Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos

There are games that don't spare you, and then there's Ninja Gaiden II. The sequel to the famously demanding action platformer from Tecmo cranked things up in practically every respect and remains to this day among the titles players boast about having finished at all.

You return in the role of the ninja Ryu Hayabusa and fight your way through a series of fast, brutal levels full of enemies, chasms, and precisely timed jumps. The second installment added several clever novelties: the ability to climb walls, thanks to which the verticality of the levels became far more interesting, and above all the shadow clone system, where up to two spirit copies follow you, attacking alongside you and significantly increasing firepower. These clones are cleverly tied to your health level, so you must manage them sensibly.

The impressive cinematic cutscenes for which the series became famous, and which turned eight-bit action into almost an interactive film, also make a return. Atmospheric environmental elements were added, such as gusts of wind and snow, which affect movement and further escalate the difficulty. Each boss fight is a separate test of nerves, and each new section forces you to learn the enemy layout almost by heart.

The game was developed and published by Tecmo in 1990. The Ninja Gaiden series built up a dual reputation on the NES: it was admired for its cinematic presentation and at the same time notorious for its merciless difficulty, especially due to enemy respawns, knockback after being hit, and harsh checkpoints that could throw you back quite far in the later levels. The second installment sharpened this identity even further and became a textbook example of hardcore action.

Culturally, the series helped establish the character of Ryu Hayabusa, who later became an icon and star of the modern, three-dimensional reboot of the Ninja Gaiden brand by Team Ninja studio, which proudly carried on the reputation for brutal difficulty. The cinematic storytelling between levels was moreover among the most ambitious that the eight-bit console offered in terms of narrative, and it inspired a whole range of later action games.

Among genre connoisseurs there is consensus that the second installment is the peak of the NES trilogy, perfectly balancing insane pace, precise controls, and gripping atmosphere. For players seeking a real challenge and wanting to test their reflexes and patience, Ninja Gaiden II remains the gold standard of merciless but fair eight-bit action, to which enthusiasts still return today.

Why play it: For the peak of the eight-bit action trilogy with cinematic storytelling, a shadow clone system, and a difficulty whose conquest is a badge of honor in itself.