Shinobi (2002)

An exemplary model for anyone who misses the constant, uninterrupted gameplay that made great 8-bit and 16-bit games the classics they have become.

If you're looking for a great action game, with absolutely no thinking required go pick up Shinobi, right now. You won't be disappointed.

Those looking for a game with lots of challenge and a distinct sense of style would do well to check out Shinobi.

If it looked nicer, and was a bit more player friendly, I'd probably be buying this one. But as it is, it feels like the developers just wanted to make this hard enough so that you couldn't beat it on a rental time span.

Nothing to get excited over.

There are plenty of cool moves, and the lead character is lots of fun to control, but boring level design and highly repetitive gameplay steal a lot of this potential hit's thunder. [Dec 2002, p.40]

We're hugely disappointed in this utterly botched effort by Sega. What should have been the revival of a classic franchise has been turned into a poor rip-off of a Capcom title that wasn't even the dog's bollocks in the first place.

HACK AND SLASH GOODNESS! This game did NOT make it to the Dreamcast, however it made up for it by being on the PS2 instead (marking the start of hack n slash games across all other 6th generation consoles). This is now on PSN , so I recommend purchasing it. The storyline CAN be a bit slow if you're not too speedy with finishing each level (the story is divided into cut-scenes that are shown AFTER completing a level). The camera can be annoying. The game CAN be hard, but REMEMBER that without this game, alot of hack n slashers like Ninja Gaiden / Bayonetta wouldn't exist (Ninja Gaiden: Black Edition even nodded to this game via an unlockable costume).

This game is pure risk/reward. Every aspect of the gameplay tries to teach you to be more daring with how you play, which in turn can completely backfire on you. After loads of practice, your muscle memory will take over and the stylish action is incredibly cool. If you're looking for a serious challenge, check out this beast ****.

This "Shinobi" reboot for the PS2 was heavily inspired by "Devil May Cry". It's a 3D action game that has a very arcade-like feel. The levels are linear and conclude with a tough boss fight. But this isn't for casual players looking for an easy challenge. The game can be difficult due to your constantly depleting health. Slicing and dicing up enemies will restore it, but it must be done quickly. While the action is fast and stylish, unfortunately, the camera can be problematic. You have to re-adjust it manually. Overall, this is a solid action title. I would rate it with a 7.6 out of 10.

So, how much visual style do you need to hide a complete lack of depht in the gameplay department? Well, you need A LOT. This game, despite of it, works pretty well. I had a lot of fun with it when i was a teen, finished it, and forgot about it.

It's an awesome premise and the gameplay is extremely stylistic, but it's also repetitive and doesn't prove to that much of a challenge. It's not a bad game, but it's not necessarily a good one either. It's fun every now and then, and the story is pretty good, but I would never buy it at it's original price - however it does live up to it's $2 price at Gamestop. The scene work is probably the most (and only) truly impressive quality, yet it is limited by it's horrendous voice acting.