FINAL ROUND SCORE:

Ninja Gaiden [9] - Zelda II: Adventure of Link [8]

Ninja Gaiden becomes the first ever repeat champion.  It only took 13 years!

Congrats!  Thanks for playing!  We love you!  Go to hell!  And all that stuff.

Until next year.

Long live Ryu Hayabusa!

I'll have to give it a celebration playthrough!
 

That's a great pic. Ryu is probably wondering why the sun turned into his angry looking face.

Only 13 years! If any game could do it, it'd be Ninja Gaiden!

Oh hey, my favorite NES game, the one that automatically gets my vote in every round, wins it.  Good.

The nigger  ninja always wins.

I've pored over the NP strategy guide for #2 since I was a kid, but never had my hands on a copy.... Obviously, I'm missing out. Now which to start with......

Start with the first.  Proceed to the 2nd and then work through the 3rd.  Seems crazy, but it just might work!

Oh, and in the first, don't die or get hit.  Best strategy.

Crudnuts.

Just now realized that I used the ending from 'Ninja Gaiden III' in that pic.

At least got the Ryu cutscene image from part 1 correct.

All three games end the same way so.... they're swapable

Psycho Gorilla at December 11, 2012 at 2:59 AM

Oh, and in the first, don't die or get hit.  Best strategy.

Reminds me that the best way to kick faster is to kick faster.

Ha ha.....

I was thinking that, much like Megaman, #2 is a good place to start.

No way!  Start with the first, because that way, you'll see where they made improvements, and find ways to say "well fuck, that sure would have been an impossible difficulty curve if they made that spot like the first one and sent me black all the way."

Polonius at December 11, 2012 at 10:32 PM

Ha ha.....

I was thinking that, much like Megaman, #2 is a good place to start.

If you care about the storyline and characters, it's best to take them in chronological order. 

In terms of difficulty, the 2nd is harder at first but has an easier endgame than 1.  The 3rd is the most consistently difficult.

If you can beat one Ninja Gaiden (preferably the original), you can (and should) beat them all.

Also play 'Shadow of the Ninja' on the side.

Oh, I didn't even know this was going on. But I, Craig L. Nintendo, am slightly apalled at this year's choice, based solely on level 6-2. Well, more than that, it's the fact that you're sent wayyyyyyyy back to what, level 5-1 if you die during any of the final battles? Not flying for me! It's that one major indiscretion that would make me pick Ninja Gaiden 2 over the first one every time. Oh hai gaiz.

About freakin' time you made it. Yeah, people ask me what my favorite NES game, and it's Ninja Gaiden II most times.

It's shame that Ashtar got kinda wasted so quickly by Ryu. He was so badazzzzzzzzzzz. Oh hai.