Maybe I'm a tad bit partial to this game, but in short...I grew up on it. I have been playing this game since I was about 7...But I did not own it, I was only able to play it when I was at my cousin's house (frequently). After Genesis stopped being such a big thing, Shinobi was lost to me forever...or so I thought. I missed my NES and Genesis experiences, so over the course of a few months I re-purchased as many of my old systems and games as I could find. I actually was able to get the original copy of Shinobi that my cousin owned, he had had it in storage. When I went back to this game, after playing Xbox, PS2, Gamecube, and all others imaginable, I was amazed at the graphics. For the game's age, the sound and graphics are top notch. The Shinobi story line remains much the same, with greater gameplay than previous releases. The action is smooth, and there is a very small learning curve. I have played this game so much I can pretty much beat the entire thing in 30 minutes, without dying or using a ninjitsu...And the amazing part is, I still like playing it! 5 starts and hats off to sega for an amazing game!