In 2004, Everyone wanted to be Ryu Hayabusa.

More Difficult than Dark Souls, or Elden Ring. More complex than Devil May Cry and Bayonetta.
A marriage of fighting game combos to Action-ninja title, with a plethora of an arsenal.

Your enemies are ruthless, unforgiving, downright unfair - but an expert will over come.
This game really holds up after all these years. Its still brutally difficult... but can you really say you're "good" At video games if you can't beat Ninja Gaiden?

No. No You can't.

Having had all versions of this game basically : Original Xbox version (why all the cinematics look like crap), PS3 Sigma (was the best way to play in HD), and also on current series X in Ninja Gaiden Black (which is also an excellent implementation with great graphic resolution enhancements), I feel this version is the smoothest version I have ever played. It is really nice with hardware capable of maxing it out.

For folks who have played it as much as I have it is somewhat of an axiom I guess hat this is one of the greatest games ever. Story wise and mechanics wise. This is without a doubt. Very similar to Chrono Trigger or Super Metroid in that regard for its technical precision, art direction, minimalist story which is awesome, etc.

I really wish they would take Ninja Gaiden 1 and strip it down to its bare essentials of the mechanics - the "dragon bones" of the game itself; and then re-skin it with the best graphics you've ever seen. The mechanics need nothing. The story and aesthetic need nothing. The music needs nothing. But the graphics could really benefit from a next generation implementation.