Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Shinobi

Written by John Scalzo on March 27, 2003

Full Review: On the badass scale Hotsuma is way above Dante but still slightly behind Ash.

Maximo, Contra, Shinobi. Icons of old school gaming at it's finest. All of them resurrected in the year 2002 on the PlayStation 2. It's a good time to be a fan of the old school. Maximo was one of the best games I have ever played. Contra, if you'll recall, was like video game crack that I still can't get enough of. And now I finally get to Shinobi, the last of the 2002 old school trio. And while Shinobi is not as good as Maximo or Contra, it is still one hell of a game.

Joe Mushashi is no longer the center of the story and instead this new Shinobi follows Hotsuma, leader of the Oboro clan. A sorcerer has caused a giant earthquake in Tokyo and a golden palace has risen in the middle of the city. Demons called Hellspawn hunt down every member of the Oboro and change them into zombie ninjas that are now under the sorcerer's control. Hotsuma must take up the symbol of his leadership, a cursed sword known as Akujiki, and avenge this dishonor against his clan and stop the sorcerer from destroying the world.

Pretty epic, no? At its heart Shinobi is a pure beat 'em up, except with weapons, and updated in 3D. And because of this 3D update, Hotsuma is given some pretty amazing moves. And mastering these ninja tricks is the only way to advance in the game. The special move you will use most is the Ninja Dash. Using the Ninja Dash will shoot you halfway across the screen and leave behind a shadow decoy that enemies attack instead of the real Hotsuma. And like Maximo, Hotsuma has access to a double jump. Hotsuma is also not just limited to the ground. Most walls can be clung to and you can run along them. And if running away from your enemies is not your thing you can shoot paralyzer darts at them one at a time or eight at once. Finally, there's three types of Ninja Magic for Hotsuma to use: the Wall of Fire, the Force Shield, and the Flaming Sword.

How well all of these elements come together is truly what makes the combat a lot of fun. Slicing and dicing, while great fun, will not do the trick alone. Combining each special move in a lightning fast string and using it to slaughter your former clansmen is needed and makes the fighting that much better. And adding a twist to the gameplay is what happens to your sword in the second level. The curse of Akujiki is awakened and from the second level on the sword requires the blood of your enemies or it will start feeding on Hotsuma. A red circle below your health shows how much time you have left before the vampiric sword turns on you and it adds a sense of urgency to the game that most brawlers don't have. You're literally fighting for your life.

The fighting system also has a bonus system set up called Tate (pronounced tie-tay). Killing your enemies in rapid succession has two affects on the game. First, with each kill your sword gains power and this is often the only way to defeat bosses. And second, by killing your enemies as quickly as you do they don't even realize they're dead until a minute later when the screen goes to slow motion and the body parts you've just sliced through fall off. Hotsuma also may or may not fire off a snappy one liner as they die. But it's a snappy ninja one liner like "Perhaps this is our destiny." It's gruesome but it's also very cool. Sometimes the camera swings around in such a way that the defeated ninjas block the screen and as they fall apart they reveal Hotsuma standing victorious in a badass pose.

There are two factors working against this great combat scheme though. Hotsuma's movement is much too stiff. A ninja should be fluid, graceful, and in tune with the shadows. When he's not using the Ninja Dash Hotsuma moves with a lumbering step. It's only a slight problem and often you won't even notice it, but it'll pop up from time to time and be frustrating when you're controlling a character that should be a deadly ninja master. What's worse is the camera. The camera is rough. Really rough. It gets stuck in corners, it's points itself in obscure angles hiding enemies from sight, and trying to adjust it with the right stick will often just make it worse. The developers attempted to remedy this by including a targeting system like Zelda, but it's too awkward to be of any real use.

Another piece of the game that doesn't really come together is the repetitive nature of the levels. There are only like ten different types of enemies in the game, and most of those are just palette swapped ninjas. And among those ten, only three show up in each level. The levels themselves also have a very similar look. Each level itself is very different, but once you're in a level everything looks the same. Shinobi is slightly able to get away with this because of the linear nature of the game. Each level is divided up onto "rooms" that are blocked by magic walls. When you break the talisman that keeps the door up or kill all of the enemies in front of you the door will open. And then as soon as you pass through the door the magical wall goes right back up. It's kind of a cool effect to keep you moving forward, but that still doesn't change the fact that the room you're in looks just like the room you came from which looks just like you're room you're going to go into.

This sameness of the levels is really Shinobi's biggest flaw with it's graphics. Hotsuma himself looks incredible. His flowing red cape is always in motion and just enhances his already large sense of cool. The bosses are also very large and menacing looking. Just the way a beat 'em up boss should be. It's just a shame that the levels are so plain.

The sound comes off much better than the graphics. The background music hits that perfect combination of the style of the classic video game theme with traditional Japanese music. It's the perfect soundtrack for a game like this. The sound effects are also good with clanging swords and the swoosh of a Ninja Dash. Even the cut scenes manage to look and sound good. They're cinematic without seeming overly drawn out. They tell the story without boring you and they look and sound just plain great.