Rounding out the NES Ninja Gaiden trilogy is The Ancient Ship of Doom, the best game in the series according to me, a guy who bought and platinumed Balan Wonderworld and should not be trusted by anyone when it comes to a critical analysis of video games.

Ninja Gaiden III feels like a course correction from the preceding game. Level gimmicks are toned down and layouts are more thoughtfully designed, enemies still pose a decent challenge without being overwhelming, and generally it feels as if some hitboxes have been tightened up and the controls are more responsive. Even dipping your toes into this game should make it readily apparent that it benefits from two games worth of experience.

The difficulty has been muted significantly as well, making Ancient Ship the most accessible of the three games. Some people will find this detrimental to the experience, possibly even an affront to the series' reputation, but I think the difficulty balancing results in a game that feels much smoother to play and helps it maintain its pace. By no means is it a purely brainless affair, though. It's just the right amount of challenging without being suffocatingly hard.

The story remains completely bonkers, though it's a bit less interesting to me than the previous two. The stakes are less consequential and as such it doesn't feel like a very satisfying end to the overall narrative of the NES series. This is partially due to the fact that it takes place between the first and the second game, and telling the middle part of your story at the end just doesn't really work.

The Ancient Ship of Doom is a great game. The best in the series, some would say! Yeah it might not be as revered as the first game, maybe not even as much as the second, but I like it. I like video games.