Ninja Five-0 is one of those GBA gems that somehow flew under the radar—probably because the name and box art make it look like a bargain bin knockoff. But trust me, it's way better than it has any right to be.

You're basically a ninja cop (yes, really) swinging around with a grappling hook like some kind of feudal-era Spider-Man. The movement feels tight, and chaining together wall jumps, rope swings, and sword slashes never gets old. At first I thought the grappling would feel gimmicky, but it's surprisingly smooth—lets you pull off some ridiculous mid-air reversals when you get the timing down.

Levels throw everything at you: hostages to rescue, enemies popping out of nowhere, and these annoying drone things that I still haven't figured out how to dodge gracefully. It's got that perfect mix of "tough but fair" where deaths feel like your fault, not the game's. If you liked the precision of Shinobi or the swing mechanics in Bionic Commando, this is basically their weird, over-the-top lovechild. Just don't judge it by that ridiculous title.