39,327
edits
Shinobi (series): Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (revise quote template spacing) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 8:
''Shinobi'' is a series of side-scrolling action games that were released by [[Sega]] during the late [[The Eighties|1980s]] and early-to-mid [[The Nineties|1990s]]. The games has the player controlling a ninja (usually Joe Musashi, an obvious nod to ninja actor [[Sho Kosugi]]) who battles the forces of evil in each title.
The original ''Shinobi'' was originally released in 1987 for the arcades. The player controls a ninja named Joe Musashi, who fights a criminal syndicate known as "Zeed" in order to rescue his kidnapped students. The original game featured a floor jumping system similarly Namco's ''[[Rolling Thunder]]''. Musashi is armed with his punches and kicks, as well as an unlimited supply of shurikens (which can upgraded into a sword and machine gun), as well as different kinds of ninja arts which could be used to kill all on-screen enemies. Sega also made a [[Master System]] rendition which changed the game mechanics by adding more weapons, as well as a health gauge system and the ability to carry multiple ninja arts. There were also licensed versions for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] and [[
A single arcade sequel was released in 1989 titled ''Shadow Dancer'', which retained the format of the original arcade game, giving the player a canine companion who helps the player fend off enemies. A severely stripped-down version was released for the [[Sega Master System]], while the [[Sega Genesis]] got ''Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi'', which had similar gameplay but with completed redesigned level layouts and different enemies.
Line 14:
''Shinobi'' had further sequels for home consoles, the most prominent being the two ''Super Shinobi'' games for the Genesis, which consisted of ''The Revenge of Shinobi'' and ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master''. ''The Super Shinobi'' series completely revamps the game mechanics from the arcade games, ditching the one-hit-kill rule from the arcade game, while adding selectable ninja arts and abilities in the process. The series went into a hiatus after the release of ''Shinobi Legions'' for the [[Sega Saturn]], which eschews the hand-drawn graphics from previous installments in favor of ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''-style digitized graphics.
Sega revived the series in the early [[Turn of the Millennium|2000s]] with a new 3D game simply titled ''Shinobi'' for the [[
A new ''Shinobi'' game was developed by Griptonite Studios for the 3DS, and released in September 2011.
Line 57:
* [[Boss Banter]]: Every single one in the PS2 version. You can actually attack them while they're taunting [[For Massive Damage]].
* [[Calling Your Attacks]]: Hotsuma will yell "BURN!!" as he cast his jutsu. Hiruko too, but he could be justified being a warlock.
* [[Cherry Tapping]]: the essence of most of the older games, as getting close enough to use your blade is suicidal lest you're quite skilled...you spend most of your time at a distance, chucking shurikens like its going out of style. Lampshaded by Joe's unique ability when he's unlocked in the [[
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: The Game Gear games had multiple playable ninjas eached dressed in a different color with their own weapons and techniques.
* [[Comic Book Adaptation]]: In ''[[Sonic the Comic]]''. Shinobi was the first Sega game outside the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series to get a comic adaptation, and it was both faithful to the games' stories and suitably serious in tone.
Line 67:
* [[Degraded Boss]]: The Shadow Dancer and the Masked Ninja from ''The Revenge of Shinobi'' reappear in the sequel as bosses, but in lower positions: the first is the midboss of stage 2, the latter is the penultimate boss.
* [[Diagonal Cut]]: Whenever you manage to pull a Tate attack. Extremely satisfying if you manage to wipe out all enemies onscreen.
* [[Difficulty by Region]]: The US version of the [[
* [[Directionally Solid Platforms]]: In 2D games.
* [[Dirty Coward]]: Hakuraku, who will summon ninja hounds and keep healing himself using scrolls from his magical box.
* [[
* [[Dub Induced Plot Hole]]: The [[Master System]] version of ''Shadow Dancer'' identifies the player character as "Fuma" in the attract sequence and "Takashi" in the manual.
* [[Elemental Powers]]
** In the [[
*** [[Giant Spider|Shiragumo]] has [[Dishing Out Dirt|Earth.]]
*** [[Pyromaniac|Benisuzume]] has [[Playing with Fire|Fire.]]
Line 85:
*** Water: The Art of ''[[In a Single Bound|Fushin]]''; also grants faster speed and shuriken recharge.
* [[Everything's Better with Spinning]]: In addition to having a [[Flechette Storm|Punishing Steel Rain]] attack, Jiro can launch into a [[Ninja Gaiden|Jump-and-Slash]] off a double jump.
* [[Evil Counterpart]]: In the [[
** The Shadow Master is this to Joe, especially since he was cloned from the Musashi bloodline.
* [[Evil Plan]]: {{spoiler|Hiruko is more interested in collecting souls than the Yatsurao. His actions are focused on collecting them, or getting the player to collect them for him. Nonetheless, the Yatsurao thing is the opening conflict.}}
* [[Evil Sorcerer]]: Hiruko.
* [[Evil Weapon]]: The sword ''Akujiki'' in the [[
* {{spoiler|[[Fish Out of Temporal Water]]: Jiro Musashi}}
* [[Flechette Storm]]: The Punishing Rain technique, from ''The Revenge of Shinobi'' onwards. Also, the Shadow Master's Ninjitsu technique.
Line 125:
* [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]]: Joe Musashi dies in one hit in the original arcade game, while the Master System and NES versions gives him a health gauge. Expert players of the Master System version might find the arcade version a bit ''jarring'' at first because of this.
* [[Powered Armor]]: The Shadow Master in ''Shinobi III''.
* [[Pyromaniac]]: Homura in [[
* [[Razor Wind]]: Kamaitachi no Jutsu.
* [[Recycled Title]]
Line 142:
* [[Scarf of Asskicking]]: Hotsuma's scarf in the PS2 titles.
** They even tack one on Hibana - although her's isn't quite as epic - it does leave a rather cool 'ghost trail' effect.
** Hell, the tack one on JOE in his model for [[
** Jiro Musashi sports one.
* [[Sealed Evil in a Can]]: Hiruko at first and then Yatsurao, a demonic living statue powered by the souls of the victims of all the earthquakes that struck Tokyo in the past.
Line 160:
* [[A Winner Is You]]: The ending in the arcade ''Shinobi'' wasn't anything special to begin with, but it sure beats the Master System port, which awards the player with a blank Game Over screen (the same one you can get for losing the game).
* [[Womb Level]]: The second half of level 3 in ''Shinobi III''.
* [[Xanatos Gambit]]: Much of Hiruko's plot in the [[
{{reflist}}
| |||