Happy Day of the Ninja! After a week of incredibly lousy polling, thanks to my own lack of planning, the list was knocked down to eight finalists. While the poll itself has yet to finish, we can make some early projections.

Tied for Sixth - Bang Shishigami, Sheik, and Raiden


Bang made a good showing for a character that was only introduced this year. Sheik made good on her Zelda background and appearances in Smash Bros. And Raiden proved that his reinvention in Metal Gear Solid 4 and own upcoming spinoff have helped cleared up the mistakes of the past.

Fifth Place - Ayane


While the Ninja Gaiden lead Ryu Hayabusa was unable to make it out of the 3d Action bracket (maybe next year), his co-star from his recent adventures and the Dead or Alive series was able to win it out in the 3d Fighter bracket. Raw power and sex appeal can get you rather far after all...

Fourth Place - Goemon


Konami's long-time rendition of the legendary thief still wins out with light-hearted charm and nostalgia for his classic adventures. While only a handful of the games he stars in have been released outside of Japan, he still gets plenty of fans.

Third Place - Shadow


From the grand classic of 2d RPGs, the mysterious mercenary ninja of Final Fantasy VI made his lasting impact out of a massive cast of memorable characters. The least we can do is wait for him for just a bit longer...

Second Place - Strider Hiryu


Capcom's covert ninja of the future still remains popular. After taking on giant soviet robots, globe-spanning conspiracies, and the Marvel Universe, Strider has earned his place.

The Winner of the 2009 Day of the Ninja - Gaming's Greatest Ninja:
Gray Fox


The overwhelming clear winner, Frank Yeager left a huge impact as the original cyborg ninja of the Metal Gear series. While his appearances in the first two Metal Gear titles did not give him much in the way of ninja qualities, his return in Metal Gear Solid as an unstoppable cyborg, consumed by his desire for rest, forever made him one of the most memorable supporting characters in gaming history. He well deserves this honor.

Next year I'll start earlier. Perhaps do a SaiMoe style runoff. Until then...