Retro Game of the Day! Revenge Of Shinobi

Retro Game of the Day! Revenge Of Shinobi

Revenge Of Shinobi was a Sega Genesis release, appearing shortly into the system's lifespan in late 1989. "What?" you say, "haven't we already covered enough Shinobi games on Retro game of the day?" Apparently, not...

This game was a little ridiculously badass. To be honest, I was never really a convert into the Shinobi way-of-life previously, the first game had made a strong showing in the arcade and was one of the more well-known ports to appear on the 8-Bit Sega Master System - but I was not really hip to any of that at the time. However, when some screens of this forthcoming game reared their heads in Electronic Gaming Monthly, I was more than a little flabbergasted - "what.. is this? This thing looks pretty good!" So I was a little eager to get my hands on it, and I scooped it up when it released - and to no disappointment. The game was pretty rockin'.

Your typical side-scrolling fare, you'd walk ot the right, jump and slash enemies with your sword - collect shurikens (throwing stars) for distance attacks, and of course you could utilize a little bit of MP as well (high jump, lightning force, or the dreaded-suicide attack). It was all very stylish, very cool, and quite well-rendered. They pulled out all the stops on this title, it was a showcase for the system at the time.

In hindsight, the game got a little famously memorable for its "cameos" - there's a couple tongue-in-cheek bosses in here, which a few of Sega's partners took issue with (an homage to Spider-man, who turns into Batman....) also, Godzilla and even the Terminator. But it was all good. An excellent game, a little "easy" for a Shinobi game but a fair challenge nonetheless. This game kid of brought the brand "to the masses," as it were, though obviously it's not made much noise since the days of 16-bit.

I could really go on and on about the virtues of Revenge of Shinobi. They nailed everything - colorful and detailed graphics, Yuzo's soundtrack, the play control, the whole nine yards - you get the point. The game is good. if you like retrogames, and you haven't played this one yet - do it. NOW!