Sega Ninja (1986)

Ninja Princess opens with a short cutscene of the princess Kurumi getting carried away in a palanquin - her castle Kanten has been seized by the traitor Zaemon Gyokuro, who obviously wants to get rid of her. But she escapes, transforms into a kunoichi and sets out to regain her home. Even though it's basically all about running around killing people with knives, Ninja Princess clearly wants to be a girly game. Everything is bright and colorful with cartoon-like proportions, and when Kurumi gets hit by an enemy, she just sits on the floor and starts crying. It's hard to resent the game its stereotyping, though, cause it's just cute as a button - no surprise here, after all the graphics were designed by Flicky artist Yoshiki Kawasaki and Reiko Kodama of Phantasy Star fame.

• Release Date: January 1, 1986