Set in a retro-futuristic version of 1988, the story follows a ninja named Ryu Hayabusa as he journeys to America to avenge his murdered father.

There, he learns that a person named "the Jaquio" plans to take control of the world by unleashing an ancient demon through the power contained in two statues.

It received extensive coverage and won several awards from video gaming magazines, while criticism focused on its high difficulty, particularly in the later levels.

[4] Ryu is taken to an interrogation room, where he meets Foster, head of the Special Auxiliary Unit of the Central Intelligence Agency.

[8] Foster mentions they have been monitoring the activity of someone named Guardia de Mieux, also known as "the Jaquio", who recently moved into the temple where the body of the demon was confined.

Ninja Gaiden is a side-scrolling platform game in which the player takes control of the player-character, Ryu Hayabusa, and guides him through six "Acts" that comprise 20 levels.

Players can use this technique to get Ryu to climb up spaces between walls and columns by holding down the jump button and alternating between left and right on the directional pad.

[24] The game was released in Japan on December 9, 1988, under its final title Ninja Ryūkenden,[25][26] which roughly translates to Legend of the Dragon Sword.

[29] A further concern, according to Yoshizawa, was to appeal to the gameplay-oriented expectations of Ninja Gaiden's target audience, mainly represented by experienced players who appreciated challenging game design.

[31] Yoshizawa placed greater emphasis on the story, unlike the arcade version,[29] and wrote and designed a plot that included over 20 minutes of cinematic cutscenes—the first time an NES game contained such sequences.

[26] Yoshizawa stated that the adoption of this presentational style came from his earlier aspiration for a career in commercial filmmaking, which led him to seek an opportunity "to put in a movie somehow".

[31] His idea was to reverse the then-prevailing trend wherein the narrative aspects of contemporary NES games were undervalued by consumers with the inclusion of an interesting plot that could engage those players.

[21] This feature uses techniques such as close-ups, alternate camera angles, differing background music, and sound effects to make the game more enjoyable for players.

All symbols and objects were scrutinized by Nintendo of America, who had specific rules on what could be included for North American releases; for instance, any Satanic, Christian, or any other religious, sexual, or drug-related references were not allowed.

[26] According to an interview with developer Masato Kato, when deciding how to translate "Ryukenden" into English, the staff chose Ninja Gaiden "because it sounded cool".

[29] Upon Ninja Gaiden's North American release, Nintendo of America, whose play-testers liked the game and gave it high ratings, decided to help with its marketing.

Electronic Gaming Monthly reviewers compared it unfavorably to another updated NES remake, Mega Man: The Wily Wars for the Sega Genesis; they called the version "an exact port-over with no noticeable enhancements in graphics, sound and play control".

In July 1990 Scholastic Corporation published a novelization of Ninja Gaiden under the Worlds of Power series of NES game adaptations, created and packaged by Seth Godin under the pseudonym F. X.

[57] On the book's cover, otherwise a copy of the North American box art, the kunai held in Ryu's front hand was airbrushed out, leaving him prodding the air with an empty fist.

[58] In 2017, Brave Wave Productions released a vinyl box set, Ninja Gaiden- the Definitive Soundtrack, mastered by original composer Keiji Yamagishi.

"[75] Reflecting on his career as a game designer, Yoshizawa considered Ninja Gaiden–along with Klonoa: Door to Phantomile–his proudest accomplishment, explaining that the title enjoyed the best sales performance out of all of his projects.

[36] Mean Machines reviewed the game again (the NES version now officially titled Shadow Warriors in Europe) in its July 1991 issue.

The review praised the game for its attention to detail and challenge and noted players need to master certain gameplay skills to move on.

In 2004, Tecmo began releasing low-priced episodic installments of Ninja Gaiden for AT&T and Verizon mobile phones on both BREW and Java platforms.

The first installment, titled Ninja Gaiden Episode I: Destiny, was released on July 15, 2004; it included only the first Act from the NES version but added two new levels.

[86][88] In a preview of the port, GameSpot's Avery Score pointed to generally inferior American-made handsets as the reason for the sound's shortcomings.

[30] Upon its release on the Virtual Console, Ninja Gaiden was met with high praise, especially for its elaborate story, amount of narrative, and use of anime-like cinematic sequences.

[90][91] Contemporary reviews have considered the game "groundbreaking" for its pioneering use of stylized cutscenes, high quality music, and dark atmosphere.

[90] Nintendo World Report, in a review for the 3DS Virtual Console, acknowledged the game's high difficulty level and highlighted the "rhythm and cadence" to the movement of the player character.

The magazine listed its box art, which depicts a ninja with a burning city in the background, as one of its favorite designs in the NES library.