Is Ninja Gaiden on Steam?

No. Ninja Gaiden is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.

What platforms is Ninja Gaiden on?

Ninja Gaiden is available on Atari Lynx, Arcade, NES.

When did Ninja Gaiden release?

Ninja Gaiden was first released on December 31, 1991.

Ninja Gaiden

Dec 31, 1991FightingHack and slash/Beat 'em upAtari LynxArcadeNES

Ninja Gaiden — frequently asked questions

Is Ninja Gaiden on Steam?: No. Ninja Gaiden is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
What platforms is Ninja Gaiden on?: Ninja Gaiden is available on Atari Lynx, Arcade, NES.
When did Ninja Gaiden release?: Ninja Gaiden was first released on December 31, 1991.

About Ninja Gaiden

In comparison to the better known console version, this game is a traditional beat'em up game similar to Double Dragon in which the player walks from left to right while battling numerous enemies. Only if all foes are dispatched of, the player can advance in the level. It's also possible to perform special attacks and use weapons. The latter are either collectable power-ups or environmental objects like phone boots. The player's ninja can attack his enemies using his bare hands and feet or using a sword (for a limited time). He can also perform moves such as a flying neck throw, a back flip and hang kicks, performed while hanging in scenario objects. Throwing enemies against objects such as phone cabins, oil drums or dumpsters will destroy them, revealing power ups such as health items and swords. At some points, Ryu will have to perform acrobatic moves to carry on. He has a life bar starting with five units. The game takes place in United States' locations such as Las Vegas, North Carolina, Los Angeles, the Grand Canyon and Brooklyn. The enemies in those stages are mostly of the same five kinds, including Jason Vorhees' look-alikes and other masked men. There is a boss fight at the end of each stage. A two-player co-operative game is also featured. Whenever the player dies, a continue screen will appear showing the player's ninja chained to a table while a circular saw descends upon him.

Summary via IGDB.

Ninja Gaiden on Wikipedia

Ninja Gaiden is an action game franchise created by Tecmo. The series was originally known as Ninja Ryukenden in Japan. The word "gaiden" means "side story" in Japanese. The original 1988 arcade game, first two Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games and the Game Boy game were released as Shadow Warriors in PAL regions. As of 2008, the series had shipped over 7.7 million copies worldwide.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Platforms: Atari Lynx, Arcade, NES
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Atari Corporation
Themes: Action
Series: Ninja Gaiden

Details via IGDB.

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed
Atari Lynx	1991	$38	$93	$144

Also released on: Arcade · NES. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Atari Lynx · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-08-07

Loose

$38

Complete

$93

Sealed

$144

Region: NA+EU
Released: 1991
Authenticity: Low

Never re-released — the original cartridge is the only way to playLow counterfeit risk

Atari Lynx prices, all games & how to spot a fake

BlueSky Software's take on the arcade beat-em-up, not the NES trilogy — and one of the widest box premiums on the platform.

The 1991 Lynx Ninja Gaiden follows the arcade brawler rather than the famously punishing NES action-platformer, which trips up buyers expecting the latter. Judged as what it is, it is a solid port with more colour and animation than the handheld competition could manage at the time.

Its complete-in-box price is well over double loose — the packaging premium that defines Lynx collecting. Its 1993 successor, Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom, is a different and more faithful proposition and is also worth real money.

What the press said at the time

“An excellent conversion of an excellent game. The scrolling is very smooth. One of the best Lynx games produced. Ninja Gaiden on the Lynx is probably the best version of the original arcade game.”
— Electronic Gaming Monthly #24

Cartridge & preservation record

Cartridge ROM capacity 2 megabit (256 KB), measured from the preserved cartridge image.

Catalogue part number PA2039

Cartridge data from the No-Intro preservation database (metadata only — names, sizes and checksums, no game data).

How the Atari Lynx version differs

EGM #24 called it 'one of the best Lynx games produced' and 'probably the best version of the original arcade game'.

Also on other platforms

Arcade · NES

Arcade. The Lynx cartridge converts Tecmo's 1988 ARCADE Ninja Gaiden, not the far better-known NES game of the same name. EGM #10 spelled out the difference at the time: the coin-op 'differs from the blockbuster Nintendo original in many ways, including the types of enemies which must be fought, the kinds of techniques that can be performed (such as running up walls and jumping backwards and swinging from posts) and, above all, the quality and detail of the background and character graphics.'
NES. The NES Ninja Gaiden is a different game from the arcade original the Lynx version is based on — a common point of confusion when buying either.

Worth knowing

Five levels, two players, and a password save. EGM's feature box lists "1 or 2 players, superior graphics, password for continued action" — a two-player mode and a password system that modern descriptions of the cartridge omit. The plot has Ryu clearing an evil crime syndicate out of New York across five levels.

Before you buy

Low counterfeit risk on the cartridge; the risk is a common cart married to a reprinted box. Check the manual interior and any inserts, and be sure which Ninja Gaiden you are buying — the Lynx has two, priced differently.