Revenge of Shinobi
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Revenge of Shinobi belongs in the class of action games that
enjoyed prominence during the days of the NES, but slowly
faded away as higher-powered systems were introduced. It's a
challenging 2D side-scroller that will require a certain
amount of dedication and fortitude in order to conquer and
fully enjoy it. The frustrating jumps and clunky controls
make this game a throwback to the days when platform games
couldn't be beaten overnight. Take the play mechanics of the
original Castlevania and replace Simon Belmont with a ninja
warrior, and you've basically got Revenge of Shinobi.
While the high difficulty level of the game can be rather
intimidating, you're anything but defenseless. Along with a
limited supply of shurikens that you can hurl at the enemy,
your ninja is equipped with a sword for close range
fighting. The most interesting aspect of the game is your
character's ability to make use of four special ninjitsu
powers. Calling upon these powers can grant you extra
defensive strength or greater jumping ability, or they can
take the form of special, long range attacks. Learning which
ninjitsus are most effective in which areas will require a
great deal of experimentation; you will undoubtedly meet a
number of untimely deaths until you become competent with
these powers.
While the vast majority of enemy characters are swift and
tough to take down, the high difficulty level of the game is
mostly due to the frustrating amount of jumps that you must
make. You can attempt to pull off a special somersault leap,
but more times than not, your warrior will simply not
respond to your command to perform this maneuver. Adding to
the frustration is that there are usually plenty of enemies
awaiting you after you successfully make a lengthy jump -
and there's nothing those enemies love to do more than knock
you right off the edge of the platform and force you to make
the jump all over again. Another annoying aspect of the game
along these lines is that your character is always flung a
substantial distance whenever contact is made with an enemy.
You may think that you're securely standing in the center of
a platform, only for an enemy to come in slight contact with
you and fling you right off the platform. This problem was
also present in Castlevania, but it's even more of a
nuisance in this game.
The slick, intense music in Revenge of Shinobi fits the
ninja theme of the game extremely well. The graphics are
generally top-notch as well, although they do cause some
problems every now and again. For example, the waterfall in
Stage Two is visually impressive, but many of the enemy
characters in the level tend to blend in with the color of
the water. As a result, you might not spot an enemy warrior
until it is too late. I realize that this camouflaging
effect may very well have represented an effort to make the
level more difficult, but the stage is hard enough without
the cheap deaths caused by not being able to see the enemy
characters.
There are plenty of options available to you before you
begin playing the game. The difficulty and the number of
shurikens that you begin the game with can both be altered
to fit your wishes. Don't expect to cruise through the game,
however, even if you give yourself every possible advantage
on the options screen. Making those tough jumps and
mastering your ninjitsu powers will enable you to succeed in
the game - the number of shurikens that you possess is
almost irrelevant.
While Revenge of Shinobi offers a nice taste of what games
used to be like, I doubt that most gamers today will have
the patience that is necessary to get through the game.
Let's put it this way: if your first video game system was
either a Playstation or an N64, then this isn't the game for
you. Even at the time of its release, there was room for
improvement. While this title was far better than the Legend
of Kage style of ninja games that were prevalent during the
days of the NES, it doesn't even come close to Ninja Spirit
for the Turbografx-16. I personally liked the game, but it's
tough to recommend it these days. Unless you want a reminder
of how difficult and frustrating video games used to be,
you'd probably do well to avoid Revenge of Shinobi.
Overall: 6 / 10
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