Super Shinobi II is one of those classic Genesis ninja action games that just feels right—tight controls, satisfying shuriken throws, and those crunchy 16-bit sound effects when you slice through enemies. The beta version has some rough edges (a few missing animations here, an occasional glitch there), but it’s wild to see how different some of the level layouts and enemy placements are compared to the final release.

You start off with basic ninja moves, but after a couple stages, you’re wall-jumping between bamboo forests and tossing kunai like there’s no tomorrow. The music’s got that classic Yuzo Koshiro energy too—synth beats that somehow make sneaking past patrols feel cooler than it should. If you’ve played the official version, this beta’s like finding a weird alternate universe where everything’s almost the same… but not quite.