The Revenge of Shinobi (1989 video game)
The Revenge of Shinobi, released in Japan as is a hack-and-slash action video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Sega Genesis, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the List of [Sega arcade system boards|Mega-Tech].
Alongside Shadow Dancer, the game is a sequel to Shinobi, and features an original score by Yuzo Koshiro. The game was included in the compilations: Mega Games 2, Mega Drive 6 Pak, Sega Classics Arcade Collection, and Sega Smash Pack. It was also re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in 2009, on the PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network and Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade download services in 2012, for iOS and Android devices in 2017 via Sega Forever, and on the Nintendo Classics service in 2023. The game also appears on the Sega Genesis Classics for Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Plot
Taking place three years after the first game, the criminal organization Zeed from the original game has since reformed and has renamed itself "Neo Zeed". They decide to exact their revenge on the Oboro Ninja clan and Joe Musashi by killing his master and kidnapping Joe's bride, Naoko. Joe failed to reach the clan in time, but managed to learn about Neo Zeed's plot from his dying master. Joe decides to travel the world to get his revenge on Neo Zeed and save Naoko before it is too late.Gameplay
The game is a traditional side-scrolling platform game. The player controls Joe Musashi and must complete eight districts before the final confrontation with the head of Neo Zeed. Each district consists of three scenes, two of which are platforming levels and the third is a battle against a unique boss character.The directional pad moves Joe around while the A, B, and C buttons are used to perform ninjutsu techniques, attack, and jump, respectively. A key move in The Revenge of Shinobi is the somersault, which maximizes Joe's jumping height and enables him to throw eight shuriken at once in midair. Additionally, some stages consist of multiple layers, such as the first scene of the Military Base and the freeway in Area Code 818. Switching between layers is also done with the somersault move.
Alongside his standard moves and attacks, Joe can perform four special ninjutsu techniques. Only one can be performed per life, unless a ninjutsu item was picked up, or the ninjutsu of Mijin was used.
A variety of bonus crates can be found in each level, with some hidden in the scenery. These include simple power-ups such as extra shuriken or health packs, as well as special items to gain lives or additional ninjutsu attacks. Besides power-ups, some crates may contain time bombs: explosives that detonate when their fuse runs out or if Joe comes too close.
The game is divided into four difficulties. As the difficulty increases, more enemies appear per stage. On Hardest, Joe takes twice as much damage, and the number of starting lives decreases from 10 to 1. From the options menu, the player can also pick the number of starting shuriken from 0 to 90. The game has two different endings, depending on whether Joe rescues his bride or not.
Development
The game's director Noriyoshi Ohba intended Revenge of Shinobi to be a showcase for the then-new Genesis hardware as well as to adapt the series to something better suited for a home console. As a result, the game is more story-driven, with Joe Musashi not rescuing multiple hostages in each level as in the original game, but a single hostage at the end. A life bar was introduced as being more appropriate for a console game of that scope. Ohba intended Revenge of Shinobi to have a high level of difficulty to get the player to think about how they could best beat the game. The ninja magic was intended to be helpful in particular situations or boss encounters, making certain parts of the game much easier if the player knew which ninja magic to use.Some of the enemies are notably too similar to various characters from films and comic books, a fact that Ohba attributes to his own lack of creativity. He made rough sketches of these characters based on what he had in mind at the time, expecting that the character designer would modify them and add their own creative touches for the final game. However, they did not, resulting in some enemy characters who were similar to the likes of Rambo, Batman, Spider-Man, the Terminator and Godzilla. A Master System version was advertised in a 1990 Sega game catalog, but was never released.
Release
Due to copyright issues regarding certain enemy characters, there were at least four versions of the game in Japan and North America, with the latter two also appearing in Europe:- Software revision 1.00 : Enemy characters resembling Rambo called "Rocky", Jackie Chan, The Terminator called "Hercules" in Japan and "Master Attacker" in the West, Spider-Man, Batman, and Godzilla called "Monster-G" are present. Both Spider-Man and Batman are actually fake representations of the characters conducted by a shapeshifter named "Metamorpher" who alters his appearance after sustaining a certain amount of damage. When "Hercules"/"Master Attacker" fights Joe, his change into the fake Terminator resembles The Incredible Hulk's transformation as his skin turns green the more he gets hit, before exploding into the fake Terminator. Additionally, Joe Musashi's face on the title screen resembled actor Sonny Chiba dressed as his character Hattori Hanzō from the Japanese TV series Shadow Warriors.
- Software revision 1.01 : The fake Spider-Man is now redesigned into the licensed character from Marvel Comics. Since he is now the real Spider-Man, he does not morph into Batman. Instead, Spider-Man leaves the battle when enough damage is inflicted, and Batman is replaced by a winged Devilman-like creature. Monster-G remains unmodified. The "Gunner" enemy soldiers with flamethrowers are also changed to bald men with headbands, altering their original likeness to Rambo.
- Software revision 1.02 : A new copyright screen is made to acknowledge the license to Spider-Man and the music composition by Yuzo Koshiro. Monster-G remains intact.
- Software revision 1.03 : Monster-G is redesigned into a skeletal dinosaur. Everything else remains intact from the previous revision, including the licensed use of Spider-Man. This version was used in the Genesis 6-Pak cartridge along with the "Sega Classics" edition of the game.
- Software revision 1.04 : Since the licensed use of the boss Spider-Man was for a limited amount of time, the game was subsequently prevented from being re-released years later. The 2009 release for the Virtual Console as well as the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network 2012 releases feature a new software revision that omits the Marvel copyright notice and replaces Spider-Man with a pink palette swap of the character which still behaves the same as the licensed Spider-Man. Joe Musashi's design in the title screen was also altered to remove his likeness to Sonny Chiba.
''Sega Smash Pack''
The version included in volume 1 of the PC Smash Pack collection appears to be a . The internal ROM date says March 1989, and the product number is filled with zeroes. In the notes section of the ROM header, there is the string, "A0115 Sega_Channel", whereas all other releases have that area filled with ASCII space characters. The header is also only marked as being a Japanese release, while all other versions are marked as Japanese, US, and European.The title screen always uses The Super Shinobi regardless of the console region. The game has an invincibility mode in the options screen and a level select on the main menu. Enabling invincibility gives infinite lives from falling offscreen, going through open doors, and using Mijin. There are other changes found in the options menu: the shuriken option is spelled "syurikin", and the sound test option lacks music titles, showing only a hex number.
There is no copyright screen. The introduction uses the final version of Round 1 music instead of its own theme. The sound effect when Musashi changes his grip does not play, and the sparks when shuriken hit the sword stay on screen longer. There are no demos other than the opening animation.
Using Mijin expends ninjutsu; in other versions, ninjutsu is still available after using Mijin. Mijin also remains selected after it has been used, instead of switching to Ikazuchi. There is also no shouting sound effect when ninjutsu is activated.
The final game has 19 music tracks, but this version only has the first seven. Because of this, there are differences in what music is used for each round. Even when the music is in all versions, different tracks are used. The music used in 1-1 is China Beat, and 1-2's music is "Make Me Dance," while, in the final version, both stages use The Shinobi. The game-over screen has no music and is missing the Masked Ninja's laughter. The drum samples used throughout the game are also different.
For the most part, the enemies resemble the REV00 versions, including the two-phase fight with Metamorpher, appearing as an imposter Spider-Man and Batman.
Some bosses appear incomplete. Monster-G, the boss of Round 7, seems to be invincible, and the fight ends after the boss goes through a few attacks. The Round 3 and 8 bosses appear to be missing completely. The game switches to the end-of-level screen shortly after starting. There is no ending either: the game loops back to Round 1 after 8–3.