Shinobi: Art of Vengeance

A year ago, Sega announced that they would be reviving several of their old series, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, and now the first of the bunch is here: Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. It's hard to remember now, as many of us weren't very old, or perhaps not even born yet, but there was a time when Joe Musashi from the Shinobi series was just as much a mascot for Sega as Sonic. From 1988 to 1993, the classic titles in the series - Shinobi, The Revenge of Shinobi, Return of the Ninja Master - were released to great success, but since then the series has had virtually no presence. There have been titles released since, the last one in 2011 on Nintendo DS, but none that came close to the greatness of the past. But that is about to change, because Shinobi: Art of Vengeance hits the mark. Not only does it do the series justice, but it's possibly better than any of the other games ever were, even in their heyday.

Lizardcube was behind the brilliant revival of Streets of Rage back in 2020. Here, it was in collaboration with Dotemu that they recently released The Game Kitchen's pixelated entry in the Ninja Gaiden series. Now, in close collaboration with Sega, they have blessed us with yet another neo-retro game in an otherwise old and neglected series. With Streets of Rage 4, Lizardcube proved that they have a formidable design team in the visual department. It was like watching a living comic book. With Shinobi, they prove it again and even surpass themselves. The comic book style is still present, but it has taken on a slightly more rustic look, like a comic book painted on an old piece of papyrus. Everything from the characters to the environments is well designed and animated to perfection, but the backgrounds of the levels in particular are some of the most beautiful you can find in a 2D game. Despite the flat dimensions, it often takes your breath away when you step out into an open area. The level of detail, dynamics, and colour is impressive, and it looks like an animated film that you control yourself. On top of that, it doesn't require any special system power to run the game. We reviewed it on a Steam Deck OLED where it ran solidly at 90 fps, so it's hard to imagine it not being able to maintain 60 fps on most platforms. It's possible that some fans of the old games will be a little sceptical about the graphics style. The immediate impression of the Mega Drive and Master System games is more sombre and serious, but I think most people will surrender once they get started with the game, and even though the style is different, the game clearly takes place in the same universe. You will quickly recognise levels and enemies from the previous games.

The game's story is straight out of the 90s. No chances have been taken here. Joe Musashi's village is attacked by the evil ENE Corp, which seems to possess both enormous magical powers and advanced military technology. The students at his ninja dojo are killed while trying to defend his pregnant wife, who, surprisingly and contrary to the trope, actually survives, so it is not her he must avenge, but the students. Joe Musashi is fully focused on getting his revenge, at least according to the narrator; as it's not something he says himself. Musashi doesn't say anything, he only grunts. It's funny, and they manage to express different things with his grunts, but he is a two-dimensional character in every way. Fortunately, he meets a few colourful characters along the way, and they all have voice acting. The story isn't bad, but it's not what you come for. ENE Corp is evil and has evil plans, and Joe Musashi may be a little too angry, but he's the good guy. Besides the graphics, it's the gameplay you come for, and it's the gameplay that keeps you hooked.

Shinobi is an action-platformer, which is a broad term, but unlike the previous games in the series, Art of Vengeance takes many elements from the Metroidvania genre. Most Metroidvania games take place on a large map that you explore as you go. The different areas may have their own themes or styles, but they are all connected into one. Shinobi follows a more classic structure where you go from level-to-level, but each level can be said to be a mini-Metroidvania map packed with secrets. In the traditional way, you encounter areas and rooms that you can obviously only return to later with new abilities, but this is easy to keep track of as it's described in detail which upgrades and collectibles you are missing in each level.

In classic Metroidvania games, you often start out with all your abilities and are a little superhero, only to have your powers taken away for one reason or another. Unlike many other games in the genre, Art of Vengeance does not make you feel handicapped at the beginning. You have enough abilities to be a wild ninja in the beginning, and it only builds on that from there. Musashi is not robbed of his equipment or drained of his energy. He is the world's best ninja, and all additional abilities are just a bonus rather than a way to get back to a basic level. And now that we're on the subject of Joe Musashi's abilities, let's talk about the combat system, which is incredibly smooth and well executed. The old Sega games were built around two buttons, jump and attack, and a third to activate a ninjitsu skill (a kind of super ability). It worked fine back then, and couldn't be much different given the circumstances of the time, but playing them now, it feels very heavy and stiff. Art of Vengeance is nothing like that. Here we have two basic attacks, a light and a heavy one, a dodge, jump, and throwing knives. These can be chained together in what feels like endless combinations. If you hit enemies with enough heavy attacks, they are marked, and you can perform an instant "execution". In addition, you can activate up to four different special attacks that recharge by attacking enemies, and last but not least, ninjitsu skills are back. These are ultimate attacks that are very effective but also take a long time to recharge.

None of this is ground-breaking or even new, but it works to perfection. I myself tend to "button mash", as they say, and in many games you are punished for that. It's not that you're rewarded here, but the combat system is so accessible at the beginning that even if your Soulslike reflexes are a little rusty, you'll be hooked, but as you truly begin to master the combo system, playing Shinobi is nothing short of a true pleasure. The game balances placing enemies that engage in close combat and attack from a distance in a good way so that you are always challenged but not overwhelmed. The default difficulty level is quite tough, but the challenge grows gradually and feels natural as you develop your skills to play the game. As you approach the end of the story, you don't feel that the game has taken a disproportionate leap in difficulty at any point, even though it can really be tough towards the end. Much of the most difficult content is also optional. This is especially true of the various side missions and bonus levels that focus on platforming sequences. The most challenging of these reminded me a lot of the most difficult sequences from last year's equally good game Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. There are circular saws on the walls and spikes on the floor, and it takes many attempts to get through. You will die again and again, but when you finally execute your jumps and rolls perfectly, it's as satisfying as when you finally defeat a boss in Dark Souls. As I said, the most difficult examples are not necessary to complete the game, which is good because they can be very frustrating. So you can return to them whenever you feel like it.

As you may have guessed, there aren't many problems I can point out in this game. It took me about 15 hours to get through the story, and if you want to achieve 100%, you'll need 20-25 hours. After that, you can try your hand at Boss Rush or Arcade Mode, so all in all, it's a package of exceptionally high quality that Sega and Lizardcube has given us for a recommended price of around £25. Lizardcube really proves here that they are some of the best in the industry at 2D design and animation, and now that they have also shown that they can make an action-platformer/Metroidvania, my biggest wish is that Konami throws a lot of money at them to get them to make a new Castlevania.

Whether Shinobi: Art of Vengeance will be the reboot of the series that Sega hopes for when it goes on sale, only time will tell, but in terms of quality, it's a pure success. It's phenomenally visually designed and the combat system is great for both button-mashing noobs and precise veterans. Shinobi has never been better, it's a true victory for Lizardcube and Sega.