Ninja Gaiden Shadow

Ninja Gaiden Shadow is a standalone episode of the popular series for the Game Boy, distinct from the NES installments, in which the player controls a ninja fighting against an army of robots and monsters threatening the world. The game builds on fast platforming action with an emphasis on wall jumping, close-range sword attacks, and thrown weapons like shurikens, which are gradually unlocked over the course of the game and expand the player's tactical options in battles against varied opponents. The ability to bounce between opposing walls lets the player reach hard-to-access spots and escape encirclement.

The game's pace is fast, requiring precise reflexes and careful planning to make it through its individual, fairly compact levels, where traps and narrow platforms over chasms await the player. The short length of the individual levels is balanced by their density — enemies and obstacles appear in quick succession, so the game gives the player little time to catch their breath. The graphics on the monochrome display are legible and dynamic, with well-animated movements for both the main character and enemies, making it easier to react quickly to attacks. The soundtrack is fast and tense, underscoring well the action-oriented, slightly sci-fi atmosphere of the whole game and its robotic opponents. The overall visual style is darker and more industrial than in the NES entries, matched by the metallic, mechanical settings of the individual levels.

Contemporary reviews praised the game for the speed and precision of its controls, which placed it among the better action titles on the Game Boy of the time. From a genre perspective, it's interesting for not merely trying to simplify the NES source material, but instead offering its own compact take on ninja action adapted to the handheld's limitations. Today it's valued by series fans and collectors alike as one of the faster, more demanding platformers of the early Game Boy, one that still holds up years later and offers a challenge even to experienced genre players.

Why play it: Experienced players seeking a compact take on ninja action with a real challenge will appreciate the speed and precision of the controls, which place it among the better action titles of the early Game Boy.