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

Dusk an Elysian tale. 

Oh, It's called Dust an Elysian tail.

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. 

Go to Xbox store. Look up Guardian Heroes. All all-time classic game. One of Treasure's best games. Side-scrolling ARPG beat em up with several different characters to choose from. Perform combos. Choose your own adventure no 2 playthroughs are the same.

I really enjoyed Salt & Sanctury - it's the only 2D Soulslike I've played so far that managed to hook me.

OP, I'ma ask.... are you for real, or is this just a bit? 

Side-scrolling combat is what I grew up with, it's all I knew back then and it was good. I enjoyed Prince of persia, Castlevania, MegaMan, Robocop/Terminator side scrollers, Simpsons Arcade, Metroid, Contra, Chakan: the forever man, etc.

I still love that genre to this day, because it'll never age (it's about as timeless as Pong/Columns).

It's so surreal that OP is just a bit younger than me and he doesn't know any of the classic 2D combat games. I swear there's such a huge divide between millennials born in the 80's and millennials born in the 90's.

I do, Double Dragons 2 was one of the first video games I played as a kid. It seems so simple now, I mean, you got that spin combo and that's about it besides punch punch kick. 

I was for real, Some people have offered some good alternatives to the games I've been trying, just seem like I go a clump of stinkers in a row with no depth to them at all.