Ninja Gaiden is a side-scrolling platforming video game. It was developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES); its development and release coincided with the beat 'em up arcade version of the same name. It was released in December 1988)</span> in Japan, in March 1989 in North America, and in September 1991)</span> in Europe. It was ported to the PC Engine in Japan in 1992, to the Super NES as part of the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy compilation. The story follows a ninja named Ryu Hayabusa as he journeys to America to avenge his murdered father. There, he learns that a person named "the Jaquio" plans to take control of the world by unleashing an ancient demon through the power contained in two statues. Featuring platforming gameplay similar to Castlevania and the NES version of Batman, players control Ryu through six "Acts" that comprise 20 levels; they encounter enemies that must be dispatched with Ryu's katana and other secondary weapons. Ninja Gaiden has been renowned for its elaborate story and usage of anime-like cinematic cutscenes. It received extensive coverage and won several awards from video gaming magazines, while criticism focused on its high and unforgiving difficulty, particularly in the later levels. It has been described as one of the best arcade-style games, and the best ninja-related game, released for the NES.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1009:

Under orders from Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church now within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, was destroyed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

1081:

Byzantine–Norman Wars: The Normans under Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and Calabria, defeated the Byzantines outside the city of Dyrrhachium, the Byzantine capital of Illyria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Dyrrhachium_%281081%29

1356:

The most significant earthquake to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history destroyed Basel, Switzerland, and caused much destruction in a vast region extending into France and Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1356_Basel_earthquake

1851:

Moby-Dick, a novel by American writer Herman Melville , was first published as The Whale. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick

1968:

At the Summer Olympics in Mexico City, American Bob Beamon set a world record of 8.90 m in the long jump, a mark that stood for 23 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Beamon

2007:

A suicide attack on a motorcade carrying former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto in Karachi resulted in at least 139 deaths and 450 injuries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Karachi_bombing

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

fractal (n): 1. A geometric figure that repeats itself under several levels of magnification, and that shows self-similarity on all scales. 2. A geometric figure that appears irregular at all scales of length http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fractal

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Don't laugh at a youth for his affectations; he is only trying on one face after another to find his own. --Logan Pearsall Smith http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Logan_Pearsall_Smith