A handful of projects got swiped from my drive (probably by a ninja). When I went to retrieve my backups, I almost forgot about this one. I am glad I didn't because Shadow of the Ninja is awesome. Consider this the first of The Lost NES Megamixes, and also the top of my wishlist of classic NES games that should be made available on Nintendo Switch Online.

Shadow of the Ninja is enticing thanks to the variety of enemies and environments. There are a handful of different weapons that mix up the gameplay and the controls are silky smooth. Much better than Ninja Gaiden, so much so that the Game Boy version went on to became an official prequel. I really tried to avoid pissing on Ninja Gaiden, but it's hard to contain myself after revisiting this forgotten gem, especially when engaging the levels with a second player.

Even as a single player endeavor, Shadow of the NInja stands tall among the best. It's not incredibly difficult, maybe a little too easy for hardcore players, but I'm sure they can find replay value in avoiding any damage or speedrunning through the game's 5 levels. It's a great title that still feels good to play and can be experienced with a friend (or enemy). And thankfully it's still available for download on the 3DS and Wii U shop. Hoping to see some Natsume games on the Switch.

While researching this game I must confess some ignorance-- I had to google "Did Ninjas Really Happen?" This was actually a follow-up to an internal question I had earlier which was "Why the hell did the UK forbid the use of ninjas in children's media?" I guess it's because they are sort of like terrorists or something. Start a dialogue in the comment section.