The Revenge of Shinobi

"Nevermind What You Heard. This Game Rocks!!!"

"Only someone schooled in the way of the shadow warrior, the ninja, can stop them. Shinobi, that ninja is you."

Let's start off with this: I'm a Ninja Fanatic! I love them. They are the perfect warrior, yet the perfect assassin. I've played the entire Shinobi series for Genesis, of which I think Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master was the best, And they all rocked. Even Shadow Dancer, a non-Shinobi game was pretty great. Nevertheless, I was discouraged when they said this game was so awful. Then I checked it out when a friend of mine got it. It ruled. It's pretty rare, so you may have to order it off Amazon.com, but it's worth it. Oh, yeah, this is a REVIEW!

Story 10/10

I really thought the story was sweet. Basically, an evil elemental master, Ashira-O was a big evil bada**, but five shoguns used their respective elements to beat him. After a while, their blades began to corrupt them, filling them with Ashira-O's presence. Now they are evil, tyrannical, and downright evil. Now you come in. Time to waste 'em, take their blades, and destroy them. I will spoil no more.

Sound 7/10

This was the only part of the game i disliked. Some of the music is authentic Japanese, but even so, it gets a little repetitive.

Controls 9/10

I could not believe how whiny some people were about this! So you have to hold up on the D-Pad to get on stairs and ramps. Big Furry Deal! If that is too hard for you, you can just jump on them. The only reason I didn't give this a perfect score is that when you do a double-jump, it's really hard to change direction. Realistic though it be, it gets a little rough. Overall, though, this was pretty graspable to any newcomer.

Graphics 9/10

The graphics are pretty sweet. You can't see any particular faces, but the weapon sheathes and weapons themselves are pretty well rendered. The side-scrolling action is fluid, smooth, and easy to do fights with. The Ninjitsu magics are not as amazing as they were on the Genesis, but let's face it, A hand-held can not muster the same amount of power that a console can. (Until they come out with the PSP [Good] and the Gameboy DS. [Bad])

Gameplay 10/10

This game provides a nice challenge, and while some people complain about this, all you really need is patience, time, and tenacity. It's really fun to play and replay. There are secret passwords, rooms, ninjitsu magics, and a whole host of crazy things.

Buy or Rent?

Are you insane? Buy Buy BUY!!!!! This game is tons of fun, and if you are so much into ninjas as I am, this game is a bonanza. Good bosses, good story, challenging enemies, and sweet sweet ninjas. How can you lose?!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/27/05