In this first episode of Retro Game Master, our hero, Shinya Arino, faces off against grueling Nintendo Entertainment System game Ninja Gaiden.


Released in Japan in 1988 on the Famicom to coincide with the release of an arcade game by the same name, Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden featured 20 levels spread over six acts and a final act that required beating three bosses without dying. It looks brutal, but Arino makes me want to go out and buy an NES just to give it a try again.

This classic hour-long episode comes from season four of the show, originally known as Game Center CX. This first official U.S. airing of the show uses dubbing for the announcer's voice and subtitling for Arino's.


Retro Game Master airs weekly on Kotaku at 8 p.m. eastern on Thursdays. The show and Kotaku reruns will remain on the site for viewing at your leisure throughout the season. Licensing prevents the show from being seen outside of North America.

Don't forget to expand the video above to watch it full screen.

Update: North American viewers in Canada and Mexico, the geotagging issue that prevented you from viewing it before has (hopefully!) been resolved. Sorry for the inconvenience, neighbors to the north and south. The rest of you, consider this an "encore presentation."