The Revenge of Shinobi is easily my favorite of the Sega Genesis' launch line up, not that the bar was ever set high to begin with. Whereas other launch games like Altered Beast stumble in their attempt to bring the arcade into the home, Shinobi excels by understanding that a console game should be made with the idiosyncrasies of home gaming in mind.
Unlike the original Shinobi, there are no longer multiple hostages to rescue, and Joe Musashi is a fair bit tougher to kill (though the game is still pretty challenging.) A larger emphasis on story further sets it apart, though to be perfectly honest I don't really remember any of it other than your girlfriend being kidnapped. Shoutout to anyone else who also lets her die every single time. Look, it's not that I'm cruel, I'm just bad at video games.
The soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro is terrific, which should just go without saying. While Koshiro is a well accomplished composer and still produces some incredible music today, his body of work on the Genesis is easily my favorite among his entire catalog. There are tracks in The Revenge of Shinobi that truly deserve to be called "iconic," and if nothing else this game is just damn good to just listen to. Did you know Yuzo Koshiro also created a theme song for Inugami Korone?
Fun Weatherby Fact: I once flooded my apartment because I was watching Korone stream Mario games with my headphones on and didn't hear my washing machine overfill. I'm 34-years-old!
The greatest weakness of Revenge of Shinobi is that it's not Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, a game that accomplishes everything this one does with so much more flourish and polish that it renders Revenge nearly moot. The Revenge of Shinobi's only real value to me today is its role in Sega's history and early success in the 16-bit era, the sort of game you sit down with to appreciate more for its legacy than its gameplay. It is then worth noting that anyone looking to play this game today should put some consideration into which revision they play. It's no secret that a number of copyrighted characters were put in the game as boss fights, supposedly due to some miscommunication between Noriyoshi Ohba and the lead character designer. Each revision makes some change to how these characters appear, with Not Spider-Man in particular eventually just outright becoming Spider-Man due to a licensing agreement between Marvel and Sega. My preference is the original version of the game because it's the most "raw."
Anyway, that's all I have to say about The Revenge of Shinobi. I'm going to lay down now and do some Ninja Magic (DMT), thank you for reading my review!
Unlike the original Shinobi, there are no longer multiple hostages to rescue, and Joe Musashi is a fair bit tougher to kill (though the game is still pretty challenging.) A larger emphasis on story further sets it apart, though to be perfectly honest I don't really remember any of it other than your girlfriend being kidnapped. Shoutout to anyone else who also lets her die every single time. Look, it's not that I'm cruel, I'm just bad at video games.
The soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro is terrific, which should just go without saying. While Koshiro is a well accomplished composer and still produces some incredible music today, his body of work on the Genesis is easily my favorite among his entire catalog. There are tracks in The Revenge of Shinobi that truly deserve to be called "iconic," and if nothing else this game is just damn good to just listen to. Did you know Yuzo Koshiro also created a theme song for Inugami Korone?
Fun Weatherby Fact: I once flooded my apartment because I was watching Korone stream Mario games with my headphones on and didn't hear my washing machine overfill. I'm 34-years-old!
The greatest weakness of Revenge of Shinobi is that it's not Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, a game that accomplishes everything this one does with so much more flourish and polish that it renders Revenge nearly moot. The Revenge of Shinobi's only real value to me today is its role in Sega's history and early success in the 16-bit era, the sort of game you sit down with to appreciate more for its legacy than its gameplay. It is then worth noting that anyone looking to play this game today should put some consideration into which revision they play. It's no secret that a number of copyrighted characters were put in the game as boss fights, supposedly due to some miscommunication between Noriyoshi Ohba and the lead character designer. Each revision makes some change to how these characters appear, with Not Spider-Man in particular eventually just outright becoming Spider-Man due to a licensing agreement between Marvel and Sega. My preference is the original version of the game because it's the most "raw."
Anyway, that's all I have to say about The Revenge of Shinobi. I'm going to lay down now and do some Ninja Magic (DMT), thank you for reading my review!
2 Comments
Oh yeah, it sucked. They had to carve out some dry wall, rip up a bunch of carpet, and had fans blowing in there for a few days straight. All because I had to watch the funny cartoon dog girl.
FallenGrace
2 years ago
Never played this more than an hour and I had it at the launch of the system. I'll get to it one day...