Forgoing Ninja Gaiden 3's spectacularly naff entry into the series that put most of us on the back-foot as to how Team Ninja are treating their flagship character going forward, the first two 3D Ninja Gaiden games took the action hack n' slash template already used by Devil May Cry and made it its own. The series already had a reputation for being incredibly unforgiving in the first place, with a string of 2D sequels that in a similar vein to Mega Man thrust you straight into the game world and asked you get used to the controls of your own accord - battling a number of enemies that could easily run circles around you the whole time. Although Team Ninja made their initial mark with a first boss battle that challenged you to become pretty proficient with the game only half an hour or so in, later moments like an extremely long run without a checkpoint that led to a battle with a gigantic skeletal dinosaur stand out as the developers just asking for people to throw in the towel.
