Just about everything I disliked about Shadow Dancer Arcade has been changed and fixed here. My main criticism was that the dog companion was not very fun to use despite being such a great idea for a game mechanic because of how you controlled him. Instead of Crouch+A, you hold A to charge your Dog Meter and then Yamato attacks when you release in range of an enemy.

Yamato's attack speed and attack range is a lot better too. He feels a lot smarter as a companion and I feel more in control over his actions. In Shadow Dancer Arcade, I'd be calling for Yamato to attack an enemy on the platform directly above and in front of an enemy and he wouldn't budge, but he'd go and attack some random enemy off-screen because I was trying to crouch-kick one of the disappearing ninjas. Now, Yamato can attack from pretty much anywhere as long as you're facing the enemy on the screen and he's barking.

Enemies generally feel more fair and fun to fight against, their placement feels more fair. Ninjas especially are much easier to deal with than the arcade version now that you can properly crouch-attack. They added these cool rolling armadillo ninja enemies that I like a lot, they have a cool design.

None of the levels are the same, which is a good thing, because I think every level in this version is more memorable and more fun than the arcade one. The elevator climb up the Statue of Liberty was way more fun than the sewer level with the alligators that decide to push you off the platform you're on.

The only thing I mourn is the loss of a couple of bosses. The train boss was better than the face in the wall and the guandao lady on the rocket platform was a cool boss, just not a great final boss, but even the really lame bosses like the giant floating wheel that shoots fireballs was better than the samurai throwing rubber bouncy balls in the airplane. The final boss is very challenging, but actually makes you think about patterns and what you're doing as opposed to mashing shurikens in place and jumping occasionally. He's also a lot cooler. The rocket launching platform was a cool setpiece, but travelling inside the Statue of Liberty to go underground and find the hideout of Union Lizard is pretty cool as well.

Oh, and score DOES reset when you use a continue, incentivizing getting really good at one-credit runs. That was something I was eventually hoping would be implemented.

Usually, I find that console conversions of arcade games are vastly inferior and not worth playing, but this is one of the Genesis' best imo.

High Score: 701,500

I’m not sure exactly as to why or what happened, but back when I played The Revenge of Shinobi, I didn’t really enjoy my time with it at all. It wasn’t too much different from the past two Shinobi games, and I would still say it was the best game in the series at that point, but the amount of stuff thrown at you, the difficulty, and some of the trappings the game lays out for you made it a pretty miserable journey overall. I dunno, maybe it was just a dud of the bunch, so moving forward with high spirits, we now get to the next game in the series, which isn’t a brand new entry entirely, but moreso a loose adaptation of Shadow Dancer that was released exclusively released for the Sega Genesis. Not sure why they didn’t just make a straight port of the original Shadow Dancer for the system, but nonetheless, this resulted in the game Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi.

Thankfully, after playing through this game, I found myself having a pretty good time with it, being a definite improvement over not just the original Shadow Dancer, but also as an improvement over the previous Shinobi game. Yeah, it may just be more of what had come earlier, but compared to the original, and moreso the Master System version of it that I played, it does feel a lot better to play, it looks better, and they actually managed to put the dog in the game! That already makes it an instant improvement just on that factor alone.

The story is actually different from the original game, with the main threat surrounding it being a cult called Union Lizard, which is the worst name for a cult I have ever heard, the graphics are pretty good, but nothing too mind blowing in comparison to previous games in the series, the music, on the other hand, is fantastic, being a massive step up from the previous titles (from what I remember, at least), the control is about what you would expect, but I had no real gripes with them, so they are all good to me, and the gameplay is what you would come to expect from Shinobi and Shadow Dancer, but with elements mixed in from previous titles to change things up… not too much, but enough.

The game is a 2D action side-scrolling platformer, where alongside your very own canine companion, you travel through a good handful of stages, defeat many ninjas and foes that stand in your way with regular and special attacks, rescue hostages to get points, extra lives, and powerups from them along the way, participate in bonus stages for more points and extra lives, and take on several challenging, yet doable boss fights. As an adaptation of Shadow Dancer, it doesn’t do too much to change the gameplay that was seen in the original game, or from any other Shinobi game at that point, which is perfectly fine. Yeah, the formula may be getting a little stale at this point, but again, it is an improvement from what Revenge of Shinobi gave me, which was much appreciated.

For what WAS changed from the original, it all mostly just comes down to the presentation, which can be seen as a downgrade or an upgrade, depending on who you ask. The graphical style is relatively the same, but obviously, there isn’t much detail on sprites or animations as there were with the original, which is kind of a bummer, but that is to be expected with a Genesis title. If it makes up for it, at least the music is better this time around. Not to mention, rather then loosely adapting the stages from the original game, this game has all new levels created for it, and while nothing about them is changed mechanically compared to the original game, it is nice to see new stuff rather then this just being a complete retread of what was previously seen.

Like I mentioned before though, at this point in the series, things are starting to get kind of stale with the gameplay, which could be one of my main issues with the game. It does stand out from other titles by having the dog companion with you, but he was in the original Shadow Dancer as well, so it doesn’t feel like too much of a difference here. I have no problem with game series that reuse gameplay styles with each installment, but we are four installments into this series now, and there haven’t really been any changes with the formula, which makes me wonder why I would keep playing these games if almost nothing is changed with each installment. Maybe it is just because this is an adaptation and not a full new title, so that’s why there are no real changes, but still, it would’ve been appreciated.

For one actual minor complaint that I have with the game itself, the final boss sucks. The boss himself has a pretty cool design, but all he does is just sit on his throne and summon goons to try to take you out, and them sometimes takes his head off to throw fireballs at you. That’s it. For a final boss encounter, that is pretty pathetic, and while he is still somewhat difficult, and while I am not expecting some grand display of actions, I wish he did a little more to make the victory over him feel earned.

Overall, while it does stick too close to what has already been established in previous games, I still ended up having a good time with this game, at least more then I did with The Revenge of Shinobi, and I definitely prefer this over the original Shadow Dancer any day. I would recommend it for both fans of Shinobi and fans of Shadow Dancer to check out, cause I think you would enjoy it. Although, with all that said and done… we never did find out what the secret of Shinobi was. What is the secret, Sega? WHAT ARE YOU HIDING? TELL ME, YOU COWARDS!

Game #278

mannnnn this game is pretty cool except when it isn't. The levels are pretty reasonably thought out and you have to really take into consideration each enemy type to learn the proper way to get through the levels without dying a lot which is cool, but the game kinda throws all that out the window at the very end where the last level is an annoying 5-floor gauntlet where the final boss just endlessly throws annoying enemies at you and it just kinda soured the whole experience for me personally. Normally when a last boss sucks hard I don't think it's really the end of the world, but when the main game is only like 30 minutes long once you learn all the best routes, that irritating final level and boss kinda puts a damper on me ever wanting to really replay the game or think of it very fondly, which kinda stinks.

I really don't like Shinobi 1 at all. Rolling Thunder 2 and the arcade version of Shadow Dancer are similarly miserable, but as far as this one goes I don't really have nearly as many qualms. I've realized the whole Rolling Thunder type gameplay isn't for me (though I still need to do RT3), but the formula is just about the best it can get here.

As mentioned by others, though, the final boss can go to hell. He just fucking sits around and spawns enemies on you, and combining like three or four enemies on screen with the raining fire attack is fucking ridiculous for a game where you only have one hitpoint.

I was replaying The Revenge of Shinobi last night and got about halfway through before I went to sleep. I'll probably finish that next and follow it up with a replay of Shinobi III and then I can have myself a marathon of sorts. We'll see if I can get that done today.

An unfortunate step down in quality from Revenge of Shinobi. I know the original arcade version of this game came out prior to RoS, so it makes sense, but the series didn't need to go back down to the one-hit kill nonsense. Beyond that, it's a natural progression of more exciting level design and more nuanced combat when comparing it to the original Shinobi. It's fun, if a bit unfair, and the clear steps backward from RoS are too noticeable to forgive, but it does have some pretty solid sections of gameplay. The final boss is balls, however, and the dog mechanic is neat up until the point where it becomes useless on most enemies and is actually just kind of annoying since the barking becomes constant. I probably would've liked this more had I played it before Revenge, but hey, maybe I'd have liked Revenge less if I'd played this first and it not felt like such a massive improvement. It's impossible to know at this point! 3/6

Extremely underrated entry in the Shinobi franchise. Less Revenge of-style action in favor of slower, more cautious play, figuring out when to move in and attack or send your dog in to grab the enemy first. Very fun pacing when you get into the rhythm of it. I'm not a huge fan of the one-hit deaths, but the stages are generally fair and well designed enough to not need to totally commit them to memory. Only a few late-game slip-ups (in particular, the final boss is awful) feel a little too extreme.

Also, the soundtrack is incredible.

Getting the no-savestate 1CC on this? Coolest arcade achievement in a long while.

What really had me coming around on this game is the intricacy of the enemy AI - each sub-type has multiple ways they'll initiate attack against you based on environmental geometry, your positioning, whether or not you've bumped them, etc. And yet how these enemies behave is always consistent on a level-by-level basis, your memorization and commitment to a plan of action is always rewarded and repeatable. Impeccable, intensely-replayable level design with a punishing but plentiful lives system makes this one of the most exhilarating games to master.

Shinobi III is the game to play if you want to live out the cinematic, acrobatic ninja fantasy, but this is where's it's at for the mindgames, the routing, and that up-close martial arts struggle.

Añade ciertas mecánicas que apoyan mas a la idea de vencer mediante el posicionamiento y buena capacidad de respuesta, el doble salto del shinobi anterior se remueve para en su lugar reemplazarlo por un perrito que puede ser de mucha ayuda si se sabe utilizar con cabeza.

Los niveles son increiblemente mas cortos que el primer shinobi y otorgan un margen mas elevado por lo cual no hay muchos escenarios en el cual la caida sea un problema, el verdadero problema es el abusivo spam de enemigos y considerando que aquí ya no tienes el power up que te puede salvar de un golpe adicional, junto a enemigos que son un tedio de derrotar como los ninjas saltarines lo cuales requieren precaución ya que tienen un rango muy elevado para su ataque aéreo, se vuelve molesto lidiar con ellos, en especial en la última parte en la cual recibes un spam masivo de estos.

Los jefes siguen siendo igual de básicos incluso sentí que los de esta entrega son bastante más fáciles así que no se siente muy gratificante derrotarlos tras todo el desafío que si otorgan los niveles.

(This is the 32nd game in my challenge to go through many known games in chronological order starting in 1990. The spreadsheet is in my bio.)

Usually when I am this negative on a game, the reviews online reflect that somewhat, by having the score be something like 2.xx/5 (though every game has its nostalgic fans under a YT walkthrough calling it amazing no matter how shitty it is in hindsight, and more power to them, nostalgia is a beautiful thing). This time, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi is a game that scores much better than I would have anticipated, because in anything related to its gameplay, I disliked this very much. Though due its critical reception as well, I wouldn't say the game is necessarily objectively bad.

This game released on December 1st, 1990 for the Sega Genesis and is a platformer/hack&slash game. There is a tiny story explaining the setting, but nothing worth playing the game for. And that's fine because the game was always meant to be played for its gameplay and its gameplay alone.

The game has a soundtrack that is not bad but not a memorable one in my opinion if we compare it to the OSTs of all these other games I've played in 1990. Still, it's nice enough to listen to and overall, the game does plenty right in just about every way apart from its gameplay, at least in my opinion.

The graphics and special effects are pretty good for its time, the animations are well done and the boss design is great for the most part.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't ever get acclimated with the gameplay and the design of the levels. First off, you are this bad ass Ninja that dies after his heel is touched slightly because you only have one hit point. That's already something I dislike (see Silver Surfer) but it's something I could live with if death didn't come so cheap as it does in these games.

The first 10-20 minutes were filled with death after death after death with every new step I took because enemies would come from the front, the back, the front and back, have wild attack patterns etc. This is fine of course, that's the intention behind the start of the game and you're supposed to overcome that. But as I neared my end of a 1 hour attempt to slog my way through this, I kept dying to the way these enemies were being positioned. Jump down into one enemy and immediately duck because someone else is firing at you. He does that every 2 seconds, so you better time your get-up right or else you'll die. Gotta fend off the other guy though, so better make sure you have your eye on both guys. Kill them, take a step to the left and there is this green dude who throws his shield at you. Jumping over it is not gonna work because you'll touch the tip of the shield with your toes and die. Instead, die, restart the whole level, go back to the same spot and make sure you go exactly to the point where you can see him, but where he can't reach you. Now send your companion dog at him so he distracts him while you come in for the kill. Oh wait, your dog is useless because he has both shields up, which knocks out the dog for 15 seconds.

Ugh, even if I know I will get through this part with repetition, it just is not fun. Gameplay is in many ways similar to Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, but just worse because of insta-death, and without the charm.

OVERALL
Again, I'll give it props for graphics and animation, but it's not a game I enjoyed as someone who had no prior experience with this series. It received praise at the time of its release though, so I guess I might be overly critical here? Nah, this just was bad.

where I stopped: the final boss. dodging the fire it sends down with only 1HP to work with is way too much of a pain, especially while also dealing with enemies running around

+the biggest reason to play this game is the dog: you have a companion that can be sent to immobilize enemies in front of you while you're behind cover or at a distance. the dog moves fast as hell and the enemy placement specifically tests your ability to know when to use the dog and when not to
+I would say that the graphics here are probably even better than revenge of shinobi, with plenty of nice parallax and shearing effects towards the start of the game
+definitely an easier game overall than revenge of shinobi as well, none of the levels themselves are frustrating beyond compare. the bosses also have very identifiable patterns with hitboxes that aren't insanely large or cruel

+you only have one hit point to work for no discernable reason... I really don't know why there isn't a health bar, esp in the japanese version
+while revenge of shinobi was endlessly wacky with both environmental and level design that was all over the place, this game is much more reserved overall. there are cool stages for sure, but it's not surprising in the same way
+very short, this game is around half an hour long, another detriment compared to its predecessor
+enemy variety is very poor: you'll see most of the enemies within the first couple of levels of the game

wasn't sure what to make of this game, since it's a console shinobi by a different team than revenge/III, but it ended up being decently fun overall. this definitely won't blow anyone away compared to later genesis action efforts, but it's solid while it lasts.

A side-scrolling action game with unique stage design, The Secret of Shinobi is a serviceable experience. You complete levels by saving civilians in each level, riddled with enemies until you go to the third stage where you have a boss fight across 5 worlds. All these levels are 2 minutes long, but it is more than enough time unless you really are trying to explore the levels, of which there is no point. The boss fights are fine, but nothing special, the issue I have with them is there hitboxes which are either difficult to hit or laughably easy to hit. There is no in between. Enemies become more active as the stages go but the stages allow for less movement then you'd like, which can lead to frustrating deaths. You also have a dog with you, who can freeze enemies. It is useless on tougher enemies so you will not find much use for it in the game.

Audio design is satisfactory. The soundtrack is nothing special, but it fits the environments. Hit sounds and other sound effects are also decent. The best part of the audio is the unique power-ups and bonus stages, which have an undoubtedly characteristic sound of it's time. The visuals are excellent, with good sprite work, identifiable enemies and patterns, and the Shadow Dancer himself doesn't look that bad either. Environments and their worlds are thankfully distinct, with nice stages, however the last world is disappointing and feels rushed with it's boring warehouse look. The final boss's room makes up for this.

The gameplay is typical with not much unique features, every level plays out the same way, as do the boss fights, but that doesn't mean it's bad by any means, because it is fun. Controls and movements are excellent with many ways in which you can move in your character in the precise way you would like. Hitboxes apart from the boss fights are fair, however near the end there is a lot more action going, but less room to do things within it. It can lead to cheap deaths and the final stage itself is a lives sink. It also would have been nice if boss fights had no timers since as previously said, the hitboxes can be a bit too small on the bosses. Once you finish the game, the only thing left is to try and increase your high-score.

Shadow Dancer is a short well-made action plat-former romp, just don't expect much else from it.