Ninja Gaiden

Description

Ninja Gaiden is an arcade game released in 1988 in North America by Tecmo. This game is known in Japan as Ninja Ryukenden and in Europe as Shadow Warriors.
In North America, it saw domestic releases on the Atari Lynx and PC (DOS based) as Ninja Gaiden. In Europe, it was released for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga and ZX Spectrum as Shadow Warriors.

The arcade version of Ninja Gaiden is closer to the beat 'em up genre, similar in style to Double Dragon. The game stars a nameless ninja (who is widely assumed by fans to be Ryu Hayabusa) on a quest to defeat an evil cult led by a (fictional) descendant of Nostradamus. Upon starting the game, the player is greeted by the phrase "NINJA IN USA". The game can be played alone or cooperatively with a second player (who plays as a red-clad ninja).
In this game, the player's character must trek across the United States to fight several enemies along the way. The player must also use ninja tactics to get through some areas. For example, in some levels, the player must perform acrobatic stunts to get from one area to another via overhanging lights or poles. Also, from time to time, the player must perform a Tightrope Walk across poles, which requires the use of the button on top of the joystick.
This game is mostly remembered for two specific reasons. One reason is the absurd difficulty, as several enemies can be on screen at the same time, making it difficult to move. The game also throws players back to certain "check-points" in a level when they die; forcing them, in some instances, to fight through immensely difficult scenarios again.
The other reason is its morbid and gruesome continue screen, where the main character is tied to a table while a buzzsaw is being lowered towards him. If the player does not continue within the time limit, the screen freezes and turns bright red before flesh-to-blade contact can be made, the character cries in agony, and the words "GAME OVER" appears followed by dramatic music.