Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is an incredible revival for a venerable series. Pitch-perfect controls, fantastic encounter design, and a tough-but-fair challenge elevate this well beyond a sea of other retro action games. If there's any room for complaint, it's that I simply want more - more levels, and more reasons to come back to them.

Ragebound puts you behind the cowl of Kenji Mozu, a young student of legendary series protagonist and all-around badass Ryu Hayabusa. When Ryu is called away to America (to go do Ninja Gaiden) on the NES,

Ninja Gaiden Ragebound is a 2D side-scrolling action game that pays tribute to the original NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy. While the retro graphics are appealing, the gameplay lacks meaningful depth. It feels like a concept-first project where ninjas were added after the fact, with the Ninja Gaiden name slapped on to sell it.