Play Kage (Japan) Online

Kage (or The Legend of Kage, depending on where you played it) is one of those NES games that feels like it’s moving at double speed. You’re this tiny ninja leaping absurdly high between trees, slashing through enemy samurai like they’re made of paper, and chucking shuriken like there’s no tomorrow. The goal? Rescue the princess, obviously—because what else would a ninja be doing in 1985?

It’s not deep, but man, is it frantic. Arrows come flying out of nowhere, bosses take up half the screen, and you’ll die a lot. But there’s something weirdly satisfying about the rhythm of it—jump, slash, throw, repeat—even when you’re getting wrecked for the tenth time in a row. The colors pop, the music’s got that classic arcade urgency, and the whole thing feels like a time capsule of when games were just about reflexes and seeing how far you could get before the quarter ran out.

Fair warning: it’s tough as nails by modern standards. But if you’ve got a soft spot for games that don’t hold your hand and love that old-school “just one more try” itch, Kage delivers. Just don’t blame me when you realize you’ve been muttering curses at the screen for an hour.