Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (Nintendo, 1990)

I'll come right out and say it, I'll take the original Ninja Gaiden 8 bit games over the remakes on the Xbox, 360 and PS3 any day. Playing in 3D is just too disorienting and you don't know what direction you are going. This is a simple problem solved by playing Ninja Gaiden or in this case Ninja Gaiden 2: The Dark Sword of Chaos for the NES. Both games are great but Ninja Gaiden 2 shares the same basic flaw: Enemies re-spawn way too easily, way too often and some environmental effects will knock your butt over cliff edges and into spikes and flames and crap that will kill you instantly. Yes, this game actually features environmental effects. You have wind, you have a stage that goes from being dark to light when there's a lightning flash. Difficulty aside though, the game is excellent. It is very challenging but it may frustrate you to the point of insanity. Still, it is a very enjoyable experience and a necessity if you are any kind of retro gamer.