Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #406: The Revenge of Shinobi

The Revenge of Shinobi

Game Boy Advance

Nostalgia Factor:

History being made here, folks. Put it on your calendar. My first ever review of a Game Boy Advance title.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect with this game. It bears the name The Revenge of Shinobi, which is a Genesis title I reviewed back on May 2nd as an earlier installment on my Mop Up Duty review tour. A little research on Google determined that this was actually a completely different game, although it shared the same name.

That was good enough for me. I was looking for a quick game to play for the year 2002, and this one fit the bill. Let's check it out and see if it lives up to the Shinobi name.

Story:

This game takes place in ancient Japan. Legend says that an evil demon was destroyed by five heroes, each of whom yielded a magical blade. After its defeat, the demon's corruption worked its way into each of these five blades, turning the heroes into maniacal villains. It's your job to defeat these villains, collecting all five blades in the process, and bringing them back to your village elder who can use magic to banish the evil demon and free the heroes from its influence once and for all.

Spoiler alert! The village elder turns out to be the demon in hiding, and once you bring all the blades to him, you have to fight him and defeat him as he attempts to morph into a massive dragon. Defeat him, and you return peace to the land.

If I got a few small details wrong, sue me. I wrote that all from memory.

Gameplay:

This is Shinobi in name only. It might look like a proper Shinobi game at first glance, but don't let the ninja theme fool you. Most Shinobi games follow a fast-paced run and slash gameplay formula with platforming elements. This game does not.

This game is slow. Very slow. You walk forward. You see an enemy. You hesitantly walk toward it, slashing it when it is within distance of your sword. If the slash doesn't defeat your enemy, you back off and let him or her come to you, and then you slash them again! Enemy defeated, you move forward into the stage. Rinse and repeat for every single enemy you encounter.

You have to take your time as you make your way through each stage. You can't just run through, slash the enemy, and keep moving. This title is focused more on slower paced one-on-one battles with individual enemies.

Each stage has a beginning and an end point. It's simply your goal to make it to the end point. Gates may bar your passage, so you have to be on the lookout for switches that can open them. Finding these switches often involves going inside buildings to look for them. What's inside buildings? More enemies to defeat.

This entire game is very repetitive. Walk through a level. Enter every house you see. Dispatch every enemy you see. If there's a switch, throw it. If there's a scroll, collect it. That's about it. There's the game for you.

Maybe I am oversimplifying things a bit too much, but I think I'm pretty much on point. You fight bosses from time to time, but most of these bosses can be defeated with the same plucky hit-and-retreat style attacks that you use on normal enemies.

There are other ways to engage enemies, like with magical spells or ninja stars, but it takes a very long time to fill your magic meter, making these attacks impractical. Ninja stars? You have a very limited supply of them, and honestly I learned that when I fiddled around with the stars I often left myself open to enemy attacks. I was better off just using the sword and sticking to my tried and true tactics instead.

There are five sets of missions to complete. At the end of each set of levels is a boss to fight and a sword to collect. Once you've collected all five swords you fight the game's boss. Defeat him and the game is over and the credits begin to roll.

I wish I could say there was something special about this title's gameplay, but there really is not. This is one of the most middle-of-the-road games I've ever played. Not bad, but not particularly enjoyable either. It's like they set out to make a mediocre game and accomplished just that.

Graphics:

If this game has a bright spot, it is the graphics. Your character and his enemies are composed of charming sprite based artwork. The animation is nice. This looks like a late 16-bit era title.

The highlight for me has to be the setting of the game. The backgrounds can be beautiful sometimes. I like when you enter the tall grass and butterflies fly away from you. It's small touches like that which really help bring ancient Japan to life in a very fun and charming way.

Sound:

This game has some nice soothing music which helps to add to the charming and authentic ancient Japan aesthetic. The sound effects are appropriate for the type of game this is. Nothing really to complain about in this department.

Overall:

While this game has some nice things going for it in the music and graphics department, everything else about it screams average.

The gameplay is just so bland and so repetitive. Everything fun and addictive about the Shinobi series has been zapped dry from this version of the game. I almost wish it was an adaptation or port of the original Revenge of Shinobi. There's nothing memorable, fun, or innovative about this game.

That said, this isn't necessarily a bad game. The mechanics are all right. I had some fun with a few of the early stages. The boss battles, particularly the ones at the end, are enjoyable. I liked how open each stage is, and how they are non-linear in the sense that you can explore them for collectibles and scrolls that enhance your magic attacks.

So yeah. This is certainly a playable game. And I wouldn't say it is a bad or terrible game. It's just not particularly memorable either. It's there. It exists. It's a completely and utterly average title, befitting of the C I'm about to give it. You know what? I'm even going to dock the score a little bit since this game does an injustice to the legacy of the Shinobi series. Definitely the worst game in the series I've played.

THE GRADE:

C-

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