"Ninja Gaiden originally debuted as a great two-player arcade beat-'em-up back in 1988. But the Nintendo Entertainment System version, which was released about a year later, was completely different--and was even better. It was a very challenging action game in which you'd fight your way through many diverse stages and tough bosses while playing as the vengeful young ninja Ryu Hayabusa. The game spawned a couple of solid sequels, and Ryu Hayabusa has since appeared in Tecmo's Dead or Alive series of fighting games."