Extremely underrated entry in the Shinobi franchise. Less Revenge of-style action in favor of slower, more cautious play, figuring out when to move in and attack or send your dog in to grab the enemy first. Very fun pacing when you get into the rhythm of it. I'm not a huge fan of the one-hit deaths, but the stages are generally fair and well designed enough to not need to totally commit them to memory. Only a few late-game slip-ups (in particular, the final boss is awful) feel a little too extreme.

Also, the soundtrack is incredible.