#super shinobi

[redsamuraiii]

The Revenge of Shinobi (1989)

House of Ninjas makes me want to play this childhood game again!

[smbhax]

The Super Shinobi (MD)

(ROM from Steam version of The Revenge of Shinobi)

[jayextee]

Shinobi III

The late '80s and early '90s fucking loved ninjas, so of course they were in a lot of media of the time. Videogames no exception, and to me the Shinobi series were always indicative of this trend; plus iconic in their own way.

The first game, an arcade title, was occasionally unfair and brutal but completely memorable. The second ('Revenge of' or 'The Super' Shinobi, depending on region) was an improvement in pretty much every way, offering both a meticulously-balanced action platformer that helped give the SEGA Megadrive a strong launch lineup; and an artistic commentary on East-versus-West attitudes and stereotypes.

Number three eschews the high art in favour of schlocky ninja action, and absolutely excels with it. This being the nineteen-nineties, the stoic and considered pace of the first two games is replaced with a dash-in-and-katana-them-in-half attitude, bolstered by surfing robots and a drop-kicking horse mount. I'm not kidding, such things made my teenage self exclaim "awesome!" thirty years ago, and my adult self hasn't changed their mind one iota since. That's why I play through every now and then, and why I played through it another time today.

Even today, the game's pace and fluidity makes it an absolute joy to blast through; seven levels, split into two discernible halves with a boss at the end; and just enjoy the hour-long ride whilst I'm there. Protagonist Joe Musashi (yeah, really) dashes, blocks, somersaults, divekicks and walljumps the environments with aplomb; although maybe not as stop-on-a-dime responsive as modern (circa 2023) platform action games, there's a nonetheless a feeling of weight to the proceedings that makes it satisfying to chain the moves together -- you aren't just playing as a ninja, you are the ninja.

To top this off, it looks and sounds amazing. It's a great experience all around, offering a perfectly-pitched challenge that may sap a few lives but never overly-frustrates; unless the difficulty is turned up. And even then, it's totally learnable and designed for it.

I feel like it's customary to say something negative about the game to 'balance' the positives? I didn't like waiting for some platform cycles on 7-2. There you go. Motherfucking game is almost perfect. 5/5

[demifiendrsa]

Official English translated author comments featured in Weekly Shonen Jump 2024 issue #43

Hakutaku chapter 1 - Kouki Ishikawa

Shinobu Undercover chapter 2 - Ippon Takegushi

Me & Roboco chapter 202 - Shuhei Miyazaki

Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 243 - Hitsuji Gondaira

Sakamoto Days chapter 183 - Yuto Suzuki

One Piece chapter 1127 - Eiichiro Oda

Blue Box chapter 165 - Kouji Miura

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 270 - Gege Akutami

Ichi the Witch chapter 3 - Osamu Nishi

The Elusive Samurai chapter 172 - Yusei Matsui

Kagurabachi chapter 50 - Takeru Hokazono

Hima-Ten! chapter 11 - Genki Ono

Witch Watch chapter 172 - Kenta Shinohara

Akane-banashi chapter 127 - Yuki Suenaga

Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 243 - Hitsuji Gondaira

Astro Royale chapter 22 - Ken Wakui

Nue’s Exorcist chapter 67 - Kota Kawae

Kill Blue chapter 70 - Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi chapter 13 - Shoichi Usui

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 31 - Shun Numa

Undead Unluck chapter 223 - Yoshifumi Tozuka

Yokai Buster Murakami chapter 13 - Daiki Ihara

[lamazmorradelandroide]

'The Revenge of Shinobi' Mega Drive (1989)

[easternmind]

Last year in classic games

For motives I cannot expand on with much glee, I found a little more time than usual this year to reduce my seemingly endless backlog of classics. Despite all the fine new releases 2023 has greeted us with, I was able to finally dive into this eclectic handful of games I gathered over time. It is perhaps no coincidence that I reached out for more direct game experiences than story-driven ones. I find myself increasingly drawn to games designs that are mindful of the player's time as a commodity not to be carelessly squandered.

One note, if I may: I would like to inspire my readers to progressively discard the use of the word retro this year. We are all of advancing years and wisdom, I trust. The introduction of the term retro to the videogame vernacular was a gross mistake furthering the abhorrent notion that games were as ephemeral in their nature as fashion. It is a purely commercial designation by which to profitably repackage old software as a category of its own, originating from the same minds that considered games as mere novelty trinkets of limited marketable lifespan.

It is up to the player to individually decide on an older game's appeal, whether they may be discovering it for the first time or revisiting it for the umpteenth one. This is not only an appeal for those of you who write about games in any capacity, rather to anyone who takes videogames as a serious interest and communicates with others about this the object of their predilection. Thank you.

This loose cart came with a Famicom bundle auction I won in 2009, if memory serves. I turned on the Famicom and tested it merely to verify if it was still in working condition and found myself engrossed in that trademark Pajitnov/Pokhilko elegant approach to game design. As per the cassette's label, Hatris was originally a concept developed in collaboration with ParaGraph, a Russian studio that went on to develop specialized professional software, a year before the Bullet-Proof Software licensing deal. They produced a few games in the turn of the decade that were rather unusual and, some would say, even visionary. I recommend that you look up their story, if you're curious.

The only entry from the group that isn't of Japanese provenance - though it is a Japanese edition - I played it for purely nostalgic motives, perhaps a yearning for a certain pixel, palette and parallax that resoundingly evoke a time I was fortunate enough to experience, first-hand. If I may be honest, I purchased the game for the visual value of its unique cover art, which I deem superior to the US edition's. In saying that, I must highlight that the original Amiga game box art was quite accomplished.

In the Summer of 93 while on holiday at the beach, there was a French Nintendo magazine for sale whose purchase I could not resist. It was very common to find Spanish, English and French publications at the time in Portugal. This edition had a striking four page preview of this Jaleco gem, Ikari no Yōsai, or Operation Logic Bomb as it was named in the West. For years I searched the PAL version in vain, then ultimately decided to import it on account of - you'd never guess! - the superior box art. Playing it this year at long last, I was instantly reminded of an old Game Boy favourite, Fortified Zone, which I now know to be its prequel. Most top-down shooters are best played in co-op. Ikari no Yōsai is strictly and single-player affair and not once did I miss the absence of a friendly companion.

Keio Flying Squadron 2 first came to my attention via an infamous Saturn demo disc, which came into my hands through circumstances I have since forgotten about. I use the word infamous because the entire game code was available in the disc and the level select cheat code enabled me to unscrupulously play the entirety of the game for no additional expense - at only the cost of missing out on the colourful Studio Pierrot anime FMV interludes.

Having played the sequel first, I was somewhat disenchanted to learn the original game did not feature any platforming segments, it being a pure scrolling shooter in the same whimsical vein as Parodius or, say, an AirZonk. Still, a jolly good time with the old three buttons.

For reasons that will not be immediately apparent to younger reading audiences, I pride myself in having completed most Shinobi games, The Revenge Of and GG being my preferred ones. Shin Shinobi Den, or Shinobi X in Europe, was a game not readily available from my usual game dealers. I eventually borrowed the PAL version once, though not nearly long enough to master it. I finally saw it through this year, mere days before SEGA announced a new episode. While the live action clips looked a tad maladroit in the 1990s, they came to acquire that nice patina I now look for in classic games.

Omega Force was known to take the sporadic breather from producing some of KOEI's most cherished and profitable series. I distinctly remember enjoying Destrega quite a bit in its day, a game quite unlike any other. What their 1998 Enigma lacks in consistency and originality, it more than amply makes up for with its own bizarre concepts, extravagant characters and unexpected genre fusions. Of all the titles in this post, this was the one whose pace felt the most sluggish, and needlessly so.

Microsoft Game Studio Japan release schedule plans were not at all kind on this, their first production, Magatama. Earlier this year I praised this era for its highly inspired H&S action adventure titles and even spent a few days delighting myself with the likes of Blood Will Tell, Nightshade, Bujingai, or Chaos Legion. This most unusual creation, developed by the aptly-named Team Breakout - a group composed of many talented ex-Square employees - is one among the finest of the era. Sadly, it did not do enough to persuade players at the time that it was a better purchase than Otogi or its sequel. Playing it with my mind and heart set back in time to 2003, I can say that this misguided consideration may not have withstood a second thought.

I've long wanted to write an extensive article on Japanese firefighting games. In fact, I have the structure laid out for a Japanofiles entry gathering moss in my Tumblr drafts for over a decade now. For a brief period this year I convinced myself I could finally fulfil this aspiration and resumed Sakurazaka Shouboutai as research. Developed by Racdym - later Racjin - for Irem, it is every bit as good as Firefighter F.D.18 or Hard Luck, and in many ways more inventive from a conceptual standpoint. While Konami and Spike found a way to have their games released in the west, Sakurazaka's poor regional sales performance clearly accounts for Irem's reluctance to bear the cost of an overseas ticket.

[crownedinmarigolds]

I don't really care much for Assassin's Creed games any more and don't have much of a substantial opinion (gameplay is fun but I can't really get into the overarching story beyond the history based parts)... but I'm a bit confused at the use of a real historical figure in their most recent game as a main protagonist. I don't think they've ever used a real historical person as a player character before, and - I don't know - just feels a little odd that they're choosing Yasuke to be the first. I expect it to be cool and as a well-researched as it could be I'm sure, but it does leave a weird feeling. Like they wanted to have the clout of a black male protagonist but didn't want to touch Africa and "hey! Japan will sell to the weebs!" But obviously you can't just make a black samurai and not expect people to go ahead and make the Yasuke comparison so you may as well just use Yasuke but... hm.

[retrogamelovers]

Which game would you play first from the Sega Genesis 6-Pak?

[ifeelalot]

[mo-ok]

Hayate Ninjas 20 Years After 200 Years Before

[redsamuraiii]

After playing Streets of Rage 4, I hope they'll make a new Super Shinobi game too, maybe titled : Return of the Shinobi.

As much as I love Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin's Creed, I love an retro type of games which reminds me of old school SEGA games.

What I love about Streets of Rage 4 is that it is something familiar with a touch of nostalgia of the original but new and refreshing.

Imagine if they were to do the same with Super Shinobi, with similar art style and same music composer as the original.

But this time it takes place across all prefectures of Japan instead of going from Japan to America.

Joe Musashi, the legendary Shinobi returns beginning his journey from Aomori Prefecture all the way down to Kyushu.

So gamers feel like they are traveling across Japan themselves, fighting various villains against the familiar backdrops.

First mission starts of at Aomori Castle where the villain ninja, Neo Zeed, attacked his dojo, killed his master and kidnapped his fiancee.

Then he goes to Sendai, the city of Date Masamune, where he fought with his descendant who sides with the villainous ninja.

Then he goes further down to other prefectures, eventually going to Kansai where he fights female ninjas at Dotonbori, Osaka.

Then he goes Nara prefecture to fight a Onna Bugeisha, a female Samurai.

Then the bamboo forest of Kyoto to fight a Yokai disguised as a Miko or Shrine Maiden or Gion to fight a Yokai disguised as a Geisha.

Then he proceed to other places like Aizu, Tokyo, Hikone, Lake Biwa, Mount Koya, Kobe, Chinatown, Himeji, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, etc.

Each prefecture with its own unique songs, theme, villains, backdrops and history.

The final stage is at the city of Fukuoka, going up the high rise building to confront the Neo Zeed himself.

Maybe Neo Zeed is a descendant of a Samurai warlord who wants revenge against the Shinobi's clan since the Sengoku Jidai.

I'm surprised that no game studio have made this by now. There's a lot of potential to develop to get both new and existing fans.

[retrocgads]

USA 1990

[jayextee]

Using this platform to talk, well, platforms

This is what 'coyote time' looked like in 1989.

For the uninitiated, and I do hope my posts here aren't simply playing a show to an audience of gamedevs only, 'coyote time' is a term meaning the ability to jump a platform game character after they've ostensibly left their stable footing in a ledge or platform. It is derived from the scant few seconds of solidity Wile E. Coyote feels beneath his feet in the Road Runner cartoons, after he has actually careened off a cliff face.

It's actually long-bothered me that amateur game developers will often repeat verbatim the 'advice' that a platform game can't possibly have good 'game-feel' without the mechanic; to which I have always disagreed, as a part of who I have learned to be is that I will question absolutely anything presented to me as an indomitable truth. After all, before semi-modern times, we all enjoyed platform games that let you fall off ledges as soon as your feet left them, right?

However, I've come to realise that 'coyote time' isn't a new concept. I will repeat that, not a new concept; regardless of the late-jumping implementation of modern platform games.

Y'see, older games used to have these chunky and large hitboxes for the player, which often conformed to the visible height and width of the character sprite. In visual terms, this did indeed mean that a character could indeed be half-off a platform and yet still standing on it, as the collision box still had a corner on solid ground; leaving a character humourously balancing on a single foot, as seen above in 1989's The Super Shinobi.

I see modern implementations of CT therefore as something of a hotfix for smaller player hitboxes being the trend, and the norm. For although these smaller player hitboxes make dodging hazards and other dangers easier, their dissonance with visible sprite dimensions can often make judging jumps a much-fuzzier affair. And some leniency in the jump timing is a band-aid over that.

Which isn't wrong, I don't think coyote time is a bad mechanic (I've used it in my previous two platform games Quickly, Quackley! and NekoNecro) but I don't think it should be a mandatory one either. I have no concluding thoughts to this ramble, it's just the kind of thing I like to think about as a game developer; as I say, questioning anything held up as an incontestable fact. Because often, these things actually aren't.

(Crossposted from my Cohost)

[demifiendrsa]

Official English translated author comments featured in Weekly Shonen Jump 2024 issue #42

Shinobu Undercover chapter 1 - Ippon Takegushi and Santa Mitarashi

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 269 - Gege Akutami

One Piece chapter 1126 - Eiichiro Oda

Ichi the Witch chapter 2 - Osamu Nishi

Hima-Ten! chapter 10 - Genki Ono

Me & Roboco chapter 201 - Shuhei Miyazaki

The Elusive Samurai chapter 171 - Yusei Matsui

Kagurabachi chapter 49 - Takeru Hokazono

Blue Box chapter 164 - Kouji Miura

Sakamoto Days chapter 182 - Yuto Suzuki

Akane-banashi chapter 126 - Takamasa Moue

Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 242 - Hitsuji Gondaira

Witch Watch chapter 171 - Kenta Shinohara

Astro Royale chapter 21 - Ken Wakui

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi chapter 12 - Shoichi Usui

Nue’s Exorcist chapter 66 - Kota Kawae

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 30 - Shun Numa

Kill Blue chapter 69 - Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Undead Unluck chapter 222 - Yoshifumi Tozuka

Yokai Buster Murakami chapter 12 - Daiki Ihara

[dahtwitchi]

I have fever and have deliriously ended up thinking of Iruka and the concept of him having more fat on him than he much likes, he would be decently well trained under it all he just happen to be one of those. And also don't say no to a treat or fifteen while grading.

And then I thought that Tobirama just happen to think it looks nice and squeezable

Iruka can't quite comprehend chiseled tobirama find it distracting, Tobirama can't quite comprehend he said it out aloud. If he thought he was gonna be less distracted once he got to know it, he was wrong. And knowing Iruka knows somehow makes him feel more embarrassed.

[smbhax]

The Super Shinobi (MD)

"The Revenge of Shinobi" ROM from Steam in Mednafen

Session: https://youtu.be/Q8499RKPjwk