Lost Classics: Shadow of the Ninja (NES)

What if the old-school NES Ninja Gaiden games were two players? Well, they would have played a lot like Natsume’s NES game Shadow of the Ninja. Taking control of either Hayate or Kaede (or both in 2 player mode), your goal is to stop an evil emperor named Garuda, who has taken over New York City in the year 2029 A.D. You’ll travel through 5 stages, each broken into several different subsections. The two ninjas have minor gameplay differences, and they can collect powerups and weapons. Although they can’t climb on walls like in Ninja Gaiden, they can hang on railings. While it may not have been anything players haven’t seen before, Shadow of the Ninja was an excellent game, and you could enjoy it with a friend too. Hopefully Natsum will try to get this game on Virtual Console, as fans of Ninja Gaiden will enjoy it.

Fun Fact: Speaking of Ninja Gaiden, the Game Boy entry of the series, Ninja Gaiden Shadow, was originally intended to be a Game Boy release of this game. Tecmo bought the rights to it from Natsume, and re-christened it into a Ninja Gaiden game, hence the game having a similar plot and gameplay to Shadow of the Ninja, along with some continuity questions.