The NES sound chip had no business going this hard. Ninja Gaiden's Definitive Soundtrack Vol. 2 collects the rest of those legendary compositions that pushed the 2A03 to its absolute limit. Chaosium Sword opens with that frantic pulse that makes your hands tense up just hearing it.
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Fire Cavern is relentless, the kind of track where every square wave feels like it's chasing you through the level. Then Irene & Ryu slows everything down into this tender little moment that the hardware really shouldn't be able to pull off.
The way the NES channels layer together on Shadow Diabolica though. If you've ever rage-quit a Ninja Gaiden game, this soundtrack is the reason you kept coming back.