Side scrolling melee combat sucks! What is a good example?

[LegitHyperbole]

Leynos said:

Cerebralbore101 said:

Ninja Gaiden started on the NES. It's a system defining game like Mario 3 and MegaMan 2. 

Dusk an Elysian tale. 

Ninja Gaiden started in Arcades (wasn't great) but had one of the most brutal (for the era) death scene. NES game is different. Also a Master System. Game Gear and a couple other versions of the era but yes NES was best.

God dammit, I thought this series started with Ninja Gaiden black on the 360. I never seen 2d Ninja Gaiden in my life before.