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Fun but difficult action game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: June 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I remember playing the very first shinobi in arcades way back in the 80's. Seeing Shinobi return with modern-day gaming technology was a big surprise.

This game is your typical run of the mill action hack 'n slash game. Its not really boring...its alot of fun actually. Most hack 'n slash games get boring rather quickly but Shinobi manages to maintain exciting gameplay throughout most of the game. The soundtrack is sort of Japanese-techno with a quick beat. It sounds somewhat inspired by Japanese Animation. The graphics are pretty decent (though noticeably full of PS2 'Jaggies') and the flowing sash that trails behind your character is very, very cool.

Unfortunately I have noticed that many people complain about the difficulty. Frankly I must agree. The game can be extremely frustrating at times. I found myself spending more time turning it off and walking away from it than sitting through and playing it. When you die in the game you must restart from the beginning of the level, no matter how much progress you made, which is, needless to say, very frustrating. The game is a good challenge but it definitely would've benefit from mid-level save checkpoints.

'Tate' kills are a nice little reward for quick multi-kills. They occur when you killed a group of 4 or more enemies in quick succession. When you kill all of them, you are treated to a brief in-game cutscene with Shinobi striking a pose, sometimes uttering a line, and then watching your enemies fall to bloody pieces around you (again, looking as if inspired by Japanese Animation.) These kills help to fuel your power and will increase the power of your weapon. However, in later levels Tate kills will become very necessary for you to survive, since your sword begins to consume your life. If you go more than 1 minute without killing an enemy, you will die. this becomes very frustrating, since it leaves no time for you to look for secrets. Tate kills also become nearly impossible in later levels since the enemies become stronger. Some cannot even be killed...many enemies requires lots of dashing and jumping to even do damage to their invincible blocking. These incredibly annoying enemies often take so long to beat that the other enemies die before the Tate can be completed.

Fighting enemies can sometimes become frustrating. The targeting system is pretty strange...instead of targeting the nearest enemy, it will target the enemy that is often farthest from you or is most directly in your line of view, often resulting in the closer enemies around you getting in some cheap hits. Sometimes in the middle of a combo, Shinobi will freeze in a pose, allowing other enemies to get a good 2 or 3 hits on you. Otherwise, the fighting just takes a little bit of skill and some getting used to, but you will enjoy it.

The commercial was right: Shinobi's back. And in a big way. This is definitely a good game but you must have a high threshold of patience. This game can become very frustrating, resulting in cheap deaths(especially in levels that are just packed with pitfalls) and unbeleivably difficult boss fights lead to many fights being done and over and over. Alot of the levels are very bland and very repetetive as well. But the game has a good story, told through some pretty good cinematics. The American voices aren't that bad either. Usually translated voices are pretty awful, but Shinobi has some decent talent (although the rogue ninja woman has an irritating 'school-girl' type of voice).

If you were a fan of Shinobi in the past, or are looking for a fast-paced action game with a decent story, pick it up. However if you are a casual gamer that isn't looking for much of a challenge, stay away. The difficulty of the game will probably get to you rather quickly.

Hack and slash done right

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: November 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game, Shinobi is one of this year's best. If you're tired of pre-rendered backgrounds, or useless item fetching, or protect the base missions, then Shinobi is right for you. Forget all the other stuff that makes other games boring. Shinobi concentrates on fast, furious Ninja slice-em-up action.

The origins of this game is old, with roots to the late 80's. I was introduced to the Shinobi line when Revenge of Shinobi for the GBC came out. I've always loved old jump around and slash stuff games. Ninja Gaiden, and old Shinobi, those were great. Now, this game combines the great old type of action, with much improvements.

First of all, the graphics are really something to look at. Whether it's the way Hatsuma stands, or the red scarf flying back as you rush ninjas, the game looks cool no matter what. Eye candy galore! Fast paced action with little to no rest. It's not something newbies will appreciate, as this game is tough. Very tough. In fact, the fast paced action also requires you to plan out and time your moves. It's challenging when you have to keep up with the fast pace, and decide how, who and when to attack. I love it! Enemies can block, and even stun you. Often, levels will take more then a few attempts to complete. Vet gamers will be used to this, however others will be frustrated. If you give up easily, or if you are used to easy games, stay away from Shinobi.

Controls are solid, smooth and fast. While watching someone play Shinobi, you might scratch your head and ask "how the heck do you keep up with that?" With an effective lock on and a managable camera, the action flows smoothly. Think of a more mature, faster, cooler, Kingdom Hearts type of battle. The wild camera adds to the game's style.

Speaking of style, there is a lot of it. Usually in most games "cool moments" are scripted and happen when they are supposed to happen. In Shinobi, "cool moments" happen all the time. Slash four or more enemies with your sword, and they death freeze. Then they all die at the same time, while Hatsuma does a cool ninja pose. No scripts, no planned out events, Shinobi is spontanious action where anything can happen.

Sound is good, while not the best I have heard. The voice acting is nice, and the sounds in the game are well done. Music is good, but not great. The japanese techno semi rock adds to the theme of this game, however it could be better. But sometimes the music can't help but get stuck in your head.

There is replay value to this game, which is the icing on the cake. This isn't like the usual Arcade to console ports. This game has unlockable stuff that is actually worth getting. Estimate 40 hours to unlock, which gives it a good amount of time. Even when you do unlock everything, Shinobi is still a blast to play! It's a game you will want to re visit, even when late 2003 rolls around.

With fast paced action, good graphics, average sound, and replay value, Shinobi seems to be one of the best games of the year. Something that gets to the roots of ninja games, pure raw uncut fast action. Fun to play, and a break from pre-rendered backgrounds and item fetching. While not for everyone, with its above average challenge level. Old vets that seem to be bored to death with the dullness of ordinary games should pick this one up. Even newcomers should check this one out. Once you get the hang of it, Shinobi is one of the best gaming experiences. In short, it's Hack and Slash done right.

Shinobi's BACK?!?!? Well almost......

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Shinobi was one of those games that just about everyone poured countless quarters into during the late 80's and early 90's. So one would think that it would be a natural to resurrect for the Playstation 2, right? Well not quite. Sega has offered up a new Shinobi for the 21st century. Unfortunatley, Shinobi's come back hasn't made it all the way back to it's former glory.

I'd have to say that when I gave this game 3 stars I was being a bit generous. There are things I do like about it but, if I could I'd actually give it two and a half stars. This game suffers from a number of problems.

First the good. The main character of Hotsuma is very easy to control. Once you learn the in's and out's of his movements, running along walls becomes almost second nature. Hotsuma is also one ninja with serious style. The red scarf, though serving no purpose, is probably one of the nicest flourishes since Lara Croft's pony tail in Tomb Raider II. The CG cutscenes are also nicely done.

Unfortunatley that's where the positives end. This games main downfall comes from it's gameplay. The action is highly repititive. I understand the idea, to bring an arcade style version of Shinobi to the PS2. But unfortunately the good people at Sega failed to give the game any depth. There's little variety in gameplay. You spend most of the game running through generic looking environments that pass for a post apocalyptic Tokyo, hacking and slashing your way past non-descript badguys. The word "Shinobi" in Japanese means "Stealth". In truth stealth has absolutley nothing to do with this game. To be fair I wasn't really expecting another version of Tenchu, but I would have liked to experience something different than your run of the mill arcade slasher. Add the fact that there are no checkpoints and if you get killed, you have to start at the begining of the level can make the game very frustrating. The game's music isn't anything particularly unique and captivating either. The games camera can be a bit tricky at times also, but you can always re-center it by pressing L1.

Shinobi was one of those games that you feel could have and should have given you alot more. Maybe on the PS1 this would have been a great game, but on the PS2 you feel that it could have been better. With any luck Sega will regroup and give us a better game for Hotsuma the next go around. But for those who might want a better ninja/stealth based game, you might want to check out Tenchu and Tenchu 2 for the PS1. At least until Tenchu 3 or Splinter Cell makes it's way to the Playstation 2.

The game Shinobi fans have waited years for

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: February 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Anyone old enough to have owned a Genesis will remember the all time classic 2-D side scroller Revenge of Shinobi (no, I don't mean the one on the Game Boy Advance either), a game that offered loads of fun with it's simple gameplay mechanics and ultra hard difficulty. Sega and developer Overworks have finally brought us the first true 3-D game to feature Shinobi, and man is it great. You get to go through a great looking post-apocalyptic Tokyo taking on enemy ninjas, dogs, and supernatural foes. At your disposal are the good 'ol shurikens and your sword, while you also have new abilities like scaling walls and casting a ghostly image behind you that confuses enemies and takes you in long distances in a short amount of time. The graphics are jaw dropping and the voice acting is some of the best I've ever heard in a game, while the controls are dead on although they will take some getting used to. However, Shinobi is not without it's flaws; the game is super difficult and gamers looking for an easy walkthrough will not get it here. Not to mention that no matter when you die, you'll re-spawn back in the beginning of the level, which can get very frustrating. The camera angle can be grating as well when there is a lot of on screen action, but besides all that, Shinobi is a real winner. All in all, fans of the old Shinobi games of years ago or those looking for some very challenging gameplay should definitely pick this up.

How did Shinobi end up in this [bad] game?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: May 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

What has brought the once mighty Sega so low, that they would release this piece of.... gear, and try to pass it off as a game? Shinobi, perhaps the coolest ninja series ever, is forever annihilated by this poor excuse for a... whatever it is. Hotsuma's design is actually fairly decent as far as movement and effects. That's where the buck stops though. The levels were drawn by a near-sighted fourth grader who was able to eek out some rectangles. Seriously, if you blink, you get instantly lost in levels where every wall looks the same( grey, drab, flat), and you can't tell whether you are going forward or backward. As for the enemies, there is neither an attempt at or a pretense of any AI. Instead, as the levels progress, the enemies just get more and more hitpoints, and "invincible angles" (what a stupid feature) so that by sheer probability you are bound to mess up and die the next time you blink or sneeze. If you like aneurism induced comas, go ahead and buy this one. For all others, this is a pass.

Hack & Slash action

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: December 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Shinobi is one of Sega's classic franchises, but the new game is nothing like the side-scrolling Rolling Thunderesque game you might remember from arcades of the '80's. The new Shinobi features a new main character, completely new play mechanics, and basically takes everything other than the essence of the original game, and strips it away.

What's left is a game of pure ninja action.

This isn't Tenchu, it's not Metal Gear Solid, it's not Splinter Cell, or Thief. This is an action game, pure and simple, no waiting or sneaking involved. In a typical interaction, you'll come across a small group of possessed ninja - members of your ninja clan turned against you. You will run up to them, stealth dash around the first enemy, leaving a ghost image of you in front of him, which he will attack. Hotsuma will slash him in the back, then dash quickly again to meet a new foe. After each foe has been defeated, if the time between each foe was short enough, Hotsuma will strike a quick pose, as your enemies fall apart into pieces simultaneously.

While this combo system looks incredibly cool, it is also integral to the gameplay. With each successive kill in a "Tate" (pronounced Tah-tay, not Tayte) combo, your demon sword becomes more and more powerful. Kill one person in two blows, and the next might be felled in a single stroke. Kill three or four, and your sword will be powerful enough to slice a tank in two.

The result is a really fast-paced action game where your moves are calculated to maximize the damage you can do via the combo system. While not complex enough to really be a "thinking man's" hack and slash, it adds a depth to the game that rewards the skilled player.

There are some drawbacks to the game. The story takes place in a virtually deserted post-apocalyptic Tokyo. While the setting is nice, it's somewhat lifeless. The levels are relatively linear. The boss battles can be extremely difficult. But it doesn't really matter, to be honest.

If you enjoy fast-paced action, and the thought of leaping into battle throwing a burst of shuriken, slicing up a bunch of baddies, and striking a cool pose as they fall apart sounds good to you, you'll enjoy Shinobi.

Hardcore gamers, enjoy! Casual gamers, beware!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

With its neon-lit visuals that are spare yet beautiful, its atmospheric sound and music, and above all, its innovative and well-implemented game play mechanics, Shinobi is sure to be a winner with any true connoisseur of Action/Adventure games. A word of warning, however: Shinobi is not in the least for casual gamers, i.e., those who are unwilling to be trounced time and time again before being able to successfully complete a level or defeat a boss, and/or those disdainful of gameplay mechanics or control schemes that are in any way a departure from the norm.

The player-character, Hostuma, controls very responsively and has a host of groovy ninja moves at his disposal, including wall running, double jumping and a very neat dashing ability which can be executed consecutively on the ground, once in the air under normal circumstances, and an additional time immediately after striking an opponent while airborne. This means that if you have a swarm of aerial opponents about you, you can leap to one, strike him down, dash to the next, and repeat until the entire group is decimated, all without touching the ground. Hostuma's dash also has another, special application, aside from the fairly standard uses of evading attacks, reaching and attacking enemies quickly, and traveling longer distances in the air by combining it with double jumping every time Hotsuma dashes, he leaves behind an after-image. If you dash away from an enemy and leave them standing before an after-image, most of the time the foe will attack it instead of pursuing you, giving you a window of opportunity to strike. This can be a life-saver at times (particularly on Level 3-A, in which you are set upon by hordes of highly aggressive, sword-wielding zombie dogs).

Even with just the mechanics described above, Shinobi would have had very good gameplay. What really makes the gameplay great, however, is the Tate (pronounced tah-tay) system, the proper employment of which allows you to cut down a large group of opponents quickly with a minimum of hassle. Every time you defeat a foe who is by his lonesome, he falls immediately. However, if you are fighting two or more foes, each foe leading up until the last will be frozen in place a short time after defeat and your sword will become just a little stronger, making it much easier to "freeze" successive foes. After the last opponent falls, or when you wait too long before defeating the next -- at which time the frozen enemies fall regardless of those remaining -- your sword returns to its original power, so it is in your best interest to hit your enemies as quickly as possible. Killing three or fewer enemies in rapid succession, however, while advantageous because of your sword's power accretion, is not a true Tate; that comes into play when you quickly defeat four or more opponents, whereupon you are rewarded with a stylish cutscene in which Hostuma performs a sword flourish and all enemies fall together. It is especially advantageous to attack all the weakest enemies of a group first, since that makes it easier to down the real toughies, direct, drawn-out confrontations with whom might result in significant damage to yourself. In fact, some tougher foes take much more trouble and time to defeat if you don't Tate them. This goes doubly true for the bosses; it is far more satisfying, but far quicker to defeat a boss by quickly freezing the various demons he/she has conjured until you have amassed enough power to Tate the big baddy along with them. Nothing feels more awesome than vanquishing a big, bad boss beast with one sword stroke! A final word about Tate: Hotsuma's demon sword, Akujiki, requires constant nourishment in the form of dark energy, which you gain automatically upon defeating a foe. Wait too long between feedings, and the sword will begin to drain your life. A Tate however, will usually fill up your sword's hunger gauge, and if you make it a habit to Tate whenever possible, Akujiki will almost never go vampiric on you.

Shinobi's graphics are quite simple when compared to most games of its generation, but they are beautiful in that simplicity. There is no gross over-texturing, as evident in disappointments like Halo 2 and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, as each object is textured just enough to give it personality. Also, neither the character models nor environments are polygon-rich, but the hard angles resulting from the relatively low-poly count never look ugly, having been placed so that they fall into line with the game's art design. Due to this graphical economy, slow-down is almost completely absent. The dark, brooding colors highlighted by bright neons, along with the game's unusual character and enemy designs, lend the game an 80's anime aesthetic. Since all of the game's character models have so much personality in-game, it is easy to imagine that they lost little in the translation from design to implementation; the enemies, and most especially the boss characters, are all very interesting to look at and well-animated, and Hotsuma himself, with his flowing red scarf, four-eyed helmet and confident demeanor, will surely go down in video game history as one of the most stylish player-characters ever.

Overall, Shinobi's sound is exceptional. The grunts, slashes, clashes, explosions and the like are all pretty standard, though never inadequate. The chorus of death cries let out by a flock of enemies during Tate, however, is really titilating! The Japanese voice acting, though there is little of it, is excellent, and really lends itself to atmosphere-building. Kudos to Sega's U.S. branch for not excluding the Japanese track and forcing us to listen to the kind of lack-luster English dub-drivel that has marred many a game imported from Japan! By far the best part of Shinobi's sound is its wonderful techno music. It has a fast enough pace to perfectly compliment the quickly-moving gameplay, yet is so thoughtfully composed that at the same time it projects an atmosphere of complex mysticism.

If you are up to the challenge, I cannot recommend this game enough. I am at a loss to understand why so many supposedly hardcore gamers, even editors at some major video game review mags, regard it shabbily. I can only surmise that they are indeed not hardcore gamers, that they are only willing to scarf down one deriviative FPS or cookie-cutter sports title after another, completely unknowing of what a great Action/Adventure truly is. What happened to you, Sega? Put Sonic on ice for a while and get back to making games like this!

Shinobi, The Classic Super Ninja is Back!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 21
Date: October 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If your a hard core gamer, you have probably played the Sega game Shinobi. Now 8 years later, Sega is putting out that game for PS2 that couldn't be cooler. In this game, you will play as Hotsuma, a lightning fast ninja swords man, who must protect modern day Japan from evil Demon ninjas . This kick ... ninja can slice through enermys with his katana (sword), run up and across walls like the Matrics, and use ninjyutsu (ninja magic) to obliterate any enemy in his path. This will be an extremely high-speed combat game with very challanging enemys, such as thirty foot tall demons, demons that can turn invisible and even military tanks. This game is going to be a very hard, very bloody, and very intence. If you don't like those kinds of games, don't get it. If you do, this will be one of your favorite games!

WHY SEGA WILL REIGN AGAIN

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: November 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Wow. That's my first impression of this game. I've only had it for a few hours, but wow. This game is everything I thought it would be and more. It's not complicated, it's not confusing; it's direct, poignant, and very nicely done.

I never played the other shinobi installments, but this one is absolutely bewildering. Imagine taking the sword slashing from Strider, adding shuriken from the classic shinobi installments, creating a 3d gaming experience, and turning the speed of gameplay up about 10x or so. Those, in essence, are the ingredients to this wonderful game. The game is deeper than this, but it is nothing if not straightforward. The controls are a breeze (as with most Sega games) and pace of the game is fast and furious. This game, save it's great graphics and 3d third person layout, revives the gameplay that any oldschool genesis or nintendo gamer has been deprived of for so long.

The greatest flaw to this game is the music; it's really not very good at all. But you can always turn it off and play something else on the stereo in the background (Just like you may have done with all those old Nintendo and Genesis games). The voice acting is pretty good and the cinematics, though unbelievable, are awesome. That aside, being able to dash around and slice 5 enemies who fall apart after the fight in a gory, bloody mess is absolute fun, especially after a long day at work. If you're a fan of oldschool gameplay, give this game a try, you'll love it til it hurts.

Boring!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: September 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Whatever happened to the Shinobi plotlines in the old Genesis games such as Shadow Dancer, Legend of Shinobi and Shinobi III? What happened to Joe Mushasi and his faithful dog sidekick? What about the evil Union Lizard Corp? None of that is in this. It's just generic hokum and the Ninja dude is the only one to save the day.

The graphics are very cool and the soundtrack amiable enough but the gameplay is so boring and gets very old and tired even by the second stage. It was cool slicing the bad folks in half the first few times but when the game takes time out to show them spurting blood for the fifty-millionth time it seriously gets on your nerves.

There's no variance or long-lasting appeal to this. It makes me long for the old-school Shinobi. Side-scrolling beat 'em ups such as Shadow Dancer are still better than this. It's very dull. It looks good but it plays poorly.

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