this, a little game called Ninja Gaiden found a market. It probably didn’t hurt that it was very loosely based off a semi-popular arcade game (best remembered today for its Jason Voorhees look-a-like villains).

So, if the arcade version is mostly forgotten, why do people care about the NES version? Because the NES version was an entirely different game. While the opening levels resembled one another, from there they took very different paths. The NES game was a story intensive adventure at a time when such things didn’t really exist in console gaming. The between level cinemas are now legendary, and for better or worse, were contributors to modern gaming’s obsession with stories told through movie-like cutaways. Additionally, the music was catchy and is one of those scores that many gamers can still hum at the mere mention of it.

However, what really set Ninja Gaiden apart was its action. The game presented quite a fluid hero for players to control. Ryu could flip, grab a hold of walls and kick off those falls to catch back a hold at a higher point. This allowed for wall climbing to areas you maybe weren’t intentionally meant to go, much in the same way many players used Metroid’s bomb bounce. The bosses were huge for their time and relentlessly difficult. Memorizing patterns would help, but players had to be super quick on the controls if they hoped to survive even the early level boss encounters. It was hardcore before the word was applied to gaming.

Many gamers now know the modern incarnation of Ninja Gaiden far better than the classic, but it is the classic that laid the groundwork for the franchise today. Ninja Gaiden may not often get the respect of other NES series such as Mario and Zelda, but in its own way it has been just as influential to gaming ever since. Newcomers may question what the big deal with the title is, but no one who remembers discovering for themselves will ever question its legacy.

Related posts:

1. The history of the ninja in video games
2. Image of the day: ink and paint Ninja Gaiden
3. Video of the day: Ninja Gaiden anime remake
4. The Great Games: Super Smash Bros.
5. The Great Games: Final Fantasy VI

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