Image via Complex Original
Intro
There are plenty of badasses in video games, but none are as badass as the ninja.
Whether fully clothed with the mouth covered and a sword on the back, or wearing full armor and a pauper’s hat, ninjas are the definition of “kill you seven times before you even hit the ground.”
Here’s a list of the ten greatest ninjas in video games. Best protect your neck, kid.
10. Shadow from Final Fantasy VI
10. Shadow from Final Fantasy VI
What’s cooler than a ninja? How about a ninja with a ninja dog? Shadow never goes anywhere without his faithful pooch companion, Interceptor, by his side. And Shadow’s so badass, he doesn’t even stay in your party that long if he doesn’t want to.
Shadow doesn’t care. He’s a ninja, dammit, and ninjas have their own code of ethics. As Edgar would say, he’d slit his own mama’s throat for some gwap. Yeah, Shadow’s the shiiiit.
9. Jago from Killer Instinct
9. Jago from Killer Instinct
Jago is ninja elite. He flies across the screen shouting, “Whoa yaaaa!” He has a laser sword (we guess), and he’s also the only character in KI2 who can summon spirit powers to go a third round where all the other characters can only go two.
He may not be the most original character on this list (he practically screams “Hadouken!” when he shoots a fireball), but he doesn’t have to be. He’s a ninja. And ninjas are awesome. Nuff said.
8. Yoshimitsu from the Tekken series
8. Yoshimitsu from the Tekken series
Yoshimitsu doesn’t look like your typical ninja. In fact, he looks like an alien. He even sounds like one sometimes, making some of those strange noises that he makes.
But behind the pauper hat he sometimes wears or the garish outfits, he’s a pure ninja, through and through. He brings a sword to an iron fist tournament, can teleport across the screen, and even stabs himself sometimes to get to you. If that’s not ninja, then we don’t know what is.
7. Guy from Final Fight
7. Guy from Final Fight
How legendary a ninja is Guy? So legendary, that Capcom felt obligated to release a second game for the SNES (Blockbuster only, though) called Final Fight Guy.
It was basically the same game as the first Final Fight but subtracting Cody and replacing him with Guy. That’s pretty legendary.
6. Scorpion from Mortal Kombat
6. Scorpion from Mortal Kombat
Yes, we’re aware that Sub-Zero’s the ninja who can pull your hair so hard that your spinal cord comes out, but is Sub-Zero from HELL like Scorpion? Nope. So, yep, Scorpion wins the ninja competition…Fatality.
5. Taki from the Soulcalibur series
5. Taki from the Soulcalibur series
The only female on this list is also probably the most incredible ninja on here. Why so, you ask? Well, have you SEEN her chest? Most women with a cup size that big would have back pains up the wazoo and would have to sleep on their side at night. But Taki takes it all in stride, moving around the stage of history like the most athletic girl on the volleyball court.
But don’t take her for a joke, because she’ll slit your throat in a heartbeat if you’re not careful, and you’ll lose. But don’t worry. Your soul will still burn.
4. Joe Musashi from the Shinobi series
4. Joe Musashi from the Shinobi series
Did you know that the word Shinobi actually MEANS ninja in Japan? That’s about as Ninja as you get. But even if Joe Musashi (with Musashi actually being the name of a famous SAMURAI in Japanese history rather than a ninja, but we’ll let that slide), he’d still be awesome.
Jumping, slashing, throwing Shurikens, and doing everything else a ninja does well, you feel like a real killer when you play as Shinobi. We love it.
3. Gray Fox from the Metal Gear series
3. Gray Fox from the Metal Gear series
Gray Fox is like Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe in a lot of ways. The less you know about him, the cooler he is. Unfortunately, because of the twisty MGS storyline, we know quite a bit about Gray Fox. Like, too much.
But that still doesn’t take away from his ninja like radness. When he flies through hallways and dispatches foes, it’s just…man, so awesome. Ninja, thy name be Gray Fox.
2. Ryu Hyabusa from the Ninja Gaiden series
2. Ryu Hyabusa from the Ninja Gaiden series
Sure, the Shinobi series is cool and all, but when it comes to badass ninjas, Ryu from the Ninja Gaiden series makes the higher cut. He has, arguably, the three hardest games in the NES library with his trilogy, and he takes it all in stride.
He also battles babes (and, er, Zach) in the Dead or Alive series, and still kicks ass on the modern day consoles. He’s a tough son of a bitch, Ryu is. We can’t get enough of the guy.
1 . Strider from the Strider series
1 . Strider from the Strider series
Strider is pretty much the perfect ninja. He has a badass sword, can cling onto walls, can communicate with robot animals, can…wait, what?
What puts Strider above all the other ninjas on this list is his usage of technology, which is something you don’t see often, if at all, with ninjas in video games. Some say that he’ll never leave Eurasia alive, but we all know he will. How could he not? He’s Strider!