Play Blue Shadow (Europe) Online

Game Overview

Blue Shadow (or Shadow of the Ninja, depending on where you live) is one of those NES games that somehow slipped past a lot of people—which is a shame, because it’s basically Ninja Gaiden’s cooler, slightly unhinged sibling. You pick between two ninjas, Hayate or Kaede, and then immediately start slicing through waves of enemies in this grimy futuristic city. The controls are stupidly responsive—your shurikens fly exactly where you want them, and that grappling hook? Pure chaos, especially in co-op.

The soundtrack alone is worth firing this up—all synths and urgency, like someone fused a cyberpunk movie with an 80s workout tape. And the bosses? Huge, screen-dominating monsters that make you scramble for the right rhythm between dodging and attacking. Play it solo for a solid challenge, but grab a friend and it turns into this ridiculous dance of accidental grapples and last-second saves. Just try not to yank each other into pits—trust me, it happens more than you’d think.

It’s got that late-NES era polish where everything feels intentional, from the way your sword connects to how the levels ramp up the tension. If you missed this one back in the day, it’s a hell of a time to fix that.