What’s more dangerous than a ninja sworn to protect his homeland? That same ninja, armed with ice swords, lightning bows, and his very own dragon! As the heroic Kuro in Ninja Must Die, slash skeletons and unleash screen-filling special attacks while racing through levels packed with deadly obstacles. When it’s time to face laser-spraying drones and other big bosses, you’ll need all your wits—and weapons—to survive.

What we love: The twitchy action! Enemy samurai stand in your way: Do you double jump? Slide past them? Blast shurikens out of the air with your bow or defy gravity by running alongside the bottom of a rope? Fantastically fluid animations and hand-drawn artwork depict every move in stunning detail.

Quick tip: When flying on your dragon, don’t dodge the swarms of ravenous ravens coming at you—smash right into them to rack up tons of points! The overgrown birds are no match for your scaly steed.

Meet the creator: It took the team at Hong Kong’s Pandada Games four months to produce Ninja Must Die’s two-minute cinematic intro, which shows a fierce fight between Kuro and his rival, Hayashiro. Over 1,400 hand-drawn drafts went into the spectacular animation.