Kamen no Ninja Hanamaru

Capcom's 1990 Famicom action-platformer is based on NHK's tokusatsu children's television series of the same name. Young ninja Hanamaru sets out to recover the Iga treasure jewel and rescue Princess Aya, battling demons through castle towns, mountain passes, and hellish ravines. His basic attack is shuriken throwing; collecting scrolls lets him cycle between fire-, wind-, and thunder-based ninjutsu, and he can briefly transform into a ninja dog for extra firepower. A branching world map lets players pick their route, and boss encounters faithfully recreate the show's monster designs. Moderate difficulty and vivid colors made it a strong representative of Japan's domestic licensed games of the era.