Ninjas are one of the coolest types of characters you can find in media next to the cowboy and the pirate. Whether it's movies or anime we never seem to get tired of watching the shrouded assassins bound across rooftops in the dead of night. In video games, they are typically found (or not found) among the stealth drama, as is their specialty. However, some of the most impactful ninja games aren't even centered around stealth.
For example, the arcade action game Shinobi from 1987 was the likeliest progenitor of the video game ninja we know and love today. It's thanks to this game that we have a wide variety of titles to choose from when we want to step into the tabi of the cloaked assassins. Here we will take a look back at some of the best platformers, RPGs, and even first-person shooters that have appeared in ninja history.
10 N++
N, also referred to as N: Way of the Ninja, is an elegant platformer game from the days of website flash games. After it was deemed a hit, the game managed to break out onto consoles with its sequels, N+ and N++.
This gem of a series is quite simple: Wall-run and wall-jump your way to the finish while avoiding spikes, lasers, and falling to your own death, and collect gold along the way. The relatively simple premise was well executed enough to warrant recognition many flash games could only dream of obtaining.
9 Shadow Warrior 2
Back in the days of MS-DOS games, Shadow Warrior was released long after games like Doom and Wolfenstein had already made their big splash. While well received, it was a bit of a forgotten gem, until it was rebooted in 2013. Back with contemporary features and modern graphics, Shadow Warrior (2013) brought the game back to life and into the hands of players who would appreciate the FPS ninja action.
The protagonist, Lo Wang, is a much less serious protagonist known for his constant wise-cracking and machine-gun-toting antics. It stands much closer to a tongue-in-cheek parody of the typical story you would expect from a ninja game. The sequel to the reboot, Shadow Warrior 2, hosts many appreciated improvements to the gameplay and would make for a good place to jump into the series. However, just like the original, a sense of humor is definitely required as it all can understandably come off as insensitive.
8 Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
In the earlier days of consoles, there are two big names that shaped the landscape of ninjas in video games for quite some time. The most stealthy of the pair is most definitely Tenchu. Much of what you would expect in terms of stealth action in ninja-related video games was likely inspired by Tenchu.
After the first game in 1998, they entered a hay-day in the 2000s where the developers, Acquire and K2 LLC, managed to release seven games with two others being developed by Polygon and From Software. Sadly, all of them remain on consoles and no further additions have been made to the series. Fortunately, far in the future, From Software would look back on the legacy of Tenchu in their development of a certain big-budget ninja-themed game.
7 Ninja Gaiden 2
The second and much, much less quiet ninja series would be Ninja Gaiden. Tecmo, and later Team Ninja, found similar success in the 90s on vintage consoles with a revamp of its identity in the 2000s.
Ninja Gaiden (2004) marked the start of the identity we all remember the series for. Tenchu focused on stealth, assassination, and slower, more grounded combat. Ninja Gaiden, however, was very much a hack-and-slash known for its awesome (and gruesome) combat and cinematic cutscenes. The fluid running, jumping, and comboing featured in these games made them all surefire hits on gameplay alone.
6 Aragami 2
You could consider Aragami somewhat of a successor to what we loved about Tenchu, but these cel-shaded games stand out on their own for being all that and more. Any fans of those games will feel quite at home in Aragami and especially with the major improvements Aragami 2 brought along.
Your character stealthily creeps through the black of the night, assassinating enemies left and right, a practice we all already love. What really shines about Aragami are all the different techniques available to you that make things even more exciting to play. The graphics and gameplay are all much improved in the sequel and best of all is the addition of co-op, letting you enjoy all this with a friend.
5 Warframe
If you have ever wanted to play a ninja MMORPG, then there is a chance you may have heard of Warframe. Ninjas Play Free is right in the tagline, meaning the developers already have you in mind and aim to make this game an enjoyable experience. You'll spend much of your time flipping through the air and bouncing off the walls in this exhilarating third-person action game set in space.
Somewhat un-ninja-like, every "Warframe" is essentially the result of bioengineering with its own unique powers that vary the gameplay wildly. While this means that most of them wouldn't pass as ninjas in the traditional sense, the rather unique concept of ninjas in space is still more than enough to enthrall its player base.
4 Ghostrunner
If you love ninjas, cyberpunk, and parkour, Ghostrunner could easily be the perfect game for you. It trades having a content-packed story for a shorter, much more gameplay-focused experience that is sure to leave you wanting more.
All will be forgiven once you get your hands on it, however. There is nothing quite like running through the neon lights, bouncing off the walls, and deflecting sprays of bullets all before dashing towards your foes and bisecting your foes with one quick slash of your katana. If any of that sounds like a dream to you, then you're likely to be replaying Ghostrunner until you're fully satisfied.
3 Nioh 2
Nioh is an action RPG influenced by our favorite setting of Sengoku-era Japan. It hits similar beats as the Souls games, letting it fall into the category of "Soulslike" despite it sharing developers with the Ninja Gaiden franchise. The end result is something combining a bit of both.
What sets Nioh apart from those games is definitely the skill tree feature, which let you specialize in more than just attributes and weapons for your build. There's not only ninjutsu to meet your ninja expectations, but samurai skills as well as esoteric onmyoji magic as well. The new gameplay additions, the story, and all the amazing monster designs set Nioh 2 ahead of its predecessor though and you would be missing out if you skipped the first game.
2 Mark Of The Ninja
It's likely that at least some of your childhood was spent watching cartoons on Saturday mornings. If this is the case, you will be extra pleased once you see the art and animation of Mark of the Ninja. The whole game is definitely inspired by those very same cartoons, and you could go as far as to say much of the gameplay and story could be attributed to them as well.
In this game, you play as a ninja in the modern day, stealthily leaping from rooftop to rooftop in order to uncover the secrets of both your clan and the titular mark that you bare. While other options are of course available, the main draw of the game is its amazing stealth gameplay. This, combined with the fantastically atmospheric backgrounds truly harkens back to the times that may well have gotten you to appreciate the ninja theme, to begin with.
1 Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
One of From Software's more recent additions to their "Souls-like" games, Sekiro likely turned out to be a dream come true for many fans of ninjas. It boasts a very traditional look and feel to it while at the same time going all out on the fantasy elements and lore the studio is known for delivering.
The gameplay is of course no joke either. There are a variety of tools and items that will allow you to creatively solve problems and dispatch enemies. The bosses in this game will require a bit more tact and timing than in a Souls game as the main combat loop revolves around lowering your enemy's poise in order to deliver a decisive blow. This opens up the way for very exciting and dynamic boss battles that rely heavily on the player's skill rather than knowledge of game mechanics.