Two of the three 16-Bit Shinobi titles are present on SEGA Genesis Collection. Revenge of Shinobi is missing, but Shadow Dancer and Shinobi III are here. In 1990 SEGA released Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi on the SEGA Genesis. This is the second Shinobi released on the Genesis. Revenge of Shinobi was first in 1989. Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi isn't a sequel to Revenge of Shinobi. Nor is it a direct port of the arcade game Shadow Dancer. The arcade Shadow Dancer is considered a sequel the original arcade Shinobi from 1987 and it features Joe Musashi's son. The Genesis Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi stars the one and only Joe Musashi himself. The arcade Shadow Dancer introduced a new wrinkle to the Shinobi arcade formula by adding a dog character that follows the player along that can be commanded to attack enemies. The dog can be sent out to disable an enemy. The dog will latch on to them and they'll struggle. While they're struggling they can't attack which allows the player to move in for the kill. The Genesis Shadow Dancer brings this aspect home. The dog is added to the mix. The arcade game Shadow Dancer and the Genesis Shadow Dancer are otherwise entirely different games. Shadow Dancer on the Genesis plays very much like the original 1987 arcade game Shinobi. You have three minutes to make it through each level. Each stage has three levels. Two standard levels and the boss level. Musashi has unlimited shurikens to throw. He has a standard jump. No spinning jump here. You can jump up and down to higher and lower platforms within the levels. You get one use of ninja magic per stage. Musashi has automated defensive attacks. Pressing attack while an enemy is within range and depending on your position will cause various kicks and sword swipes, just as in the original arcade Shinobi. It's all just like Shinobi. Of course the dog makes a major difference in the gameplay. You can charge up the dog's meter by holding down the attack button. You know that you're within range on a potential enemy to lock on to if the dog is barking. Letting the attack button go while the dog is barking will cause him to rush out and latch on to the enemy. You will need to do this often. It adds a bit of strategy to how you'll make it through the levels. There are some situations you won't be able to get through without proper use of the dog. Just like in the original Shinobi arcade game, onehit kills. You have to get it right. Shadow Dancer has a cool twist on the original Shinobi's bonus rounds. You jump off a building and free-fall throwing shurikens before you killing enemy ninja rushing up at you. There are fifty enemies each bonus round. Killing forty-eight will net you a 1-up. Forty-nine earns you a 2-up, and fifty earns you a 3-up. There is another thing that shows up from the original arcade Shinobi, and that's the dreaded colored ninja. They're fast, agile, they can block, and they take more than one hit to kill. They have the same colors as in the original arcade Shinobi and get tougher in the order of blue, red, gold, and black. The game has good music and decent graphics with perfect control. It has fun boss battles. It's a tough game that always presents a fair challenge. It's a throwback and a nod to the original game that every Shinobi fan will appreciate.
The other game in the collection is Shinobi III: The Return of the Ninja Master and it was originally released on the SEGA Genesis in 1993. Shinobi III is the direct sequel to Revenge of Shinobi and returns that style of play. You have the life bar, the same four selectable ninja magic types, the spinning jump and eight shuriken throw. The less rigid stage numbering. All the time in the world as the there is no timer. Everything is as in Revenge of Shinobi. As this is a sequel, they've added a couple of new moves. Musashi now has a running slash. You can run by double tapping the direction. While running hitting the attack button causes Musashi to do a charging slash with his sword. Musashi also has a homing attack. Jump into the air and hold down and press the attack button and Musashi homes in on an enemy in range with a kick attack. He's a lot more agile this time around as well. They've given him the ability to wall jump and hang from the ceiling and move hand over hand style. All of these new moves come into play in how to deal with enemies and especially in navigating the stages. Revenge of Shinobi on the Genesis also continued off the original Shinobi arcade game like the arcade Shadow Dancer does. The Ninja Master was the boss of the Shinobi arcade game and the boss of Revenge of Shinobi. It's easy to see how they're connected to each other. The graphics of Shinobi III are very impressive and rank among the best of the 16-bit era. The music is very high quality and the composition is great, it's just that it has to follow up Yuzo Koshiro's brilliant Revenge of Shinobi score. The game features a wealth of bosses. The game also adds midbosses to the mix, something new to the series. The game is arguably the toughest game in the 2D series of Shinobi games. It doesn't mess around, especially in the end. The last level is one hell of a challenge. One of the toughest stages in the whole era. Shinobi III is a fitting end to the 16-bit era of Shinobi. It's a great game. You can't do better than the three Genesis Shinobi games. Shinobi is the pinnacle of ninja games for me. No other series even comes close. SEGA Genesis Collection is worth the cost for these two titles alone...
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