The Revenge of Shinobi
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- For an overview of the series, see Shinobi series. For the Game Boy Advance game, see The Revenge of Shinobi (GBA).
The Revenge of Shinobi is a videogame developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was one of the first games to be developed for Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis and is known as The Super Shinobi in Japan. The game is a sequel to the 1987 arcade game Shinobi, and boasts an acclaimed soundtrack by the famous video game music composer Yuzo Koshiro.
Storyline
The storyline, as taken from the manual:
In the impenetrable mountain hideaways of Japan exist mystic warriors. They are the ninja, masters of battle who possess seemingly impossible powers. In combat, they can leap to dazzling heights; when hit, they remain unhurt; from the sky, they can summon fire to torch their enemies.
Joe Musashi has studied the ninja ways since he was small. Once he was the weakest of his dojo, easily overpowered by anyone, but now, after years of practicing and meditation, he has mastered the skill of ninjitsu at last; the art of stealth and deceit, of katana and shuriken, and command over the four elements through ninja magic. He has become Shinobi. He sees and knows all.
Now the evil crime syndicate Neo Zeed has sent out its ninjas, soldiers and spies to take over the world. As a warning to the Oboro clan, they have assassinated Musashi's sensei, and kidnapped the beautiful Naoko. Shinobi has sworn to avenge the death of his master. He will not stop until every last one of Neo Zeed's minions are destroyed.
Gameplay
The game is a traditional side-scrolling platform/adventure game. The player controls Shinobi and must complete 8 districts before the final confrontation with the head of Neo Zeed. Each district consists of 3 scenes, the last of which is a battle against a unique boss-character.
The D-pad moves Shinobi around while the A, B and C buttons are used to perform a ninjitsu technique, attack and jump respectively. The most important move in The Revenge of Shinobi is the somersault, performed by pressing the jump button and then pressing it again at the height of a jump. The somersault maximizes Shinobi's jumping height and enables him to throw 8 shuriken at once in mid-air. Additionaly, some stages consist of multiple layers, such as the first scene of the Military Base and the freeway in Area Code 818. Switching between layer (outdoor/indoor, or on-the-highway/next-to-it) is also done with the somersault move.
Ninjitsu techniques
Besides his regular assortment of moves and attacks, Shinobi has the ability to perform four special ninjitsu techniques. Only one can be used in each level, unless an additional bonus was picked up or the ninjitsu of Mijin was used to reset your life total. The four ninjitsu techniques employed by Joe Musashi are as follows:
- Ninjitsu of Ikazuchi (the art of thunder): Envelopes Shinobi with a shield of lighnting energy that sustains damage for four consecutive hits.
- Ninjitsu of Kariu (the art of fire): Summons four dragonshaped columns of flame that move across the screen and damage all enemies in their path.
- Ninjitsu of Fushin (the art of floating): Improves Shinobi's agility by heightening his jumping capability.
- Ninjitsu of Mijin (the art of pulverizing): The most powerful ninjitsu technique in the game. Mijin damages all enemies on screen at the cost of one life.
Bonus crates
A variety of bonus crates can be found in each level, some hidden in the scenery. These include simple power-ups such as extra shuriken or health packs, as well as special items to gain lives or extra ninjitsu turns. Besides power-ups, some crates may contain time bombs: explosives that detonate when their fuse runs out or if Shinobi comes to close.Options
The game is divided into four difficulties: easy, normal, hard and hardest. As difficulty increases, more enemies appear per stage, Shinobi's life bar grows shorter and the amount of starting lives decreases from 10 to 1. From the options menu, the player can also chose the amount of starting shurikens from 0 to 90. A well known cheat in The Revenge of Shinobi enables infinite shuriken, by highlighting 0 shuriken from the options menu long enough until the 00's turn to [\infty]. In the Japanese version, The Super Shinobi, there are options (not cheats) for No Death, and level select.Stages
- Ibaraki Province, Japan: This bamboo forest is where the game begins. Through these ancient ruins Shinobi must make his way to The House of Confusion. At the end of this district, he is confronted by the mighty samurai Blue Lobster
- Tokyo: Shinobi begins this stage near a rocky canyon. Winged ninja swoop down from the sky to attack Joe. Once he makes it past the waterfalls, the district moves on to the darkened roof tops of Tokyo, and eventually into a blinding disco where Shinobi must battle with the Shadow Dancer
- The Military Base: This military complex of Neo Zeed is heavily guarded by armed soldiers. Joe will encounter light infantry as well as flame throwers and attack dogs. The second scene takes Shinobi on board an air carrier. If he touches one of the air locks, he dies. The aircraft is controlled by a powerful supercomputer that houses a human brain.
- Detroit: Detroit is one big junkyard, heaps upon heaps of cars, running through conveyor belts and into a melting furnace. A tough Terminator-like android guards this wreckage.
- Area Code 818: This stage takes Shinobi past skyscrapers and freeways. The final battle is fought on top of an armoured vehicle carrying a gigantic ballistic missile.
- Chinatown: After a showdown with the kung-fu gangs of Chinatown, Shinobi hops on board a speeding train. Eventually he finds himself in the clutches of Spider-Man and Batman themselves (or some mere impersonators).
- New York: Ninjas and machine gunners guard the breakwater of New York's dockside. Leaping from boat to boat, Joe infiltrates Neo Zeed's container ship and comes face to face with a flame-spewing monster.
- Neo Zeed Marine Stronghold: Here is where Shinobi faces his final enemy, who appears to be Zeed himself. The beautiful Naoko is trapped somewhere beneath the cellar maze of this stronghold, and Joe must terminate Zeed quickly before the cell trap kills Naoko.
Versions
Because of copyright issues regarding certain boss characters (many of which were based on cultural icons) there were at least three versions of the game in the US.
- Software revision 1.00: Bosses clearly resembling Batman, Godzilla, and Spider-Man are present.
- Software revision 1.01: Batman is replaced by a bat-like man but Godzilla and Spider-Man remain unmodified.
- Software revision 1.02: Godzilla is replaced by a skeletal dinosaur and Batman is still replaced by a bat-like man but Spider-Man is still present, this time acknowledged by a copyright screen.
Trivia
- As one of the flagship games for the new SEGA Genesis the game was displayed under clear glass in The Sharper Image stores across the United States. The controller was accessible for customers to play the game. If nothing else, this professed the sheer power of 16-bit gaming at that time.
- The introductory game screen in The Revenge of Shinobi features famous martial arts actor Sonny Chiba dressed as Hattori Hanzō from the popular Kage No Gundan TV series.
- In 2002, another game titled The Revenge of Shinobi was released for Game Boy Advance. The gameplay and plot however were only loosely related to the Sega Genesis game.
External links
- [| Super Shinobi fan page]
- [| Hardcore Gaming 101: The Shinobi Series]
- [Remix of Yuzo Koshiro's "Like a Wind" (from Revenge of Shinobi)] (in "Fast Tracker 2" section)
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