Genesis REVIEWS: Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi

Ninja themed Action Platformer games were surely common in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, and the Shinobi franchise was considered among the top in that genre.

Like with Shadow Dancer here, the games had good graphics, good animation, and solid gameplay. However, as we can see from a better franchise, the Ninja Gaiden series, this Shinobi game is lacking in comparison.

57: Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi:-

Year: 1991.
Genre: Action.
Publisher: Sega.
Developer: Sega.  

"Haaayah"

In its genre, Shadow Dancer is almost a shooter, since much of the attacking power of Joe Musashi comes from his liberal use of shurikens, with the occasional sword slash when he comes close to an enemy. Outside of a wall of shuriken death to protect him, Joe dies from a classic one-hit, even if a bullet touches the sole of his shoes. Or, if you are getting overwhelmed, you can use a one-time clear the screen ninjitsu attack.

Along with his trusty blade and an infinite amount of steel to throw, Joe is accompanied by his faithful dog, Yamato. The use of this canine is probably the only creative venture in the game. While holding the attack button, you can charge the dog's gauge and then order him to attack and hold someone to give you a chance to kill them. This does prove useful in some cases, but I wish it had more uses against the tougher enemies.

Your dog is really only useful against those annoying gun enemies

With these abilities at his command, Joe must go through 9 stages and 5 boss battles to finish the game. Meanwhile, he must save hostages to get points and power-ups, and beat up the many minions infesting New York City.

Despite being a Ninja game, the action is neither frantic nor fast for most of the game. However, this does change in the last two chapters, where more Ninjas attack and force you to think on your feet. It becomes that each enemy encounter is more of a puzzle than a brawl, and it all depends on finding the correct solution to that particular combination of enemies.

It's not a boring system, and the levels are engaging most of the time. However, it pales in comparison to other action games such as Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden. It's not as methodical and varied as the first, and not as fast and complex as the second.

You don't even battle a helicopter as you climb the Statue of Liberty; you just avoid it twice

This is most shown in the boring boss battles in the game. At first, because of the one-hit kill, they seem to be insurmountable foes. However, their patterns are soon shown to be ultimately simple, and they are shown to be pedestrian at best.


"Woof"

One thing Shadow Dancer clearly has an edge on other Action games is in its graphics and animation. The five chapters of Shadow Dancer all have some varied looks, with one chapter sporting an excellent stage as an elevator climbs the Statue of Liberty.

It is these colorful graphics and detailed sprites that would have attracted most gamers to play the game in the first place, and they are still up to par today.

The game doesn't even try to introduce a storyline

Aside from still graphics, the game also animates well. Besides the fluid animation of Joe Musashi, the enemies move around and betray their next actions with visible movement telegraphs. This helps you avoid them as much as it gives them more realistic motion.

As for the soundtrack, it's nothing special, with few memorable tunes and less than adequate usage of the Genesis sound chip. It does avoid becoming annoying, but that's mostly by being very forgettable.


In Conclusion:

In its day, Shadow Dancer would have been seen as a great-looking game that was worth playing just because of that. However, as games age, it's their gameplay that keeps them fresh and memorable.

In that regard, Shadow Dancer just doesn't cut it, no matter how many shurikens it throws.

  

Final: 4/10

  

Pros:

• The dog.
• Great sprite graphics.

Cons:

• Too short.
• Simplistic gameplay.  
• Boring bosses. 
• Forgettable Soundtrack. 

Tips:

1. Randomly hit stuff in the level, and you might find some lives.
2. Pay extra attention to enemies that can shoot; not all of them shoot at the same level.
3. If an enemy is jumping at you, you can jump and hit them as well.
4. You can always hit most bosses more than one time.

Series:

For those reading one of my Genesis review blogs for the first time, here is the basic concept:

I already reviewed a bunch of SNES games, so, naturally, I am going to review the games of its prime competition. Does the SEGA Genesis stand a chance against the legendary SNES library?

My review series is based on the top 100 list of Retro Sanctuary

Originally, I posted most of my content on a football forum called "Goallegacy," which was the first online community I had ever joined. I found it to be the best place for a football fan (the REAL football, not handegg) to hang out on the internet, but the forum is not as active as it was years ago.

 

Next Game:

The first Shinobi game I played proved to be a disappointment. It is literally shown up by some games on an earlier generation.

Next game is the Adams Family, at #56, which is apparently a rather unique platformer.

Stay Tuned.

 

For Previous Genesis Game Reviews:

The List

This blog was originally posted in Destructoid Community Blogs on June 15th, 2017. The blog was slightly edited to conform to my new review format.