/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.1569131]

Let's talk Shinobi. It's a classic Sega franchise that was especially strong on the Sega Genesis.

Which Shinobi is the best Shinobi? I hear most people nowadays saying Shinobi III is the best in the series, but a lot of people seem to stick to Revenge of Shinobi for the higher difficulty. Then no one talks about the arcade game or Shadow Dancer.

What do you guys think? Any Shinobi experts?

[Anonymous No.1569141]

Personal favorite is Shadow Dancer for the genesis.

My runner up favorites are the original arcade game and Shinobi 3. 3 is also probably the most refined game in the series, but I still prefer my Shadow Dancer.

[Anonymous No.1569159]

Shinobi 3 is you're talking /vr/.

Shinobi (PS2) is by far my favorite, though. It's in my top 3 favorite games ever, and is by far the best character action game I've ever had a chance to play. This is coming from a guy who bought a fucking Xbox just so he'd be able to play Ninja Gaiden one day.

[Anonymous No.1569197]

I prefer Revenge of Shinobi. It just feels like a more difficult, well-constructed game to me than Shinobi III.

All of the retro Shinobi games are great though. I don't think there's been a bad Shinobi.

[Anonymous No.1569214]

>>1569197
>I don't think there's been a bad Shinobi.

Picrelated is pretty awful.

[Anonymous No.1569217]

>>1569214

I forgot about that one.

Geez, I've been conditioned to think of Shinobi as 'Shinobi, Revenge of Shinobi, and Shinobi III'.

Sega did a lot with this franchise.

[Anonymous No.1569227]

Not /vr/, but I got the 3DS Shinobi recently.
I have... very mixed feelings about it. Almost disappointingly so.

[Anonymous No.1569237]

>>1569131
Saturn shinobi best shinobi. anything else is pleb tier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvkjHxwq7ko

[Anonymous No.1569241]

Revenge is the best of 'em all. III was good, but way too easy.

[Anonymous No.1569242]

I prefer Revenge of Shinobi not just for the difficulty but also for the collectibility. I still don't have the totally "fuck your copyrights" US version.

[Anonymous No.1569250]

>>1569217

There's also two GG games:

>Taking a hint from sentai shows, The GG Shinobi lets you play as a group of five ninjas of different colors, each with a unique weapon, ninjitsu and skill. You begin with only the sword-wielding Red Ninja, whose magic can damage everything on the screen, but you choose your levels in a Mega Man-esque stage select. There are four in total - Highway (which has you jumping between moving cars), Harbor, Woodl and Valley. When you beat a level, you rescue one of your compatriots and can switch to them at any time—Pink Ninja tosses bombs, can freeze all enemies on the screen and climb on the ceiling; Yellow Ninja attacks with energy blasts, can walk on water and make himself invincible; Blue Ninja has a grappling hook that can be used to swing on certain pegs and can turn himself into a tornado; and the Green Ninja wields shurikens, can double jump and has a bomb suicide attack much like Mijin. Once you've beaten the four main stages, you can head to Neo City for the final confrontation.

[Anonymous No.1569254]

I couldn't get into Shinobi, and I think I've tried most of them. I guess after playing Ninja Gaiden, I had a certain level of expectation that Shinobi didn't really live up to. It seems like the pacing is much slower, and the character has so few moves.

Thankfully, Ninja Gaiden did appear on SMS, and it was quite good, even compared to its NES counterparts.

Say, can we make this thread about retro ninja games in general? There are so many worth mentioning. Ninja Spirit for TurboGrafx was also really fun.

[Anonymous No.1569259]

>>1569254

They're just completely different kinds of games, man. You know, despite having ninjas.

The Shinobi games almost play like shooting games since that's your primary weapon, but with an added action aspect.

[Anonymous No.1569263]

>>1569254

OP here. I'd be okay with that.

I also love the Ninja Gaiden series...and Shadow of the Ninja on NES...and The Ninja Warriors Again.

It was such a huge fad to have Ninja-themed games in the 90s, but for some reason it seems like a disproportionate number of them were really good.

[Anonymous No.1569269]

>>1569263

>WITH THAT ATTITUDE YOU'LL NEVER SUCCEED

[Anonymous No.1569273]

I grew up playing only Revenge of the Shinobi and having played Shinobi III recently I have to say it's my favorite in the series. Once you go fast you can't go back I guess.

>>1569250
The GG Shinobi games are really good actually, especially the second one. I got that cart for a euro from a homeless drug addict a while back, best purchase in my life.

[Anonymous No.1569274]

>>1569269
>BEFORE YOU THINK
>YOU MUST FEEEEEEEL

[Legion of Anon No.1569281]

>>1569242

The one that actually had you fight Batman after Spiderman, as opposed to Man-Bat?

[Anonymous No.1569283]

>>1569254

I take that back. There are a couple of Shinobi games I forgot about that had good pacing, or I otherwise really enjoyed:

Shadow Dancer (which I guess is a Shinobi spin-off)
Shinobi III

Holy crap. I can't believe I forgot about Shadow Dancer. That's definitely one of my favorite action games. It's hard as balls difficult too.

Shinobi III is just too absurd not to like. I remember at one point having to surfboard and fend off enemies at the same time. It was like some of the crazy action sequences in Contra III and Hard Corps.

[Anonymous No.1569293]

>>1569283
Wacking a mech to death with a surfboard is just too rad to hate.

[Anonymous No.1569294]

>>1569283

Shadow Dancer isn't really a spinoff. It's a legit sequel to the arcade game.

In the original Japanese version, the main character is Hayate Musashi, son of Joe Musashi from the original game. But the English version changed it to Joe Musashi, who was coming out of retirement.

Canonically, though, it's a sequel starring Joe Musashi's son and his dog.

[Anonymous No.1569298]

>>1569274
>BEFORE YOU FEEL
>YOU MUST
>THINK

[Anonymous No.1569304]

>>1569298
Wait, no, fuck. That's not how the line went at all.

[Anonymous No.1569306]

MD Shadow Dancer is really good, but nothing like the arcade game. A shame it was never ported.

[Anonymous No.1569307]

>>1569227
Elaborate.

I've heard some really good things in regards to the difficult curve, so been dying to play it.

[Anonymous No.1569309]

>>1569298
>YOU MUST THINK FIRST
>BEFORE YOU MOVE
Raw I'mma give it to ya, with no trivia

Raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia

[Legion of Anon No.1569315]

>>1569306

Same feels, bro. Those ninjitsu cutscenes felt badass to my 9 y/o self.

[Anonymous No.1569317]

>>1569227
Wasn't that one just a port of the third one? I was under the impression it was.

[Anonymous No.1569318]

based puppy

>arf arf arf

[Anonymous No.1569320]

I never find myself setting aside to time to play Revenge of Shinobi because I've developed a habit of spending an obscene amount of time (and lives) farming extra 1ups in level 2. Great game, though. It's that good kind of hard without relying on sloppy programming like Ninja Gaiden does.

[Anonymous No.1569325]

>>1569317

No, there are two Shinobi games on the 3DS.

One is a full retail game called Shinobi 3D, which is a brand new Shinobi game.

The other is a download-only port of Shinobi III, which have been given an overhaul with glasses-free 3D classics and an option to make the screen look curved like an old CRT.

[Anonymous No.1569330]

Revenge is my favorite, it's also the only one I had as a kid, so my view is probably biased.

[Anonymous No.1569337]

>>1569325
>The other is a download-only port of Shinobi III, which have been given an overhaul with glasses-free 3D classics and an option to make the screen look curved like an old CRT.

It also maps melee attacks to their own dedicated button, which works astoundingly well. It's basically the One True Way of playing Shinobi 3 now.

[Anonymous No.1569346]

>>1569337
>maps melee attacks to their own dedicated button
It's the little things I tell you

[Anonymous No.1569361]

>>1569307
The controls feel a bit spongy, almost as if they were designed for a 3D game and not for a sidescroller.
It also has some weird pacing issues. There's long stretches that just repeat with not much to do. It's like they wanted to make it linear and fast-paced like Shinobi III and free-roam and methodical like Revenge at the same time. Also a single stage can last around 10 minutes, which is bad when I actually use my 3DS for commuting.
And the music doesn't exactly stand out.
But on the other hand you can feel that it's done by fans of the series and they put all their effort into it. And it is true that it's nicely difficult.
And it has a Shinobi museum sort of like in Contra 4. But it's sorely lacking screenshots!

[Gor No.1569367]

>>1569325
Is it just me or is Sega killing it with those new 3D ports? I don't have a 3DS, but just knowing all those classics are being ported like that makes me hunger for one.

[Anonymous No.1569379]

>>1569361
>And the music doesn't exactly stand out.

Wow, I completely disagree, bro. This is Norihiko fucking Hibino we're talking about here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7qm_p0wVNo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJM6ZPw55jI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeyRvEGvg5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqZ9S-7xMjE

[Anonymous No.1569380]

>>1569361
Oh, and the ability to save replays of your performance on any stage is really great too.
The Streetpass/Playcoin challenge stages are infuriatingly challenging and you only have one hit point like in the arcade. Best use of playcoins yet IMO.
And I guess the story with being flung into the future and looking for a way back sort of makes it the Samurai Jack game that never was.

[Anonymous No.1569409]

>>1569380
>Samurai Jack game that never was
But there was one, anon.

Two of them, in fact.

I recommend picrelated. It's got a bit of a free-roaming Metroidvania thing going on, a bit like Shantae. The controls are a bit wonky, but the graphics, the animation and the music are astoundingly well done.

And it's just a charming little game, I thought. When I first brought it home, I plugged it in my DS to check if it works. I took my eyes off the screen three hours later. Before that, I couldn't even remember the last time I played through a game in one sitting.

[Anonymous No.1569420]

>>1569281
Yeah, that one. I have the other two revisions but not that original one and I have like five copies. I've been thinking of just getting the Japanese one.

[Anonymous No.1569592]

[Anonymous No.1569597]

[Anonymous No.1569625]

>>1569597
You're gonna carry that weight, Joe.

[Anonymous No.1569629]

[Anonymous No.1569680]

>>1569625
I had to do it

[Anonymous No.1569781]

Revenge is my personal favourite, I don't care if it is a bit slower everything just feels like you have to be more meticulous and precise. The platforming is tight as hell but the ninjitsu helps a lot, I can do the waterfall without ninjitsu I just don't because there is like zero room for error. Also the GOAT soundtrack by yuzo even better than streets of rage 1 & 2. The Shinobi, Long Distance, Like a Wind, Chinatown, all instant classics and best vidya music ever imo.

All the other games I have played have been great too the 2 GG, shadow dancer arcade and genesis, shinobi 3, I played the first shinobi on the pc engine emulator but that is kind of a shitty port I should really get around to playing it on MAME someday.

[Anonymous No.1569890]

>>1569625
>>1569680

you guise

[Anonymous No.1570049]

I love Shadow Dancer and Shinobi 3.
>>1569159
You know about nightshade/kunoichi right?
Just name dropping here, you probably do.

[Anonymous No.1570112]

>>1570049
Considering how much I loved Shinobi, there were very few games that I was more hyped for than Nightshade.

While I certainly appreciated the attempts to improve upon the Shinobi formula, it just wasn't as good, design-wise or gameplay-wise.

[Anonymous No.1570215]

FUCK THAT FUCKING HELICOPTER FROM THE FIRST SHINOBI!!!!! DAMN YOU!!!!!

[Anonymous No.1570245]

>tfw you have to fight terminator, Batman and Spiderman

How did they not get sued?

[Anonymous No.1570297]

>>1570112
dat hentai tho

>>1570245
They were removed from later versions of the game. Except Spider-Man. As I recall, they eventually got permission for that one.

[Anonymous No.1570424]

>>1570245
>>1570297

and Batman was switched to a literal bat-man.

[Anonymous No.1570457]

>>1570424
Didn't one of the revisions replace him with a Devilman or some shit?

[Anonymous No.1570459]

>>1569197
Shinobi X, AKA Shinobix.

[Anonymous No.1570764]

Shinobi (arcade) And Shadow Dancer (arcade and genesis).

Shinobi is a one-hit-and-you're-dead game. I didn't like the gaidation of the series (with health bars) but shinobi 3 is at least as good ride.

[Anonymous No.1570838]

I just finished Revenge of Shinobi, good ending.
Is there actually a way to defeat Zeed fast enough in time to save Naoko without having the weapon power up?
Such a bullshit final boss, I can't even find a pattern to avoid his fucking hair, I just have to rely on having enough shields.

[Anonymous No.1570889]

>>1570459
AKA Shinobi Legions. Not the greatest Shinobi ever, but at least it's quite campy.

Should be fun for at least one playthrough. Those digitized graphics and the cutscenes are amusing.

[Anonymous No.1570893]

>>1570889
It's about as ridiculous as the first resident evil or mortal kombat games, really.

[Anonymous No.1570896]

>>1570889
To be pretty honest, as far as games using digitized graphics go, Shinobi X has got to be one of the better looking ones. Which isn't saying much really, but at least looks better than its peers.
Digitized graphics were a dark time in video games history.

[Anonymous No.1570910]

>>1570896
Well, they kinda have their charm. It makes a game a lot cheesier than usual.

Better than FMV's at least. I never heard of anyone who actually liked that stuff.

[Anonymous No.1570956]

I love Shadow Dancer and Shinobi III, but I could never really figure out how to not suck at Revenge of Shinobi. I realize this is really pleb to admit but it seemed like even regular enemies were just handing me my own ass all the time...

[Anonymous No.1570974]

The only Shinobi game I've really played for more than five minutes is Shadow Dancer, which I got into because being a badass ninja with a badass dog by his side really appeals to me since I have two dogs.You have this fun little constant companion who helps you out like a bro.
Do any other Shinobi games have the dog too, or something like it?

[Anonymous No.1570981]

>>1570910
I have to disagree about FMVs, in some instances,though few and far between, but they had their uses. Some games, like pic related Mansion of Hidden Souls, used FMVs to have much better 3D graphics on screen that would have been possible at the time. Granted, with pic related, I didn't know it was FMV at first, which probably says good things about how they were using them.

[Anonymous No.1571161]

>>1570974
Well, the Mega Drive version of Shadow Dancer is the only one that has that, I believe.

That one is pretty underrated compared to the other Shinobi games.

[Anonymous No.1571174]

>>1571161
Yes, it's the first Genesis/MegaDrive game I ever owned and played on real hardware, so yes, it's what I'm talking about and pretty precious to me.

[Anonymous No.1571179]

>>1569197
>I don't think there's been a bad Shinobi.
HAH
HAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA

Also, does AK in Shinobi World count as a Shinobi game?

[Anonymous No.1571274]

>>1571179
>Also, does AK in Shinobi World count as a Shinobi game?
Uh, both, I think.

Fun fact, first boss on that game was actually going to be a Mario parody before they decided to changed it.

[Anonymous No.1573213]

>>1571161
Nah, the dog was in the Arcade & home ports of Shadow Dancer too.

[Anonymous No.1573218]

>>1573213
Apologies for the pic for ants.

[Anonymous No.1575793]

I can't for the life of me figure out how to beat Sauros and his black ninja homo thugs at the end of Shadow Dancer. I know the game is pretty easy overall, but does anyone have hints for dealing with the ninjas?

[Anonymous No.1578192]

>>1575793
There is a pattern, it's always the same.

[Anonymous No.1578237]

>>1569306
Dat Rieko Kodama design, dat Tsukahara music.

The Shinobi games represent the pinnacle of Sega's design, and more than hold their own against any of Nintendo/Capcom/Konami's efforts.

[Anonymous No.1578250]

>>1569367
M2 are doing an amazing job, probably largely because there is little Sammy interference in their work.

There are articles on Siliconera.com, where the M2 team go into huge depth about their work on the games; porting Space Harrier and Galaxy Force etc is much harder than you might assume.

[Anonymous No.1578256]

>>1570974
Yuzo Koshiro is a music god, but Tsukahara gives him a serious run for his money with Shadow Dancer's OST.