PS2 Shinobi

[Gym Ghingham]

Action, Adventure, Hack & Slash developed by Overworks a division of SEGA that worked on titles such as Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Clockwork Knight. Rieko Kodama was on the team, which was formed of developers who had previously worked on series such as Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Phantasy Star, and Alex Kidd.

Shinobi was originally planned for the Dreamcast console, but because of the the console's discontinuation the game was moved to the PS2 was released on 10 November 2002 in North America, 5 December in Japan, and 15 May 2003 in Europe.

A new shinobi Hotsuma on a quest to defeat a malevolent sorcerer and the hordes of demonic Hellspawn, was once the leader of the Oboro clan. He made an appearance in the direct sequel, called Nightshade in the west and Kunoichi in Japan as a secret playable character.

In a third-person perspective guides the protagonist through eight levels that each consist of two sections and boss fights, consists of quickly moving through levels and killing enemies without checkpoints but allows the player to continue from the start of a boss battle if they die. Yeah you better love ninja games before giving this game a try, has so much quality content. Dialogues, cutscenes, aesthetic stages and enemies a live adaptation with the right cast would be a hit for sure. Decent gameplay, honest OST and based killer instincts. Primary weapon Akujiki feeds on souls, initially devouring those of the enemies he kills, then that of Hotsuma himself if he does not kill any enemies for too long. Hmm... something familiar here right?

After the Oboro Clan was wiped out by a host of Hellspawn an earthquake reduced Tokyo to a hellscape, Hotsuma journeyed through the ruins of the city to put a stop to the source of the upheaval, unaware that one of his family's greatest enemies was lurking under his very nose. Don't forget the Red Scarf that keeps waving and emitting vibes of Vengeance and Determination.

I saw the new Shinobi game by SEGA that will be published inside 2026 and i immediately though of this game so i started the Thread. I want to write more about the Family of the Oboro Clan, the characters story but it will be a 100% spoil so little more about the gameplay, he can jump, hang on walls, and utilize the stealth dash, which is a move that propels him forward and leaves an ethereal afterimage in his wake enemies may briefly focus on the afterimage, so the player can use this move to avoid taking damage. Hmm.. also familiar stuff here again...

Anyway i hate prolonging things more than the necessary so it comes to this, you love ninja games a must play, you have low patience levels forget it especially some BOSS FIGHTS need some chakra of your own to beat them.

Tell us about games with the ninja element you played, you loved or hated. Thanks for reading until my next Thread, see you.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Currently playing Ninja Five-O, it's a fantastic ninja game. I just love the sprite work in the game, quite fast paced too

 

[Karnik]

Tell us about games with the ninja element you played, you loved or hated.

Well, recently the original arcade Shinobi was ported to Neo Geo CD, and I took the opportunity to play it a bit on NCDZ-PSP: perfect port, but unfortunately you have to finish it all in one go, as you can't save there. ??‍
As you all know, I don't like modern and 3D games, except for some polygonal, funny and unrealistic ones on PSX.

 

[coyote1k]

I never hear it talked about but Shinobi on the 3DS is actually pretty fun. It's 2.5d, looks nice on the 3DS, and has some similar gameplay elements of the PS2 Shinobi. Definitely worth checking out sometime.

 

[Felipe]

A bit unrelated (sorry if this is a problem) but a sequel is coming and it looks GOOD:

 

[J.B’s rabbit den]

I remember having a dream about playing a weird interactive live action quick time event style arcade game themed around Shinobi.crazy as hell man

 

[No-Bo-Dy]

Loved tenchu when i was a kid and ninja Blade on the xbox360

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

Those PS2 games are killer. I recently played through Tenchu 2 and had a great time

It's only ninja adjacent, but I'm playing Onimusha Dawn of Dreams now (Though I play as Jubei whenever it lets me, so I count it)

 

[Nidstang]

My girlfriend actually just picked this game up for me from a thrift fair, two weeks ago. Planning to play it soon

 

[Parasite_Steve]

The ps2 shinobi games are so much fun. The difficulty can be incredibly frustrating but they have a very unique rhythm and feel that makes them stand out from the big crowd of hack‘n‘slash titles.

The new game looks fine so far. If it plays well I’m down but I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the aesthetics. The style looks like they couldn’t decide between a modern or retro look and just kinda did both.

 

[prnzo x BOOZE-o ka-BEER-o]

ok complete breakdown of my experience with the history of the Shinobi franchise

Shinobi (arcade) - played this at the same bowling alley as I 1st played Rolling Thunder (which had a similar plane-switching mechanic as arcade Shinobi n Shadow Dancer n also used in games like Code Name: Viper on NES, Sunset Riders [arcade/SNES/GenMD], etc.), Double Dragon, n Rastan in '87 when livin in South Jersey. ofc my love for the franchise started here. I killed at the game but sucked at the bonus stages hehe

Shinobi (SMS) - well, it was a better port arguably than SMS' 2-player co-op flickerfest port of Double Dragon that lost to the progressive, tighter (ofc tighter, Sega 1st-party games have mostly always been known for having loose control that many find an acquired taste or made Sega games challenging for all the 'wrong reasons') single-player experience of the NES adaptation. even at 7-8 yrs old I was a big fan of both soundchip Japanese-composed sdtrks n horror movie sdtrks, so I would even listen close near arcade cabinet speakers (sometimes not always possible as the owners of the arcades/bowling alleys/cornerstores/pizza shops/boardwalk fairs/etc. had that shit turned down too low or off or the surrounding sound of the place or even some of the other arcade machines drown'd it out)... I especially knew the Shinobi n Rastan sdtrks from extensive arcade play n I was like "why is lv 1-2 the only F'in song in just about the WHOLE game? besides the bonus stage bein the arcade lv 2-2's music?" rushed release date tomfooleries or memory constraints or dissatisfaction with the MasterSystem soundchip's reproduction of the arcade sound is what I suspected as the culprit (though there's a FM-chip Japanese version. although stiff, slow, n lv 1-2-till-your-ears-bleed - dece solid SMS title. n you get a life meter (which would be ridiculous to be 1-hit death like the arcade as it's much tougher [due in-part to it's sluggish gameplay n questionable jumping mechanics - n jeez the 4 forms of the final boss are one of the toughest bossfights in the history of gaming - ever)

The Cyber Shinobi (SMS) - no, just ehm uhm ah-ermm... NO - just no, no, no Sega. go back in time n undo this blasphemy. I'm sure if I looked at the programming credits they would all say 'Anonymous DON'T JUDGE US' or the Sega of Japan's ex-janitor who ain't worked there in 8 yrs got the sole programming credits. I'm workin on a 2D Plat via GDevelop5 n if my game is even half this bad, then I'll wear a bowtie hangin with Howard Phillips n NEStor plotting procrastination strategies against the forces of our archenemy SegaSanshiro. en-garde! have at you! *runs into the Atlantic Ocean n swims to New York* - in short - highly recommended (to stay away from) - I didn't give spoilers so you can be unprepared for the sheer franchise-endangerment horrors on deck here like I was. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World came out '89 like this did (me mvm bought me both the same day) n while that one's a bit overly easy... this one's easy too.... easy to lose all faith in Sega, humanity, aliens, the void, the omniverse, fictitious worlds n afterlifes, all 5 human senses - everything after givin this a faiL I mean fair-go

The Revenge of Shinobi (GenMD) - a change from Rolling Thunder's upper-lower planed conventions n into the land of the double-jump shuriken-rain. a sdtrk by THE (me a fanboi? think this should be obv by now? -->) inimitable Yuzo Koshiro (6th lvl (think it's 6th?) ChinaTown BGM goes harD eternaLLeh n pretty much Koshiro's best boss theme outside the SoR series) on board as composer - and weird interpretations of Spider-Man n Batman as bosses (in the OG version I had - Revision v1.1 changed them for obv legal reasons)... I think like the 3rd boss or something was like a cross between Hulk n The Terminator? wild shizz guys! hasn't aged as well as Shinobi III but still an A-class title n along with Phantasy Star II - the most potent of the console's launch lineup. my closest NES-loving SMS-ridiculing neighbor friend had his grandma buy him his own Genesis after playin this one at meh house xD

Shadow Dancer (arcade) - very good direct follow-up to the OG Shinobi arcade version. n it's Genesis sequel you send your wolfy caninja portmanteau-ey pal to tussle the Captain Greenland adamantium boomerang-shield tossing hostage-watchers but in this arcade predecessor (IIRC) he goes off n does it automatically. guess Jo Musashi or whoever it's supposed to be in this told his sidekick "no, no, rush the dude on my order, you just... n now he's... ughh PLAYER PLZ FORGIVE MY ATTACK-DOGGIE CUZ HE HAS COST YOU MORE QUARTERS. no filet mignon treat for you tonight Wolfster wAIT NO-NO *aghhh he bit me in the...* " ...anywey xD. a bit easier than OG Shinobi arcade n gives you ninja magic perks for hittin the quarters slot n continuing (again, Sega also apologizing for the untrained GnarLz Barklee wolf out the forest. however PETA complained of doggy defamation n Sega tripled the caninja's salary n gave him a guest-spot on the unreleased sequel to Taito's 'GrowL' xD . good stuff cuz animuLz RuL)

The GG Shinobi (GameGear) - ...wut, no double-jumps? but a choice between 5 diff colored pallette swap ninjas that are a quadrifecta to be reckoned with. ok maybe they're not but they're all you got in this so tuff tah-may-tuhz Timmy. for some reason you start with the worst of the quartet (I swing a short-range sword! pale like a ghost from my mystic inferiority!)... why is the most useless one the only one who didn't get kidnapped? maybe they didn't take the n00b-nerf'd ninja of the clan seriously enough... BIG mistake! cuz this ninja is tired of bein regarded as a klutzy klown karrying a krap katana n if he rescues his buddies, they'll respect him for sure! pick one of 4 stages at the start in a misguided effort to gain acceptance by his snobby a-hole fellow ronins! take *THAT* Castlevania Adv II: Belmont's Revenge! who's cooler after aLL, a crack(ed out) team of multi-colored ninjas or a whip-strapped vampire hunter-killer-guy? ...eh on 2nd thought, don't answer that - Sega might overhear n shelve plans to release the new Shinobi renaissance revivalist title! then we'd have to sneak in as RGT shinobis n steal the promo beta from Sega's fortress stronghold located in Iceland at a Chuck E. Cheese's with that disturbing band of animated animals onstage that make kids cry n parents sue n the pizzas get cold. n whack-a-mole loses revenue. in other words, more turmoil than this supa-phun USA drama we got goin but meh digress. ....did I mention Yuzo did the soundtrack to this one? good stuff though not markedly different from his other GG/SMS sdtrks work. still not somethin to shake a pair of Samba de Amigo maracas to (or wait, maybe that would be a brilliant idea xD I'll pitch it to Sega from YT. video removed due to prnzo-prevention tooLz??! W T F

The GG Shinobi II (GameGear) - an improved more of the same! still 5 ninjas! still a choice of 4 stages from start! still Yuzo on the tunes! stiLL available as a freebie with your purchase of the str8-to-video atrocity Jo Musashi n Ryu Hayabusa in: MISSION - TURN NARUTO INTO SLICED-UP PROCIUTTO!! THEN NEXT TARGET: MENUDO!! ....hey, a man can dream. they can assassinate the creators of Kidd Video too for hindering meh already-unsalvageable imploded youth. even if you remember Menudo probably not Kidd Video but suffice to say - it predated Alex Kidd in Miracle World by 1 or 2 yrs. thnx Alex, for at least restoring honor to any future commercial usages of the word 'kid' with an extra-D for a consonant consolation prize of corny-ass emphasized neo-anti-edgery. yea idk wtf I'm talkin about anymores either xD

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (GenMD) - a very solid, if not A-rate title then B+ at the very least. not Yuzo, but great sdtrk too. the final Shinobi game to feature the upper-lower plane switching a la the 2 arcade Shinobis. I actually think it's better in pace n execution than Revenge of Shinobi, overall. perfect challenge, too. beats the OG arcade Shadow Dancer by a small margin, which is no mean feat. n THE DOGWOLF shows his newfound obedience training by actually LISTENING to our scroLL-roLLer protagonist! but when the said stalwart sidekick snoogie gets hit by a heartless terrorist animal-abusing jackass he cries out n reverts back in time to being a puppy. o _ O well that's not bizarre or nonsensical at aLL but beats Total Recall or Robocop for NES that both require you to kiLL dogs with a wince-inducing cry-whine. I'd like to shoot the devs responsible for those 2 n see how their yelping cry-whine sounds xD sorry, an oversensitive dog-lover's broken-hearted plight.... moving on...

I'll have to continue the rest as a pt. 2. there's another part 2 continuation post I was meanin to get around to but I promise I'll at least finish this one ^_+

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

The new game looks fine so far. If it plays well I’m down but I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the aesthetics. The style looks like they couldn’t decide between a modern or retro look and just kinda did both.

I feel you on this, I wasn't too crazy about Streets of Rage 4's art style and look either until I got my hands on it.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

I love this game. I need to try the sequel. Nightshade I believe it's called?

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

I love this game. I need to try the sequel. Nightshade I believe it's called?

Do it! It's an absolute banger of a game and arguably better than the first. It got overlooked here on launch due to the name change causing people to not realize it was a sequel. The Japanese name "Kunoichi" was much more fitting.

 

[Deean]

Love those game,much prefer an fast paced ninja games(such as this and Ninja Gaiden) instead of more "stealth" game like Shinobido and Tenchu

 

[Nidoking's iconNidoking]

I always loved Shinobi PS2, despite having never finished it. The moth boss... I also love the first two 2D era Ninja Gaiden titles, and am excited for NG4.

My favorite ninja game, though... is Mortal Kombat Ninja: Shadow of Darkness.

 

[naizou's iconnaizou]

Those PS2 games are killer. I recently played through Tenchu 2 and had a great time

It's only ninja adjacent, but I'm playing Onimusha Dawn of Dreams now (Though I play as Jubei whenever it lets me, so I count it)

A great coincidence! I just got my Onimusha Dawn of Dreams today too.

Post automatically merged: Feb 15, 2025

Ninja Master's is a visually beautiful game that I really like.
The game balance is broken though.

 

[Deean]

A great coincidence! I just got my Onimusha Dawn of Dreams today too.View attachment 26191

Post automatically merged: Feb 15, 2025

Ninja Master's is a visually beautiful game that I really like.
The game balance is broken though.
View attachment 26196

Ah Ninja masters,the only game from ADK Tamashii compilation that doesn't suck.
Also i remember thinking that the "midboss lady" is too easy.(But then i was realized that it was a "he" lol)

 

[Don Patch]

Shinobi bopped!

FROMSOTFWARE tried their hand at the Shinobi formula with the Otogi games on the OG Xbox.
They're pretty neat. Very FROMSOFT.
Worth a look if you have an XBOX, else wise they're a mess via emulation.

 

[Parasite_Steve]

Shinobi bopped!

FROMSOTFWARE tried their hand at the Shinobi formula with the Otogi games on the OG Xbox.
They're pretty neat. Very FROMSOFT.
Worth a look if you have an XBOX, else wise they're a mess via emulation.

They’re on the backwards compatibility list of og Xbox titles which may be a better option. Working consoles are getting rarer due to a widespread manufacturing defect and the Otogi games never sold well so prices are unfavorable. Last time I checked it was literally cheaper to buy an xbox one and the two games digitally.

 

[prnzo x BOOZE-o ka-BEER-o]

Ah Ninja masters,the only game from ADK Tamashii compilation that doesn't suck.
Also i remember thinking that the "midboss lady" is too easy.(But then i was realized that it was a "he" lol)

wuuuuTTT you're talkin smack on World Heroes Perfect n Aggressors of Dark Kombat?? how dare thee!!! prepare for a death duel at precisely... well, whenever I get up. also my sword-sheath has got a hole in it. there's nothin intimidating about a warrior who walks out of the twilight horizon like he's gonna deliver a deep-voiced nonchalant 1-liner like a true anime badass n then his sword falls outta his case behind him. o u c h

no but seriously I don't even know what is included in that ADK Tamashii comp xD just appreciated that those 2 ADK franchises certainly didn't take themselves too seriously. Aggressors of Dark Kombat has some good ideas but fails in execution as a serious competitive game. still, its goofiness can be fun for a play or 2 once in a very great while. same for the World Heroes series up until Perfect - which caught on as competitive for quite a few ppl at shoryuken.com about 2007-2009-ish as far as I confirmed. then again, the rigor-mortis stiff af Art of Fighting 2 did also... still... wish the novelty of WH death matches were an option in WHP for lil kickbacks n what not.

btw I <3 Ninja Masters. is it on Steam? cuz I inexplicably don't have it yet.... prnz is slippin...

 

[Deean]

ADK Tamashii has:

Aggressor of Dark Combat
Ninja Masters
Ninja Combat
Twinkle Star Sprites
Ninja Commando
All of which in pretty mid game IMO

 

[shoebby]

started playing this recently, cool to see a thread on it! akujiki's hunger mechanic is especially inspired and the moth boss is currently kicking my ass repeatedly, it weirdly reminds me of F-Zero