Ninja Gaiden Shadow and Operation C are some tasty candy bars, a Milky Way and Twix respectively. This is a time in game design history where developers are fine with letting players win, to a point. That means these two are generous with lives and continues, attacks and waves are usually telegraphed, and the whole experience is much easier to sight read. I particularly liked the look of Ninja Gaiden Shadow.
When you cut up bosses, there’s a great freeze frame.
I didn’t take many screenshots of Operation C because it’s not as pretty. I thought the game was a little boring and maybe too easy. That is, except for the final stretch with the obligatory Trial of the Elevator and Boss You Just Have to Memorize After Dying.
My favorite part of the game was after I beat the boss. I had to walk down a hallway. There were lethal electric barriers that strobed on a timer. They were easy to get past, but I can imagine being a child, defeating the boss, and losing my last life to one of these. At the end of the hallway, I encountered a big tank with some evil lifeform in it. There weren’t any defenses so I just stood there and shot it for ten seconds and that was it. Good ending.