[Richter Belmont]

You guys may already know about this, but it's worth mentioning for discussion.

I was reading about the various Ninja Gaiden games, and apparently, Ninja Gaiden Shadow wasn't really a Ninja Gaiden game at all. Natsume originally developed it as a Game Boy version of Shadow of the Ninja, and some screenshots are extant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_the_Ninja

http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/ninjagaiden/ninjagaiden3.htm

If you compare the gameplay of the two, it isn't a stretch at all to see this being the case. The graphics and sound obviously were obviously retooled, but certain aspects of the game (like the explosions and grappling hook) definitely have that "Natsume feel".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiip3N812Gk - Ninja Gaiden Shadow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqxlpSp9uOo - Shadow of the Ninja

I wonder if any prototypes of the original GB Shadow of the Ninja exist, or even just a beta version of Ninja Gaiden Shadow that might have leftovers...

[Tongueman]

Yup, I remember seeing the SotN GB preview in Nintendo Power, and then watching it turn into Ninja Gaiden Shadow.

[GDRI]

Where did I just see a scan of a preview of Shadow of the Ninja GB?