This is the best action series on the NES hands down. The awesome gameplay, the incredible art style, the awesome cutscenes, and most importantly, that fucking music:
Itagaki once said he included the NES Ninja Gaiden games in the Xbox Ninja Gaiden so everyone could see how bad they were in comparison. He failed. The NES Ninja Gaiden games hold up magnificently. I love the Itagaki Ninja Gaiden, it's probably my favorite 3D action game of all time. But I like the NES Ninja Gaiden games way, way more. They've already tried -- and failed -- to reproduce the 3D Ninja Gaiden game twice. Abandon that model, and go back to the glorious Anime-inspired original.