You’d think that between a remake of Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, a new spin-off, and a brand new entry in the series set for release in October, Ninja Gaiden has unquestionably staked its claim for 2025 to become the Year of the Ninja. Lizardcube and SEGA are throwing their kunai into the ring though with Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance, a brand new game in SEGA’s long lost series developed by one of the three teams behind Streets Of Rage 4, and let me tell you: it’s a banger.
Returning the Shinobi series to its roots, players control Joe Musashi as he deals with the rise of ENE Corp, a new evil doing organisation led by Lord Ruse that’s spreading death and destruction across the world. Foolishly, Ruse decides to turn the ENE Corp war machine towards the village of the Oboro Clan, earning the ire of Joe as he travels through over a dozen levels in an attempt to slice, stab and generally murder Lord Ruse for his transgressions against Oboro and the world.
Fans of the original Shinobi games will be happy to hear that Art Of Vengeance returns to the 2D side scrolling action the series became known for, though Lizardcube have plenty of new tricks up their sleeves to ensure modern gamers enjoy their time with this one.
Joe Musashi is far from the days of his original outing, where all he could do was jump, throw shuriken and cast a ninjutsu technique once per stage. Instead, Joe has light and heavy sword attacks, the ability to throw kunai if he has them in stock, and a dash both on the ground and in mid air to avoid attacks or get some more distance. Naturally, these can be combined to make combos, and Shinobi’s enemies can be prone to juggles so those who enjoy watching the combo counter go up will be enthralled by Shinobi’s combat.
Players can also buy new combat moves and attacks via the in-game shop, giving you more combo potential to experiment with. Thankfully, there’s even a training lab for players to practice their combos before a level.
There’s also a risk/reward element in play with the game’s execution system, as if you fill up an enemy’s execution gauge, you can perform an execution by pressing both bumpers together. This will insta-kill any enemy with a full gauge on screen, offering more rewards if they’re killed that way, and the more you kill, the more rewards you get, so flashier players might try to set up as many enemies as possible to die in one flourish to get the most out of it. Of course, you could just kill them regularly too. It’s another tool in your arsenal at the end of the day, and it helps keep the action fresh.
Despite the juggling and executions though, the enemies in this game are no slouches, with plenty of enemy variety introduced as you carve a path through the game’s various stages. Memorising patterns and recognising openings will become the main skill that’ll see you through the game’s many challenges. That might sound daunting for those who tend to struggle with hardcore 2D action platformers, but while there are no difficulty settings in Shinobi, there is a range of accessibility options on offer for those who want or need the extra bit of help.
As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock new ninja tools that are used to explore the environment, which adds an element of Metroidvania-esque replayability, begging you to replay old levels to unlock new areas. Mercifully, Lizardcube also included a fast travel option between the level’s checkpoints, so it’s much easier to drop in, find the bit on the map you couldn’t explore previously and make a beeline straight for it. Sometimes, it’s just nice to play a video game that respects the player’s time.
You’ll also unlock Ninpo, special moves that serve specific purposes, like attacks that target armoured enemies or fill the execution gauge faster, with players able to equip four in order to suit the purpose at hand. Amulets also feed into that, with two categories of passive and combo that can improve your stats, alter key gameplay mechanics and ultimately allow you to create the Shinobi experience you want. Finally, there’s Ninjutsu attacks, which are huge screen filling moments that have their own Rage gauge (say that three times). There’s four to unlock, but disappointingly, only two of them are really useful and one of them is the default attack. Not the end of the world, but still.
Speaking of flaws though, trying to find any in Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance is about as difficult as trying to find an actual ninja. It’s a hard game, and the repeated deaths during tough boss fights or some of the brutal platforming challenges during the game’s optional content can be frustrating, especially when Joe decides he wants to climb over the wall when I just wanted him to grab it. Still, that’s a skill issue more than anything else, and it just made victory all the sweeter.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a strong return for a series that’s been left in SEGA’s back catalogue for nearly a decade and a half at this point. If this is an indication of what we can expect from SEGA’s recent push to revive its older titles, we’re in for a good time.
A review key was provided by PR for this review
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