Revenge of the Shinobi is one of those Genesis games that just feels like a ninja movie—fast, brutal, and a little unfair at times. You start off slashing through waves of enemies with your sword, tossing shurikens like they’re going out of style, and then suddenly you’re dodging missiles from a helicopter. Yeah, it gets wild.

The controls are tight, but don’t expect any hand-holding. One wrong jump and you’re falling into a pit, and those boss fights? They’ll wreck you until you memorize their patterns. The music slaps though—Yuzo Koshiro’s soundtrack is pure late-80s synth ninja vibes.

It’s not the most polished Shinobi game (later ones fixed some of the jank), but there’s something raw about it. You can tell it was made when devs were still figuring out what a 16-bit action game could be. If you’re into retro challenges, this one’s a must-play.