Tema: Tora he no Michi
This game is crazy. When it comes to Capcom arcade platformers I've mostly put time into Strider, Willow, Magic Sword and Daimakaimura, but after putting more time into it I must say Tora he no Michi practically blows them all away.
The level design is amazing, literally every single new piece of each stage throws something completely new at you, and the actual scene progression and visuals are top notch and constantly keep things interesting. The amount of variety is practically the same as Strider, but Tora he no Michi goes a lot longer than 10 minutes.
Also the 'training' stages along with stuff such as the conversations with the mid bosses and bosses gives the game a feeling of being an 'action rpg', which I think helps it even more so in being as interesting and fun as it is.
The fact this came before most of the other well known Capcom platformers is crazy, and yet people don't seem to talk about this one all that much, which is strange.
I see you have a review of it Recap, so what do you think? The visuals might not be anywhere near the technical level of Willow, but the art design is still amazing and all the other elements of the games design, most importantly the stage layout and progression, are just incredible.