Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master

"The Ninja Master's triumphant return"

Now, I know that many consider Shinobi 2 to be the pinnacle of the Shinobi franchise. I respectfully disagree. As much as a great game Shinobi 2 was, I found it quite irritable, and the boss battles seem to lack that especial something that made the arcade original such a blast to play. Shinobi 3 fixed this problem of mine, giving me outstanding boss battles, speedy action, and a while variety of attacks to decimate that Neo Zeed scum. Shinobi 3 felt just right for my gaming needs, something that not many games in any console at the time could fulfill. It was quite addictive as well, making it seem as if Sega could get one last hurrah to the Shinobi franchise should it never show up in future consoles, something that did happen eventually in PS2, but that is a completely different story altogether.




Gameplay - 9

The ninja master returns with a number of new moves including wall-to-wall jumping, a lounge kick performed in mid-air, being able to hang on ceilings, blocking, and the ability to run wit the option of slashing your opponents with a sword attack. These along with the familiar moves from the prequel make a nice assortment to cruise through stages with almost no difficulty at all. The double jump however seems to be tricky in certain spots, namely ones that can mean instant death.

Stages vary every now and then, featuring a section riding on horse back attacking ninjas from afar, or on a water sled while dodging robots and the like. A great way to break from the monotonous left to right intervals. The learning curve on this game is a lot easier than its predecessor, something about it that makes you feel at home, something that not many games can achieve. I really enjoy this sequel, especially with the addition to dash and other moves that makes the action faster and without slowdown most of the time.

Boss battles are quite fun and not as irritating as they were in part 2, which is in itself like a grand reward after seeing a cool scene of Musashi slashing his foe at the end of each battle. Pretty neat.

Story - 7

This time around, there is no pesky girlfriend as an excuse to kick bad guy's butts. Musashi here joins in to eradicate evil just for the heck of it. Love a character like that.

Graphics/Sound - 9

Sharp graphics and detailed backgrounds make it for an arcade-feel like no other. The music fits every single stage and situation, and the boss BGM is simply sweet. Musashi's voice sounds a bit gargled, but it is a small price to pay considering how many games suffered worse in other franchises featured on the Sega Genesis. The array of ninja magic is pretty impressive as it was with its predecessor, yet it does the job further on this sequel. That melancholic music bit after you lose is pretty dramatic; Sega seemed to have a great time creating the music for this game.

Play Time/Replayability - 10

No matter how many times I had played this game, I always wanted to try it again, its like the Tetris effect, you play with it until you are bored, then pick it up once more no matter what. Although some stages seem to be similar, others offer a variety of foes and obstacles that keep the game challenging.

Final Recommendation – 10

If you ever wanted to have any of the Shinobi conversions to console, this one might just be it, not much could be lost if you skipped Shinobi 2 really, although the action on this sequel is faster than its predecessor, and in my opinion, a lot more fun than the last Shinobi game which seem to emphases in difficulty than anything else.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/06/08

Game Release: Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (US, 07/22/93)