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Shinobi Life Online. 2,832 likes 2 talking about this. Shinobi Life Online (SLO) is a 3D MMORPG project with the goal of simulating life as a shinobi.

Shinobi is a 3Daction-adventurevideo game developed by Overworks and published by Sega as part of the Shinobi series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 console on November 10, 2002 in North America; December 5 in Japan; and May 15, 2003 in Europe. The game stars the ninja Hotsuma, who wields Akujiki, a sword that feeds on souls. He can also use ninja magic, shurikens, and special moves. Upon finding a golden castle after an earthquake, Hotsuma makes it his goal to defeat the sorcerer Hiruko.

Shinobi was originally planned for the Dreamcast, but due to the discontinuation of the console, the game was moved to the PS2. The game was designed to place emphasis on the action elements of action-adventure gameplay and appeal to the action market. Other gameplay elements resulted from a desire to mix old and new elements. Upon release, Shinobi was generally well received by critics. A comic book adaptation, soundtrack album, and sequel entitled Nightshade were also released.

• 2Plot
• 4Related media

Gameplay[edit]

Shinobi is a 3Daction-adventure game^[1] viewed from a third-person perspective.^[2] The player guides protagonist Hotsuma through eight levels that each consist of two sections and a boss battle. Gameplay consists of quickly moving through levels and killing enemies. The game does not feature checkpoints, but allows the player to continue from the start of a boss battle if they die.^[3]

Combat is hack and slash-based,^[4] involving large numbers of recurring enemies.^[2] Hotsuma's sword, Akujiki, is his primary weapon. Akujiki feeds on souls, initially devouring those of the enemies he kills, then that of Hotsuma himself if he does not kill any enemies for too long. This leads to an emphasis on killing all enemies in a battle as quickly as possible. To ensure that Akujiki's hunger remains sated, Hotsuma can kill four or more enemies with no more than a few seconds between each kill to perform an exaggeratedly violent 'TATE' attack that will release more souls for Akujiki. The mechanic of jumping from enemies after dispatching them adds an element of platform gameplay.^[5]

Hotsuma can also use shurikens to briefly paralyze his enemies. Three types of ninja magic are available to him: 'Ka'en', an area-based fire attack; 'Kamaitachi', a ranged shock wave attack; and 'Raijin', which grants him invincibility for a short period of time.^[6]

Plot[edit]

Backstory[edit]

Raised together within the Oboro Clan, Hotsuma and Moritsune were seldom apart during their youth. Being the younger of the two, Hotsuma looked up to Moritsune, and considered his older brother to be a superior warrior. Eventually, the Oboro Clan commandment was revealed to the two boys after they discovered Akujiki, the evil soul-stealing sword that would be used in the ritual to decide the clan's leader. The commandment deems that the next clan leader must be determined by a duel to the death between the eldest clan heirs—in this case, Moritsune and Hotsuma. Aware of their destiny, the brothers trained incessantly, instructed by their foster parent, Kobushi. 10 years passed as the brothers refined their techniques and honed their senses, preparing for the longtime duel and training their skills. The duel occurred beneath a full moon, with only Hotsuma's childhood friend, Ageha, and Kobushi as the witnesses and after a long exhausting fight, Hotsuma finally slew his brother, though he felt a great deal of guilt from it.

Four years after, a massive earthquake struck Tokyo, and a mysterious Golden Palace appeared in the center of the destroyed city. With the appearance of the palace came the return of the powerful sorcerer Hiruko, who was thought to have been defeated and sealed by the Oboro Clan long ago. He summoned hellspawn to wreak havoc upon the city, and all but destroyed the Oboro Clan. The city's residents became paralyzed with fear. With the Oboro Clan ravaged and Tokyo on the verge of collapse, Hotsuma placed himself at the heart of the chaos, determined to reach the mysterious Golden Palace and avenge the death of his clan. Along the way, Hotsuma is also forced to battle the slain Oboro ninja who had been reanimated to serve Hiruko.

Story[edit]

The game starts when Hotsuma arrives in Tokyo in a helicopter, and while in position to the Golden Palace, suddenly two hellspawns arrive and crash into the helicopter, and Hotsuma jumps from it. After running through the city allyways and streets, defeating several tanks and ninjas, he encounters the helicopter, now possessed. Ageha arrives manages to distract it back into the air. Ageha is mad with Hotsuma exacting his revenge, but he tells her that he does not need her help, and then leaves her and goes through the city roofs, where he encounters mysterious ninja named Aomizuchi, whom he fights, and Akujiki awakens by tasting his blood. Aomizuchi escapes when the helicopter arrives again, and Hotsuma escapes the fire.

Hotsuma reaches the temples of the Oboro Clan, where Akujiki starts to eat his soul while trying to get rid of the sword. Ageha encounters him and tells him the story about the Akujiki; Akujiki is an evil sword which was longtime hidden during the Oboro Clan rule, and killed many fighters by consuming their souls. Akujiki needs to be fed, or it will eventually consume Hotsuma as well. She explains him that he will need to feed the sword by killing the possessed fighters, whose souls have been darkened, to still Akujiki and prevent it from consuming Hotsuma.

Hotsuma continues through the Oboro Clan's temple, where he encounters several dogs and encountering a twin siblings and his young students, Shirogane and Akagane, who are slowly being possessed and beg Hotsuma to kill them. He destroys them in a battle, and takes their souls. After a struggle with another wave of ninjas, he eventually reaches the main shrine of Oboro Clan. There, Ageha is trying to help Kobushi, who is injured from fighting. Helicopter arrives again, and Hotsuma slices the rocket that was fired on them. He eventually manages to destroy it, but Kobushi dies in Ageha's hands. Hotsuma continues, leaving the temple.

Midway into his journey, Hotsuma encounters a young shrine maiden named Kagari who believes that she is intended to be sacrificed by Hiruko to release a statue called Yatsurao. She asks Hotsuma to kill her, but feeling guilty over killing his brother and the similarity of the situation where the girl wants him to kill her, he is unable to do it. This leads to her capture by Hiruko's minions. Hotsuma confronts and destroys Yatsurao, but in doing so, allows Hiruko to absorb its power and restore his youth, which had apparently been his plan with Yatsurao the whole time. Hiruko returns to his palace with Hotsuma continuing his pursuit.

Eventually, Ageha meets him and reveals that she released Hiruko. She also reveals that the death match between him and Moritsune was not really to decide the Oboro's leader, but to provide a soul to keep Akujiki sated. Ageha secretly worked with Hiruko to get him to resurrect Moritsune, not knowing that the revived Moritsune would become one of Hiruko's henchmen with no memory of his past. Moritsune is actually Aomizuchi, the fourth hellspawn lord. Moritsune kills Ageha, then fights Hotsuma. Hotsuma defeats him again.

After the battle, Hotsuma breaks to Hiruko's Golden Palace, where Hiruko reveals that he had all along intended for Hotsuma to kill all of the hellspawn and the undead Oboro so that their souls would fuse inside Akujiki. He could then take the sword and use it to rule the world. Hotsuma vows to kill Hiruko and destroy Akujiki, as he blames the evil sword for everything that happened. Hotsuma fights and kills Hiruko after an intense battle, absorbing the sorcerer's soul into Akujiki. He thinks of his brother as the palace crumbles around him. As the military celebrates the collapse of the Golden Palace, Kagari looks on with sadness in her eyes.

Development[edit]

Overworks, a division of Sega, had been the developer of the Shinobi series throughout its early years. Other projects had prohibited Overworks from developing Shinobi titles for the Sega Saturn or Dreamcast. However, in 2001 Overworks member Noriyoshi Ohba realized that he had time to develop a new Shinobi game, and Sega returned to publish it.^[7] Development of Shinobi began around May 2001, with a team of roughly 50 people. Takashi Uriu filled in as producer. The game was originally planned for the Dreamcast until the console was discontinued and Sega began creating games for other companies' consoles.^[8] The PlayStation 2 console was chosen over the competing Nintendo GameCube and Xbox because of its familiarity to the team;^[9] Uriu had become experienced with the console's software during his past work on the Sakura Wars series. The console's relative popularity was also a decisive factor.^[7]

Shinobi marked the jump of the series to 3D, attributed to the changing video game market. The 2D gameplay of past Shinobi games had made consistent use of shuriken-based combat. However, such combat would have been difficult to master in a 3D game. Thus, an auto-targeting system was born, and the gameplay emphasis shifted to swordplay rather than shurikens.^[7] Due to the 3D rendering of Shinobi, Overworks decided to grant Hotsuma the ability to run on walls. His usage of ninja magic was a recurring feature in the series, implemented as part of a desire to mix older and newer gameplay elements. However, his 'stealth dash' move was a new addition consistent with the overall fast-paced nature of the game.^[9]

Although Overworks had worked mainly on simulation and role-playing video games, experience with the Streets of Rage series helped with the creation of an action-based game.^[1] Ohba decided to tailor the game to the needs of the relatively small action market amidst the emergence of stealth-oriented ninja-focused games.^[9] Uriu was discontent with the state of contemporary action-adventure games.^[1] Hotsuma's character, as well as the game's setting and plot, resulted from a desire to create a 'darker hero' for the game.^[9] Hotsuma's 'stealth dash' move hatched from Uriu's knowledge of real life ninja's ability to 'divide themselves into different bodies.'^[1]

Shinobi was showcased at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2002 together with other prominent Sega titles such as Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller, ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth, and Panzer Dragoon Orta.^[9] The game was later exhibited at Tokyo Game Show 2002.^[8] Upon completion of development, the game received a rating of 'M' (Mature) from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which cited 'Blood and Gore' and 'Violence'.^[10] It was highly anticipated prior to release, placing eighth on IGN's October 18 'Most Wanted' list compiled by aggregated user votes.^[11]

Related media[edit]

Comic book adaptation[edit]

A single-issue comic book adaptation of Shinobi was created by Scott Allie, published by Dark Horse Comics, and released in 2002. The plot follows Hotsuma and other characters from the game.^[12]

Soundtrack[edit]

Shinobi Original Sound Track (Shinobi オリジナルサウンドトラック) is a video game soundtrack album recorded by Sega's music division Sega Digital Studio.^[8] It was released on December 21, 2002 under the Sten och Flod record label.^[13] All twenty-one tracks are taken from the game, except for the last which is a bonus track.^[14] The soundtrack consists of traditional Japanese music with elements of techno and rock. Hopper noted a 'nice old-school flair.'^[5] Weigand stated that '[a]lthough some of the techno-pop music pieces don't fit the sword-and-sorcery theme, the atmospheric sound effects vibrantly ring true throughout.'^[15]

Reception[edit]

Shinobi's initial release fell on November 10, 2002 in North America; December 5 in Japan; and May 15, 2003 in Europe.^[24] It was generally well received by critics, with respective scores of 71 out of 100 and 71.67% from review aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings.^[16][17]

Shinobi's basic gameplay was largely praised. GamePro's Mike Weigand highlighted the TATE attack as 'cool' and 'hyper-violent', and praised the game's overall emphasis on 'head-on deception' rather than stealth.^[15] GameZone staff writer Steven Hopper stated that '[w]hile some would want a bit more depth from a ninja game, I think the arcade-style gameplay keeps the game close to its roots.'^[5]IGN's David Smith and GameSpy's Benjamin Turner criticized the poor artificial intelligence and repetitiveness of the basic enemies while praising the bosses.^[2][3]

Critics consistently mentioned the game's high difficulty. The game was described as 'hellaciously hard' by Electronic Gaming Monthly staff writer Che Chou^[18] and as 'ninja tough' in a review from 1UP.com.^[25] Weigand cautioned: 'Casual gamers beware', noting that earlier Shinobi titles had not been as demanding.^[15] Hopper called it 'the toughest game I've played in a long time.'^[5]

Level design was received generally poorly. 1UP.com highlighted repetitive environmental textures as contributing to the difficulty of finding one's way through the levels, comparing them to textures that might be found in PlayStation games.^[25] Smith echoed this opinion, additionally noting occasionally problematic default camera angles.^[2] Hopper stated that '[m]ost of the environments look very nice and detailed, while some are a little plain.'^[5] Turner called the environments overall 'samey' and 'uninspired'.^[3]

The newly introduced Hotsuma was singled out for strong praise. Smith called Hotsuma 'a great design, a sort of post-modern evolution of the ninja in comparison to the thoroughly traditional Joe Musashi [the main protagonist of the series]', additionally commending the coordination of his moves with his appearance.^[2] 1UP.com stated that he is 'the supermodel of video-game action heroes—lean, stylish and mean—and he fights as good as he looks.'^[25] Turner and Allgame's Brett Alan Weiss described him as 'sleek'.^[3][10] Weiss offered strong praise for Akujiki,^[10] as did Weigand for Hotsuma's scarf.^[15]

On September 25, 2003, Shinobi was re-released as part of Japan's The Best budget line with a bonus DVD containing a trailer for Nightshade and gameplay footage played by experienced players.^[26]

Sequel[edit]

Nightshade, a sequel to Shinobi, was later developed by Wow Entertainment and again published by Sega for the PlayStation 2. The game stars female ninja Hibana, who is stylistically and kinetically analogous to Hotsuma. Nightshade's Japanese title Kunoichi refers to a female ninja, just as Shinobi refers to a male ninja. The gameplay is also structured similarly to Shinobi's. Hotsuma appears as a secret character in the game. The game was released on December 4, 2003.^[27]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdeIGN Staff (May 23, 2002). 'E3 2002: Shinobi Interview'. IGN. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
2. ^ ^abcdefSmith, David (November 12, 2002). 'Shinobi (PS2)'. IGN. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
3. ^ ^abcdeTurner, Benjamin (November 8, 2002). 'GameSpy: Shinobi (PS2)'. GameSpy. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
4. ^ ^abWalk, Gary Eng (January 10, 2003). 'Shinobi Review'. Entertainment Weekly (690): 77. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
5. ^ ^abcdefHopper, Steven (November 21, 2002). 'Shinobi - PS2 - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
6. ^Roper, Chris. 'Basics'. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
7. ^ ^abcFox, Fennec (May 24, 2002). 'Interview With Shinobi Developers'. GamePro. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
8. ^ ^abcStaff. 'Shinobi Q&A'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
9. ^ ^abcdeTorres, Ricardo. 'E2 2002: New Shinobi details'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
10. ^ ^abcdWeiss, Brett Alan. 'Shinobi (PS2) - Review'. Allgame. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
11. ^IGN Staff (October 18, 2002). 'Top 10 PS2 Most Wanted'. IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
12. ^'Shinobi #1'. Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
13. ^'Shinobi オリジナルサウンドトラック' (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
14. ^IGN Staff (November 12, 2002). 'Shinobi OST Announced'. IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
15. ^ ^abcdeWeigand, Mike (November 12, 2002). 'Shinobi Review for PS2 on GamePro.com'. GamePro. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
16. ^ ^ab'Shinobi for PlayStation 2'. GameRankings. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
17. ^ ^ab'Shinobi Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2'. Metacritic. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
18. ^ ^abEGM Staff (December 2002). 'Shinobi (PS2)'. Electronic Gaming Monthly (162): 220. Archived from the original on January 23, 2004. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
19. ^Fahey, Rob (May 13, 2003). 'Shinobi Review (PS2)'. Eurogamer. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
20. ^'プレイステーション2 - Shinobi (シノビ)'. Famitsu. 915: 83. June 30, 2006.
21. ^Leeper, Justin (December 2002). 'Shinobi (PS2)'. Game Informer (116): 117. Archived from the original on November 14, 2004. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
22. ^Kasavin, Greg (November 7, 2002). 'Shinobi Review (PS2)'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
23. ^Kennedy, Sam (December 2002). 'Shinobi'. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 152. Archived from the original on January 22, 2004. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
24. ^'Related Games'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
25. ^ ^abc1UP Staff. 'Shinobi (PS2)'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
26. ^Niizumi, Hirohiko (June 23, 2003). 'Kunoichi trailer to be included in Shinobi rerelease'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
27. ^Kasavin, Greg (February 10, 2004). 'Nightshade Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 16, 2010.

External links[edit]

• Shinobi at MobyGames
• Shinobi at GiantBomb

Shinobi (忍) is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released for the arcades in 1987. In Shinobi, the player controls a modern-day ninja named Joe Musashi who has to stop a terrorist organization named Zeed who are kidnapping the students of his clan. Shinobi was later adapted by Sega to their Master System game console, followed by licensed conversions for other platforms such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine, and various home computers, as well as downloadable emulated versions of the original arcade game for the Wii and Xbox 360. The success of Shinobi inspired the development of various sequels and spin-offs of the Shinobi series.

• 3Home versions

Gameplay[edit]

The controls of Shinobi consist of an eight way joystick and three action buttons for attacking, jumping and using ninjutsu techniques (also called 'ninja magic' in the game). In addition to the standard walk, the player can perform a crouching walk by pressing the joystick diagonally downward. The player can jump to higher or lower floors by pressing the jump button while holding the joystick up or down. The protagonist Joe Musashi's standard weapons are an unlimited supply of shurikens, along with punches and kicks when attacking at close range. Rescuing certain hostages in each stage will grant him an attack upgrade. When powered up, his throwing stars are replaced by a gun that fires large, explosive bullets, and his close-range attack becomes a katana slash. Musashi's ninjutsu techniques can only be used once per stage and will clear the screen of all enemies, or in the case of enemy bosses, greatly damage them. There are three ninjutsu techniques in the game (a thunderstorm, a tornado and a doppelganger attack) that vary depending on the stage, although the effect is the same no matter which technique Musashi uses (only the animation changes).

Enemy characters include punks, mercenaries, various kinds of ninjas clad in different colors and the Mongolian swordsmen who are guarding each hostage. Musashi can bump into most enemies without harm and can only be killed if he gets struck by an enemy's attack (such as a punch or a stab), gets hit by a projectile or falls into a bottomless hole. When that happens, the player must restart the stage from the beginning, although hostages that have already been saved don't need to be rescued again. When the player runs out of lives, he can insert additional coins and press START to continue the game. This option is not available during the final mission. The player has a time limit of three minutes to complete each stage. Bonus points are awarded based on how quickly the player clears the stage, along with additional bonuses if the player clears the stage without using a ninjutsu technique (except on the fifth level/mission), or using only melee (close-range) attacks (that is, sword, punches, or kicks, but not stars or bullets). Extra lives are awarded by achieving certain scores, completing the bonus round (see below), or when rescuing a special hostage.

Shinobi Life Manga

Between missions, the player participates in a bonus round played from a first-person perspective where he must throw shurikens at incoming enemy ninjas without letting any of them get near him. If the player successfully completes a bonus round, he will be awarded with an extra life.^[2]

Plot[edit]

The player controls a modern-day ninja named Joe Musashi who has to stop a criminal organization called 'Zeed' who are kidnapping the children of his ninja clan. Through five missions (consisting of three stages in the first mission and four stages each in the rest), Musashi must make his way to Zeed's headquarters and free all the hostages in the first two or three stages before confronting the boss at the final stage of each mission. At the start of each mission, the player is shown their objective, followed by a file containing a photograph of the enemy boss and a map display pinpointing the location of the next stage.

Home versions[edit]

Master System[edit]

Sega produced its own home version of Shinobi for their Master System game console. It was released in Japan on June 19, 1988, with subsequent releases in North America and Europe. Some of the play mechanics from the original coin-op version were altered for this version. Instead of the one-hit kills from the arcade game, the player now has a health gauge that allows Musashi to sustain more damage before losing a life, although this comes with the trade-off that touching an enemy causes Musashi to lose health.

While the player still rescues hostages in this version, it is now an optional task and not mandatory to complete the game. However, rescuing hostages allows the player to upgrade both their close and long-range weapons, as well as increase their maximum health gauge or restore it. Additionally, rescuing certain hostages is a requirement to access the game's bonus stages, which now occur after the regular stages instead of each boss fight. The ninjutsu skills are now obtained from completing these bonus rounds and the player may hold up to four stocks. The input method of performing these ninja arts is also different as well. The player can use between three different close-range weapons (in addition to the default punches and kicks), four long-range weapons (including an upgrade to the default shurikens), and six ninjutsu spells.

Shinobi Life Game Free Online

In October 1993,^[3]Atari Corporation filed a lawsuit against Sega for an alleged infringement of a patent originally created by Atari Corp. in the 1980s,^[4] with the former seeking a preliminary injunction to stop manufacturing, usage and sales of hardware and software for both Sega Genesis and Game Gear.^[5] On September 28, 1994,^[6][7] both parties reached a settlement in which it involved a cross-licensing agreement to publish up to five titles each year across their systems until 2001.^{[5][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]} The Master System version of Shinobi was one of the first five titles approved from the deal by Sega in order to be converted for the Atari Jaguar, but it was never released.^[5]

Home computers[edit]

In 1989, ports of Shinobi were released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. All five conversions were developed by The Sales Curve and published by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe and by Sega in North America (with the exception of the Amstrad and Spectrum versions). An IBM PC version was also released in North America by Sega, developed by Micromosaics Inc.

PC Engine[edit]

A PC Engine version was released exclusively in Japan by Asmik on December 8, 1989. The graphics and play mechanics of the PC Engine version are similar to the arcade version's, but the close-range attacks and power-ups are missing and there are no bonus rounds (extra lives are instead given by getting a certain number of points). Although there is no life gauge, the time limit for finishing each stage from the arcade version was removed. Mission 2 is also completely omitted and all subsequent missions are renumbered as a result.

Nintendo Entertainment System[edit]

Shinobi's initial release fell on November 10, 2002 in North America; December 5 in Japan; and May 15, 2003 in Europe.^[24] It was generally well received by critics, with respective scores of 71 out of 100 and 71.67% from review aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings.^[16][17]

Shinobi's basic gameplay was largely praised. GamePro's Mike Weigand highlighted the TATE attack as 'cool' and 'hyper-violent', and praised the game's overall emphasis on 'head-on deception' rather than stealth.^[15] GameZone staff writer Steven Hopper stated that '[w]hile some would want a bit more depth from a ninja game, I think the arcade-style gameplay keeps the game close to its roots.'^[5]IGN's David Smith and GameSpy's Benjamin Turner criticized the poor artificial intelligence and repetitiveness of the basic enemies while praising the bosses.^[2][3]

Critics consistently mentioned the game's high difficulty. The game was described as 'hellaciously hard' by Electronic Gaming Monthly staff writer Che Chou^[18] and as 'ninja tough' in a review from 1UP.com.^[25] Weigand cautioned: 'Casual gamers beware', noting that earlier Shinobi titles had not been as demanding.^[15] Hopper called it 'the toughest game I've played in a long time.'^[5]

Level design was received generally poorly. 1UP.com highlighted repetitive environmental textures as contributing to the difficulty of finding one's way through the levels, comparing them to textures that might be found in PlayStation games.^[25] Smith echoed this opinion, additionally noting occasionally problematic default camera angles.^[2] Hopper stated that '[m]ost of the environments look very nice and detailed, while some are a little plain.'^[5] Turner called the environments overall 'samey' and 'uninspired'.^[3]

The newly introduced Hotsuma was singled out for strong praise. Smith called Hotsuma 'a great design, a sort of post-modern evolution of the ninja in comparison to the thoroughly traditional Joe Musashi [the main protagonist of the series]', additionally commending the coordination of his moves with his appearance.^[2] 1UP.com stated that he is 'the supermodel of video-game action heroes—lean, stylish and mean—and he fights as good as he looks.'^[25] Turner and Allgame's Brett Alan Weiss described him as 'sleek'.^[3][10] Weiss offered strong praise for Akujiki,^[10] as did Weigand for Hotsuma's scarf.^[15]

On September 25, 2003, Shinobi was re-released as part of Japan's The Best budget line with a bonus DVD containing a trailer for Nightshade and gameplay footage played by experienced players.^[26]

Sequel[edit]

Nightshade, a sequel to Shinobi, was later developed by Wow Entertainment and again published by Sega for the PlayStation 2. The game stars female ninja Hibana, who is stylistically and kinetically analogous to Hotsuma. Nightshade's Japanese title Kunoichi refers to a female ninja, just as Shinobi refers to a male ninja. The gameplay is also structured similarly to Shinobi's. Hotsuma appears as a secret character in the game. The game was released on December 4, 2003.^[27]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdeIGN Staff (May 23, 2002). 'E3 2002: Shinobi Interview'. IGN. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
2. ^ ^abcdefSmith, David (November 12, 2002). 'Shinobi (PS2)'. IGN. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
3. ^ ^abcdeTurner, Benjamin (November 8, 2002). 'GameSpy: Shinobi (PS2)'. GameSpy. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
4. ^ ^abWalk, Gary Eng (January 10, 2003). 'Shinobi Review'. Entertainment Weekly (690): 77. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
5. ^ ^abcdefHopper, Steven (November 21, 2002). 'Shinobi - PS2 - Review'. GameZone. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
6. ^Roper, Chris. 'Basics'. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
7. ^ ^abcFox, Fennec (May 24, 2002). 'Interview With Shinobi Developers'. GamePro. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
8. ^ ^abcStaff. 'Shinobi Q&A'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
9. ^ ^abcdeTorres, Ricardo. 'E2 2002: New Shinobi details'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
10. ^ ^abcdWeiss, Brett Alan. 'Shinobi (PS2) - Review'. Allgame. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
11. ^IGN Staff (October 18, 2002). 'Top 10 PS2 Most Wanted'. IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
12. ^'Shinobi #1'. Amazon.com. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
13. ^'Shinobi オリジナルサウンドトラック' (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
14. ^IGN Staff (November 12, 2002). 'Shinobi OST Announced'. IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
15. ^ ^abcdeWeigand, Mike (November 12, 2002). 'Shinobi Review for PS2 on GamePro.com'. GamePro. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
16. ^ ^ab'Shinobi for PlayStation 2'. GameRankings. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
17. ^ ^ab'Shinobi Critic Reviews for PlayStation 2'. Metacritic. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
18. ^ ^abEGM Staff (December 2002). 'Shinobi (PS2)'. Electronic Gaming Monthly (162): 220. Archived from the original on January 23, 2004. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
19. ^Fahey, Rob (May 13, 2003). 'Shinobi Review (PS2)'. Eurogamer. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
20. ^'プレイステーション2 - Shinobi (シノビ)'. Famitsu. 915: 83. June 30, 2006.
21. ^Leeper, Justin (December 2002). 'Shinobi (PS2)'. Game Informer (116): 117. Archived from the original on November 14, 2004. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
22. ^Kasavin, Greg (November 7, 2002). 'Shinobi Review (PS2)'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
23. ^Kennedy, Sam (December 2002). 'Shinobi'. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 152. Archived from the original on January 22, 2004. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
24. ^'Related Games'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
25. ^ ^abc1UP Staff. 'Shinobi (PS2)'. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
26. ^Niizumi, Hirohiko (June 23, 2003). 'Kunoichi trailer to be included in Shinobi rerelease'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
27. ^Kasavin, Greg (February 10, 2004). 'Nightshade Review'. GameSpot. Retrieved April 16, 2010.

External links[edit]

• Shinobi at MobyGames
• Shinobi at GiantBomb

Shinobi (忍) is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released for the arcades in 1987. In Shinobi, the player controls a modern-day ninja named Joe Musashi who has to stop a terrorist organization named Zeed who are kidnapping the students of his clan. Shinobi was later adapted by Sega to their Master System game console, followed by licensed conversions for other platforms such as the Nintendo Entertainment System, PC Engine, and various home computers, as well as downloadable emulated versions of the original arcade game for the Wii and Xbox 360. The success of Shinobi inspired the development of various sequels and spin-offs of the Shinobi series.

• 3Home versions

Gameplay[edit]

The controls of Shinobi consist of an eight way joystick and three action buttons for attacking, jumping and using ninjutsu techniques (also called 'ninja magic' in the game). In addition to the standard walk, the player can perform a crouching walk by pressing the joystick diagonally downward. The player can jump to higher or lower floors by pressing the jump button while holding the joystick up or down. The protagonist Joe Musashi's standard weapons are an unlimited supply of shurikens, along with punches and kicks when attacking at close range. Rescuing certain hostages in each stage will grant him an attack upgrade. When powered up, his throwing stars are replaced by a gun that fires large, explosive bullets, and his close-range attack becomes a katana slash. Musashi's ninjutsu techniques can only be used once per stage and will clear the screen of all enemies, or in the case of enemy bosses, greatly damage them. There are three ninjutsu techniques in the game (a thunderstorm, a tornado and a doppelganger attack) that vary depending on the stage, although the effect is the same no matter which technique Musashi uses (only the animation changes).

Enemy characters include punks, mercenaries, various kinds of ninjas clad in different colors and the Mongolian swordsmen who are guarding each hostage. Musashi can bump into most enemies without harm and can only be killed if he gets struck by an enemy's attack (such as a punch or a stab), gets hit by a projectile or falls into a bottomless hole. When that happens, the player must restart the stage from the beginning, although hostages that have already been saved don't need to be rescued again. When the player runs out of lives, he can insert additional coins and press START to continue the game. This option is not available during the final mission. The player has a time limit of three minutes to complete each stage. Bonus points are awarded based on how quickly the player clears the stage, along with additional bonuses if the player clears the stage without using a ninjutsu technique (except on the fifth level/mission), or using only melee (close-range) attacks (that is, sword, punches, or kicks, but not stars or bullets). Extra lives are awarded by achieving certain scores, completing the bonus round (see below), or when rescuing a special hostage.

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Between missions, the player participates in a bonus round played from a first-person perspective where he must throw shurikens at incoming enemy ninjas without letting any of them get near him. If the player successfully completes a bonus round, he will be awarded with an extra life.^[2]

Plot[edit]

The player controls a modern-day ninja named Joe Musashi who has to stop a criminal organization called 'Zeed' who are kidnapping the children of his ninja clan. Through five missions (consisting of three stages in the first mission and four stages each in the rest), Musashi must make his way to Zeed's headquarters and free all the hostages in the first two or three stages before confronting the boss at the final stage of each mission. At the start of each mission, the player is shown their objective, followed by a file containing a photograph of the enemy boss and a map display pinpointing the location of the next stage.

Home versions[edit]

Master System[edit]

Sega produced its own home version of Shinobi for their Master System game console. It was released in Japan on June 19, 1988, with subsequent releases in North America and Europe. Some of the play mechanics from the original coin-op version were altered for this version. Instead of the one-hit kills from the arcade game, the player now has a health gauge that allows Musashi to sustain more damage before losing a life, although this comes with the trade-off that touching an enemy causes Musashi to lose health.

While the player still rescues hostages in this version, it is now an optional task and not mandatory to complete the game. However, rescuing hostages allows the player to upgrade both their close and long-range weapons, as well as increase their maximum health gauge or restore it. Additionally, rescuing certain hostages is a requirement to access the game's bonus stages, which now occur after the regular stages instead of each boss fight. The ninjutsu skills are now obtained from completing these bonus rounds and the player may hold up to four stocks. The input method of performing these ninja arts is also different as well. The player can use between three different close-range weapons (in addition to the default punches and kicks), four long-range weapons (including an upgrade to the default shurikens), and six ninjutsu spells.

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In October 1993,^[3]Atari Corporation filed a lawsuit against Sega for an alleged infringement of a patent originally created by Atari Corp. in the 1980s,^[4] with the former seeking a preliminary injunction to stop manufacturing, usage and sales of hardware and software for both Sega Genesis and Game Gear.^[5] On September 28, 1994,^[6][7] both parties reached a settlement in which it involved a cross-licensing agreement to publish up to five titles each year across their systems until 2001.^{[5][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]} The Master System version of Shinobi was one of the first five titles approved from the deal by Sega in order to be converted for the Atari Jaguar, but it was never released.^[5]

Home computers[edit]

In 1989, ports of Shinobi were released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. All five conversions were developed by The Sales Curve and published by Virgin Mastertronic in Europe and by Sega in North America (with the exception of the Amstrad and Spectrum versions). An IBM PC version was also released in North America by Sega, developed by Micromosaics Inc.

PC Engine[edit]

A PC Engine version was released exclusively in Japan by Asmik on December 8, 1989. The graphics and play mechanics of the PC Engine version are similar to the arcade version's, but the close-range attacks and power-ups are missing and there are no bonus rounds (extra lives are instead given by getting a certain number of points). Although there is no life gauge, the time limit for finishing each stage from the arcade version was removed. Mission 2 is also completely omitted and all subsequent missions are renumbered as a result.

Nintendo Entertainment System[edit]

The Nintendo Entertainment System version of Shinobi was released by Tengen exclusively in North America as an unlicensed release in 1989. The play mechanics are based on the Master System's version. However, Tengen removed all of the close-range weapons (the sword, the nunchaku, and the chain) and the grenades. Only the basic punches, kicks, throwing daggers, and pistol were kept. Unlike the Master System version, the player can only shoot one shuriken, dagger, or bullet on-screen at the same time, even after obtaining power-ups. However, the maximum stock of ninjutsu skills has been increased to five. All the vertical-scrolling stages (such as Mission 2-2 and Mission 3-2) were redesigned into horizontal-scrolling stages.

Wii and Xbox 360[edit]

The original coin-op version is available as a downloadable title for the Wii's Virtual Console and Xbox 360's Live Arcade services. Although both releases are emulated from the arcade game's code, slight graphical modifications were made due to licensing issues.

One of the enemy grunts in the second stage of Mission 1, a wall-crawling ninja who roughly resembles the comic book character Spider-Man, originally wore a blue bodysuit and mask with red gloves and boots, which was too close to Spider-Man's color scheme. In the Wii and Xbox 360 releases, his color scheme was changed to a green bodysuit and mask with yellow boots and gloves.

Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection[edit]

Shinobi is also a hidden game in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. To access it, the player must complete the first round of Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, without using a continue. Although the version included in the compilation was also an emulation of the arcade game, the graphical changes that were made in the Virtual Console and Xbox Live Arcade releases were not made in this compilation.

Reception[edit]

Sega's own port of Shinobi for the Master System received general critical acclaim, including being awarded 4 out of 5 stars in Dragon.^[17]Classic Game Room's review of the game on Master System reflected the view that the game is a classic, albeit less of a classic than the 16-bit sequel The Revenge of Shinobi.^[18]

Sequels and related games[edit]

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In 1989, Sega released a follow-up called The Revenge of Shinobi as one of the first titles for their new Sega Mega Drive game console. In Japan this game was called The Super Shinobi. An arcade sequel called Shadow Dancer was also released in 1989. Shadow Dancer retains the same gameplay as the original, but gives the main character a canine companion.

Other Shinobi sequels also appeared for the Game Gear, Mega Drive/Genesis, Sega Saturn, the PlayStation 2, and the Nintendo 3DS. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World is a parody of Shinobi with former Sega mascot Alex Kidd as the main character, released for the Master System in 1990.

References[edit]

1. ^Legend of Joe Musashi: SHINOBI Music Collection (booklet). p. 7.
2. ^Kalata, Kurt. 'Shinobi'. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
3. ^'Atari Corp. v. Sega of America, Inc., 869 F. Supp. 783 (N.D. Cal. 1994)'. justia.com. August 12, 1994. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
4. ^'ProNews: Atari Sues Sega'. GamePro. No. 54. IDG. January 1994. p. 258. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
5. ^ ^abcCRV (August 6, 2017). 'Blog:Legal Brief: Atari vs. Sega'. gdri.smspower.org. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
6. ^Tramiel, Garry (September 28, 1994). 'To Our Valued Customer'. atari-history.com. Archived from the original on 2000-09-19. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
7. ^'Sega And Atari Announce Long-Term Licensing Agreements, Equity Investment, and Resolution of Disputes'. atari-history.com. September 28, 1994. Archived from the original on 2000-09-19. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
8. ^'The Enter*Active File - Entertainment Industry News Of Info Systems, Video Games & Retail-Tech Media'. Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 49. Lynne Segall. December 3, 1994. p. 82.
9. ^'ProNews: Sega, Atari Settle Differences'. GamePro. No. 65. IDG. December 1994. p. 282. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
10. ^Peers, Nick (December 1994). 'The News - The Latest News - Atari Vs Sega'. ST Format. No. 65. Future plc. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
11. ^'Ultimate Update - A legal battle over...'Ultimate Future Games. No. 1. Future Publishing. December 1994. p. 20. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
12. ^'Reportage - Le Japon En Direct - Jaguar: Coup De Griffe Sur Le Japon! - Atari Et Sega'. Consoles + (in French). No. 39. M.E.R.7. January 1995. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2018-11-15.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
13. ^'News - Front Page - Sega buys into Atari'. Game Players. No. 68. Signal Research. February 1995. p. 14.
14. ^'Special - Atari: from boom to bust and back again'. Edge. No. 18. Future plc. March 1995. pp. 58–65. Archived from the original on 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
15. ^'Special - Atari: from boom to bust and back again'. Next Generation. No. 4. Imagine Media. April 1995. pp. 34–41.
16. ^'CVG News - Atari's Cat Gets The CD Cream - Big Cat Claws EA Deal'. Computer and Video Games. No. 163. Future Publishing. June 1995. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original on 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2019-01-05.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)
17. ^Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia & Lesser, Kirk (February 1993). 'The Role of Computers'. Dragon (190): 55–60.
18. ^'Classic Game Room HD - Shinobi for Sega Master System'. Inecom Company. 21 November 2008. Archived from the original on 2014-09-27. Retrieved 10 April 2013.Cite uses deprecated parameter |dead-url= (help)

External links[edit]

Play Arcade Game Shinobi Free

• Official website(in Japanese)
• Shinobi at the Killer List of Videogames
• Shinobi at MobyGames
• Shinobi at SpectrumComputing.co.uk

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