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As the ninja Shinobi (Joe Musashi) you must stop the criminal organization known as Zeed, who have kidnapped the children of the Oboro clan. Test your ninja skills through five missions of increasing difficulty, and make your way to Zeed’s headquarters to free all the hostages. The Ring of Five, the leaders of Zeed, are determined to stop you as you face off against one of them at the end of each stage.

Genre: Action

Publisher: SEGA

Developer/Co-Developer: Backbone Entertainment / SEGA

Online Play:

Local Play: 2 Co-op

June 11, 2009 –
The SEGA Vintage Collection offers classic games from the storied company’s vast library. Most of these titles were originally available on the SEGA Genesis, but some are based off the arcade version. Each sells for 400 MSP ($5), features “enhanced graphics” and include 200 Achievement Points.

Shinobi is a respected SEGA franchise, but one that doesn’t have the same draw as Sonic or even Golden Axe. And with good reason. The original arcade version, now available on XBLA, has not stood the test of time.

You play as a ninja out to save hostages from the forces of evil. The side-scroller offers a small number of combat options — shurikens, basic sword slashes, and a special ninja-powered smart bomb. The enemies are old school AI, walking forward and attacking without much thought. I can’t really fault Shinobi for what it is — after all, this game is more than 20 years old. But there are many decades-old titles that manage to still be a lot of fun and Shinobi is not on that list.

Yellow ninjas are the best at staying hidden.Shinobi controls fine, but it’s hard to believe anyone will get much enjoyment out of this one. Even those looking for a bit of nostalgia may be disappointed with the crushing reality that Shinobi just isn’t that good (and, honestly, never was that great).

It doesn’t help that SEGA did almost nothing with this title other than make it playable on 360. The smoothing option removes some of the rough edges, but doesn’t make Shinobi look much better than it did 20 years ago and there’s no “history of” element. For $5, this should have been a full Shinobi package with The Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer included.

Closing Comments
Shinobi isn’t worth $5. It’s that simple.

IGN Ratings for Shinobi (X360)

Rating Description

out of 10
click here for ratings guide

3.0
Presentation
Rather than showcase its franchise, the re-release offers nothing but the original game with no extra frills.

3.0
Graphics
It’s an old arcade game with no real visual improvements.

3.0
Sound
There is indeed sound in the game. That’s something, at least.

4.0
Gameplay
Even when it was released, Shinobi was never one of the arcade greats for me. And 20 years later it’s not much fun at all.

3.0
Lasting Appeal
The game is fairly short, though it is unforgiving in its difficulty.

4.0
Poor
OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

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