50) Ninja Assault

The best thing I can say about Ninja Assault is that it successfully takes the spirit of Ninja Gaiden and condenses it into 2% of an NES cart. The spirit of Ninja Gaiden, with its painfully recoiling ninjas, deadly birds and mercilessly regenerating enemies, happens to be the worst part of the game while the game is allowed to populate 100% of an NES cart. Think of this game as a ninja-laden version of Slashers with a little more freedom of movement than doesn't take place on a huge fricking rooftop. In other words, imagine Slashers if it was about 8% better. Horrible, but it won't test the limits of your idea of bad gaming beyond the limits of comprehension like others found in this collection will. The game doesn't even stand out in an Action 52 sort of way, and I have no idea why there's a Ninja on the cover other than that delusional ninja fad from people were just about really to snap out when this game hit the rental shelves. I like to think Ninja Assault's portrayal single-handedly made ninjas uncool, but more sensible signs point elsewhere for their downfall. Plus, if an Action 52 game did in fact kill the ninja, it would justify the existence of this mildly dangerous collection, and it would be difficult to rip on it with the reckless abandon that everybody who claims to have played it does.