Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

[Dany28]

Many publishers seem to pay little attention to their old franchises or even forget about them completely but SEGA is actively striving to revive iconic brands. On a trailer from the Game Awards 2023 the Japanese industry veteran immediately announced several sequels to titles like Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio and Golden Axe. A major offensive that now even includes a new Virtua Fighter.
The first game is this strategic reorientation Shinobi: Art of Vengeance that has now been released and serves as a direct successor to the old 2D action-platformers. You jump and fight your way through various levels as long time protagonist Joe Musashi. He defeating powerful bosses at the end of each stage. The title is primarily based on the third Shinobi game for the Sega Mega Drive but also references earlier games like the original arcade classic and even the Shadow Dancer of the Series in the same universe.

A feast for the senses​

The Game's strongest feature is undoubtedly the impressive visuals with their hand drawn movements. A trademark of the Persian studio Lizardcube with SEGA is collaborating for the third time and following Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and Streets of Rage 4. The beautiful style of art director Ben Fiquet is immediately recognizable in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. The new Shinobi is like to throw numerous enemies which unlike in the classic installments can't be eliminated as easily with a few blows or kunai throws. While you'll often traverse long platforming sections with only a few enemies to break things up. The focus is clearly on large arena battles that only allow you to progress after eliminating all opponents.

Unlock new attacks in the shop using hidden coins, which you then have to purchase​

Is everything as before?​

Shinobi: The Art of Vengeance is more similar to 3D action games or classic beat 'em ups. Enemies are less an obstacle placed into the level design as in the original Shinobi games but rather create their threat through various group constellations. Outside of bosses no enemy poses a real threat to you on their own. When a different enemy types suddenly appear whose attacks complement each other you more like to start sweating. Especially when each of them has a respectable health bar and can survive multiple swings from your katana. That's good nor bad just different. And the game definitely gives you plenty of options to take down the enemy gangs. Air Juggles, Ninpo Spells and Kunai are just a part of your arsenal which steadily expands as the Game progresses. At the First you get the option to increase the enemy's stamina bar with certain attacks. Once it's completely full you can kill them instantly with the touch of a button. No matter where you are on the Screen. Later in the Game you also receive a rage meter to activate particularly powerful spells in critical situations. Each of your actions looks beautiful thanks to the Smooth animations.

Fans of Shinobi III can breathe a sigh of relief. Art of Vengeance also has a surf stage
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Bock yes but difficult no​

Joe Musashi's moveset is so superior that it completely negates the difficulty of most fights in the Game. Even optional challenges can be completed on the first try using simple tactics which sometimes I wonder if I had accidentally overlooked a harder difficulty level. In my first playthrough I actually only died on the Final boss that finally offered me the challenge I was looking for. Of course then you not familiar with the genre you will have a different experience but at least with the Elite Squads specifically marked as difficult I can expect a certain level of challenge. Even with the Rift Challenges available late in the game which teleport you to a separate area and I only found a few jumping sections to be truly challenging. If towards the end I can throw so many kunais, cast spells or eliminate enemies directly by exploiting the stamina system and even get health back for it then something has gone wrong with the balancing in my opinion. It feels like Lizardcube were too concerned with giving you all these cool abilities without any major limitations.

Sometimes less is more​

Don't get me wrong. The fights are still incredibly fun in their pure form but when each level is well over a half an hour and you seen all the enemy combinations at some point this part of the game is a bit boring. The bosses are challenging but not all. I know only too well that a shorter playtime runs the risk of being penalized by the players but I love the classic Shinobi games for their compact length which invites spontaneous replay allowing you to improve your skills a little bit each time you play. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance on the other hand tries to stretch the playing time even further with its optional areas. I generally love exploring linear areas. Finding little hiding places or climbing hard to reach positions are some of my favorite activities in video games. But only when I can actually reach them on the first playthrough and the Game isn't forcing me to repeat earlier stages after unlocking certain abilities. That works in Metroidvania where I visit different parts of a map multiple times and using the normal gameplay. In linear levels which I select one by one an overworld map it just feels clunky. It seems as if the Makers had to choose between a linear action game and a Metroidvania only to eventually take this half baked middle path. It's a real shame that the individual components are all well implemented and the jump sections separated from the main path were the undisputed highlight of my experience.

My Conclusion​

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is an audiovisual dream that conjures up the perfect desktop wallpaper every ten seconds. It also plays a wonderfully offers numerous options in combat and the platforming in particular offers some excellent moments. Something seems to be happening at Sega. I'm curious to see how this all develops.

 

[Samatonic Samatonic]

Loving the theme here, first we got Ninja Gaiden and now Shinobi. Let's keep the nostalgia train rolling here.