Ninja Gaiden
忍者龍剣伝
- Year
- 1988
- Developer
- Tecmo
- Publisher
- Tecmo
- Platform
- FC / NES
- Hardware
- Family Computer (8-bit)
- Genre
- Action Platformer
- Players
- 1 player
- Controls
- D-pad + A (jump) / B (attack), hold up/down to change attack angle
- Series
- Ninja Gaiden series
Gameplay Screenshots
About This Game
Ninja Gaiden is famous for two things: some of the tightest action-platforming on the Famicom, and the cutscenes that told a genuine story between stages — a rarity in 1988 and one of the reasons the game is still cited as a landmark. Ryu Hayabusa hunts his father's killer across America, fighting ninja clans and demons in cinematic interstitial scenes.
The moveset is small but expressive: wall-climbing, wall-jumping, a sword swing that can be aimed up or down, and ninpo magic (shuriken, windmill shuriken, fire wheels, invincibility) powered by collected spirit energy. Its reputation for difficulty comes mainly from the final act, where a single death sends you back to the start of the last sequence of stages rather than a checkpoint.
- Cinematic story cutscenes between stages
- Wall-climbing and wall-jumping traversal
- Four ninpo magic attacks powered by spirit energy
- Legendary difficulty spike in the final stage sequence
Version History
- Famicom (Japan)1988-12-09
Tecmo's original release, the version on this page.
- NES (North America)1989-03
US release; the cutscenes were kept intact.
Tips & Strategy
Aim your sword up and down
Holding up or down while attacking changes the sword's angle. Enemies that hover above or crawl below are easy kills if you attack vertically instead of trying to line up horizontally on their level.
Keep the windmill shuriken
The windmill shuriken pierces and returns, clearing the respawning enemies that make sections feel impossible. It is worth playing a screen carefully just to hold onto it rather than spending it on one boss.
Respect the Act 6 checkpoint rule
The endgame's three bosses must be beaten in one go, and dying to the last of them sends you back to the start of that sequence. That is why endgame practice is about the boss patterns rather than the stages: learn them in a save state first, then run them for real.
Climb the wall, do not fight on it
Wall-climbing lets you bypass several enemy placements entirely. In vertical sections, climb past the fight instead of engaging — the score is not worth the risk of losing the ascent.
Download Resources
Resource packs for this game are provided through the button below.
⬇ Coming soon