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Ninja Gaiden is a fairly popular NES title that some people really like, and one I particularly enjoyed too, that is, up until a certain point. But the problem with the game isn't early on, it lies in world 6 and onward and that is only if you can make it there. Because come on, let's face it now, the 5th boss is just barely beatable. The main problem with the later stages is they have terrible enemy placement for starters and the levels contain far too many enemies in certain areas which makes advancing exceedingly difficult and needlessly frustrating for even the most seasoned veteran, let alone a novice or an average player. Anyone claiming to beat the game on just one single life or continue for that matter I would definitely call out and demand they do it in front of me because the chances of winning a lottery are probably better than accomplishing that.

This hack balances the difficulty in the game quite a bit, making it less frustrating and an almost enjoyable experience. However, your chances of dying at least a couple of times against the 5th boss are still pretty high and against the final boss a plethora of times is even higher. And thus my conclusion since no one really likes dying a plethora of times nor being forced to repeat things again and again, is to reduce the number of hits it takes to destroy the 5th and 6th bosses by approximately 20-25% and the end result will still be a challenging game as well as a more balanced game with less stress and aggravation that doesn't require any save states at all.

Ninja Gaiden is an amazing game and one of the NES's many classic titles. However, the infamous final boss bug (left in intentionally) pushes the difficulty over the edge into unfair territory. Thankfully, that bug has now been corrected with this hack, along with some translation fixes. I'm not a fan of one of the other changes, though. The powerups were adjusted downwards for a reason: it looks bad for them to be in front of the HUD. Reverting them back was a pointless change.

I can only recommend the Free Movement patch for those who want a very casual playthrough, as it somewhat neuters the challenge.

I HATE Ninja Gaiden on the NES! I was sooo disappointed that it wasn't a port of the arcade. I liked the cinematics, but that's about it.

This hack makes the game far more playable and worth a try, at least. Recommended!

I've always known Ninja Gaiden was a difficult game and I felt less inclined to try it out as a result. This hack makes a few improvements that make the game much more accessible. I really appreciate the meticulous work put into this hack.