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[Instigator]

I know some people swear only by Revenge of Shinobi, but Shinobi III is the true crowning achievement in the series. Saturn Shinobi Legions and those long-scrafed pretenders on PS2 only reinforces that.

The game is like the perfect combo of fighting arts and acrobatic skills. Everything seems to flow. And no timer BS to spoil the action. I love it. My only complaint is that even on the hardest difficulty settings and no shurikens, the game can be easy for pros.

The game was a pretty high graphic monster on the Genny when it came out, especially some of those bosses. And no disrecpect to Yuzo Koshiro but the soundtrack in this one is better than Revenge of Shinobi's.

But there's one thing I've always wondered. Early previews of the game seemed very different, with simpler but familiar levels and none of the chase stages. And I have always been under the impression that a different build of the game was released in Japan under the name Super Shinobi 2. Anyone care to shed some light into this?

P.S. Shadow Dancer ain't half bad either.

 

[btrboyev]

great game, but revenge is still better.

 

[Instigator]

Quit living in the past!

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Revenge of Shinobi is still better, overall. The Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack and boss and level design variety put it over the top, IMO. Part III was more polished and kinetic, though.


Revenge of Shinobi>Shadow Dancer (arcade)>Shinobi III>Shadow Dancer(Genesis)>Shinobi(Master System)>Shinobi(arcade)>Shinobi Legions(Saturn)>all the other Shinobi games

 

[D-X]

Leigons had an awesome soundtrack courtesy of Richard Jacques

 

[Instigator]

Revenge of Shinobi is still better, overall. The Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack and boss and level design variety put it over the top, IMO. Part III was more polished and kinetic, though.


Revenge of Shinobi>Shadow Dancer (arcade)>Shinobi III>Shadow Dancer(Genesis)>Shinobi(Master System)>Shinobi(arcade)>Shinobi Legions(Saturn)>all the other Shinobi games

Revenge of Shinobi is not a game that ages well. It feels old and tired.

 

[Geek]

Revenge of Shinobi>Shadow Dancer (arcade)>Shinobi III>Shadow Dancer(Genesis)>Shinobi(Master System)>Shinobi(arcade)>Shinobi Legions(Saturn)>all the other Shinobi games

This is quite possibly the most fucked grade scale I've ever seen. To say that the original arcade Shinobi is a mere one notch better than Shinobi Legions (and somehow WORSE than the SMS port) it's.. it's like you're EVIL. HATEFUL!

Shinobi arcade is pure. Don't ever speak of it again, you cur!

 

[Ronin]

Shinobi III is probably my favorite game of all time.

Bill Cosby agrees.

 

[radios shipping overview]

Revenge has great music, but the mechanics are a bear to deal with sometimes (love that dire double-jump timing). I still like it for what it does well, though.

III looks great and feels great to this day. It's the perfect ninja game - tons of style, excellent player control with lots of cool (and useful) moves, lots of acrobatics. I need to pull it out again soon - I never had it during the Genesis years, but I picked it up later and still haven't finished it.

Shadow Dancer is HARD HARD HARD AUGH

 

[MightyHedgehog]

:lol Shinobi on the SMS might not be as nice looking, but it had more killin' implements to use than the arcade version. And yeah, Legions, was OK...until the rice paper-Japanese fortress area...UGH...crap game. Didn't help they insisted on those lame FMV cinemas and the really lame MK-video cam captured animation. Double UGH.

I don't consider the PS versions of 'Shinobi' to be Shinobi at all. Totally different...just happen to have the same name and publisher.

 

[PanopticBlue]

Shinobi III is definitely the best game in the whole series. Seriously go back and play Revenge, it's a great game no questions asked (and was amazing for the time) but III crushes it in every way imaginable save for the soundtrack.

Shadow Dancer is great too, and both arcade and Genesis versions are pretty different to each other, I always thought it was interesting how the Gen version wasn't really a port of the arcade game.

 

[evil ways]

I love the MegaDrive Shinobis, but for me it will always be about Arcade & SMS Shinobi. I don't remember any game besides Mortal Kombat 2 and Street Fighter 2 where I pumped so many coins into it.

I also liked one of the Game Gear games, don't remember the exact name but it was the one where you used different colored ninjas and each had special abilities like one would use bombs, another had a grappling hook, etc.

 

[Screenboy]

Old Skool Shinobi Page

Check out the Spiderman, Hulk and Batman bosses.

 

[Dracos]

When I got my 1st Genny, Sega had a deal to mail in and get a free game and controller (or just free game can't remember). I picked ROS, so needless to say it has a special place in my heart. If you can understand this, to me Revenge of Shinobi has a "tall, realistic" feel to it compared to the other Shinobis. What I mean by this is imagine the arcade version of Contra and then compare it to the NES version. Because the sprites are taller and animate better it has a more solid and realistic fell to it. ROS was very un console like for its time. It was truly next-gen unlike Altered Beasts wich was just arcade-like.

 

[PanopticBlue]

When I got my 1st Genny, Sega had a deal to mail in and get a free game and controller (or just free game can't remember). I picked ROS, so needless to say it has a special place in my heart. If you can understand this, to me Revenge of Shinobi has a "tall, realistic" feel to it compared to the other Shinobis. What I mean by this is imagine the arcade version of Contra and then compare it to the NES version. Because the sprites are taller and animate better it has a more solid and realistic fell to it. ROS was very un console like for its time. It was truly next-gen unlike Altered Beasts wich was just arcade-like.

Haha, I remember at the time I knew only one person at my school who also had a Genesis (I got mine at launch in sept 89) we went on and on about how amazing the graphics and sound were in Revenge, I remember discussing how it was so detailed you could see the wrinkles in Shinobi's pants animating :lol I agree with you about Altered Beast, I was slightly disapointed with that but Revenge was absolutely next-gen when it came out and blew me away

 

[Instigator]

Shinobi III is half of a generation ahead of RoS.

 

[AndreasNystrom]

SMS had the great bonusmusic in Shinobi!. I had to use Mame and rip it off, cause i liked that music so much!.

Otherwise i was a fan of Shadow dancer, which i think is a shinobi-game?

 

[kablooey]

Why the arguing? Both games were fantastic. I like the soundtrack and challenge level in Revenge slightly more, but Shinobi III is still an amazing game. I'd love to see a GBA port/collection sometime...

 

[Stinkles]

Original arcade Shinobi 4-evah.

 

[Instigator]

 

[jarrod]

List time!!

Arcade
-Shinobi (Sega System 16A) Sega 1986
-Shinobi (Sega System 16B) Sega 1986
-Shadow Dancer (Sega System 18) Sega 1989
-Shinobi (Sega Mega-Tech) Sega 1990
-Shadow Dancer (Sega Mega-Tech) Sega 1990
-Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Sega Mega-Tech) Sega 1993

Console
-Shinobi (Sega Master System) Sega 1987
-The Revenge of Shinobi (Sega Genesis) Sega 1989
-Alex Kidd in Shinobi World (Sega Master System) Sega 1990
-The Cyber Shinobi: Shinobi Part 2 (Sega Master System) Sega 1990
-Shadow Dancer (Sega Master System) Sega 1990 *EU onlu
-Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (Sega Genesis) Sega 1990
-Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Sega Genesis) Sega 1993
-Shinobi Legions (Sega Saturn) Sega/Vic Tokai 1995
-Shinobi (PlayStation 2) Sega/Overworks 2002
-Nightshade (PlayStation 2) Sega/Sega Wow 2004

Handheld
-GG Shinobi (Game Gear) Sega 1991
-GG Shinobi 2: The Silent Fury (Game Gear) Sega 1992

Licensed/Outsourced
-Shinobi (PC Engine) Asmik Ace 1987
-Shinobi (Amiga) The Sales Curve/Binary Design 1988
-Shinobi (Commodore 64) Virgin Interactive 1988
-Shinobi (Nintendo Entertainment System) Tengen 1989
-Shadow Dancer (Amiga) US Gold/Images 1991
-Shadow Dancer (Commodore 64) US Gold/Images 1991
-The Revenge of Shinobi (Game Boy Advance) THQ/3D6 Games 2002

...I *think* there were other ports of Shinobi & Shadow Dancer (Spectrum, Atari ST, PC/DOS, etc) but I can't much on find them (date, publisher, developer, etc). The Genesis games have been rereleased in various Genesis/SegaCD/PC/Dreamcast compliations as well.

 

[Instigator]

You can't just list without picking a favorite, jarrod.

Dare to choose one.

 

[blackadde]

I went back and played it last week, still fun as hell.

 

[Reilly]

Shinobi 3 was the best. It had a Mechagodzilla copy in it though

 

[jarrod]

You can't just list without picking a favorite, jarrod.

Dare to choose one.

I'd agree Shinobi 3 aged best, but I still love Revenge. I'm a little surprised that Legions and Shinobi PS2 are bagged on so much though, they're both excellent games in their own right.

 

[Instigator]

I'd agree Shinobi 3 aged best, but I still love Revenge. I'm a little surprised that Legions and Shinobi PS2 are bagged on so much though, they're both excellent games in their own right.

They're not worthy of the Shinobi name.

 

[PC Gaijin]

Shinobi Legions actually plays fine. The digitized graphics are an acquired taste I guess (I liked them), and the cut scenes are good for a chuckle. Shinobi 3 is still by far my favorite. Revenge of Shinobi is pretty good, Shadow Dancer in the arcades was good too (Genesis version kind of sucked).

I've been meaning to get either Shinobi or Nightshade for PS2, but I can't ever find them cheap (by cheap I mean under $10).

 

[djtiesto]

I remember buying Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage over Shinobi III back in the day... I'm such a dumbass

Shadow Dancer was always my favorite. III is good too. But the Shadow Dancer music is great! Graphics were also spectacular for their time - the raster effect flames in the first stage, earthquakes changing the board layout around, that was so cool back in the day.... Too bad I never made it past the Statue of Liberty.

 

[D2M15]

They're not worthy of the Shinobi name.

You're not worthy of the Shinobi name.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

I actually bought Shinobi III earlier this year offa Ebay. It was one of those games that I rented a whole lot but never atually purchased.

Thanks to emulators, I'm as skilled in several areas of Shinobi III as I am in Metal Slug 3. It's so much fun to find the flashiest route through some of the sections.

 

[bionic77]

Shinobi kicked plenty ass on the Genesis and is just further proof of why 2D > 3D.

 

[nitewulf]

of course shinobi 3 is the best shinobi ever, hell its damn well the best action game from that gen.
ps2 shinobi wasnt too shabby either, if it was a bit more polished all around, ie, better graphics, level progression and move set, it would have been an AAA title.

 

[Spectral Glider]

All I have to say is this.....

Ninja Step bitches, Ninja Step.

I remember I never played Revenge until I got a Sega CD with the pack-in CD of older games. When I first played it, I didn't care for it. And then it kind a grew on me. So simple, yet it could frustrate at times. I never got to play Shadow Dancer on the Genny and I think I rented part III for maybe a day or two once and didn't get to play it hardly at all. Damn it, this and the Streets of Rage thread several days ago now has me chomping to play these games. Time to fire up Gens.

 

[Screenboy]

Original arcade Shinobi 4-evah.

I agree, bring back total memories of the multicoloured ninjas and the bonus stages where you had to throw ninja stars at oncoming ninjas!

That boss that was like loads of statues on top of each other that just kept getting closer was a right button masher.

*can someone pm me a link to a mame tutorial and site for games?

cheers

 

[Instigator]

I remember buying Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage over Shinobi III back in the day... I'm such a dumbass

Shadow Dancer was always my favorite. III is good too. But the Shadow Dancer music is great! Graphics were also spectacular for their time - the raster effect flames in the first stage, earthquakes changing the board layout around, that was so cool back in the day.... Too bad I never made it past the Statue of Liberty.

I do love Shadow Dancer, it can be intense on the hard difficulty setting and with all those black ninjas jumping on you. But it's really a straightforward action game, Shinobi III had a bit of exploration in bigger levels and longer game. That tips the balance in its favor.

 

[jimbo]

ORIGINAL ARCADE SHINOBI. Damn someone beat me to this post. I was going to write something about it. To this date the original Shinobi is the best Ninja game out there. I beat this game more than any other game ever. I spent so much money on it until I mastered it, that I got to the point of where I needed only one quarter and that arcade machine was mine until I beat the game. The One quarter game.

 

[midnightguy]

one of the best Sega series ever.

 

[midnightguy]

this is the best Shinobi website I've ever seen
http://www.phm.lu/Shinobi/Shinobi/

 

[bionic77]

Call me crazy, but those graphics look better than 90% of the stuff coming out today.

 

[ourumov]

I agree. Shinobi III is the best of the Shinobis. People always claims Revenge is better, mainly because Yuzo was there...


And it's kinda sad because even in the music department Shinobi III is better. The fast pacing of the game, the awesome level design, the cool music makes Shinobi III an awesome action game.

 

[midnightguy]

Call me crazy, but those graphics look better than 90% of the stuff coming out today.

this boss always reminded me of the very detailed NEO-GEO or IREM look

 

[Go Go Ackman!]

Man this board needs more threads like this

 

[Instigator]

I agree. Shinobi III is the best of the Shinobis. People always claims Revenge is better, mainly because Yuzo was there...


And it's kinda sad because even in the music department Shinobi III is better. The fast pacing of the game, the awesome level design, the cool music makes Shinobi III an awesome action game.

This man sees the light.

 

[GhaleonEB]

great game, but revenge is still better.

So wrong on so many levels.

The control in III is smoother, faster and more fun. The interaction with every surface (jump off walls, hang on ceilings and cable), the jump kick, which can be chained into combos, the music (love Yuzo, but III was on par with Revenge without him), varied gameplay including the horse and ski sections and a much longer mission set just blow Revenge away.

I love'em both dearly - but III is my favorite 2D action game of all time. Revenge makes the top 10.

 

[black_13]

thanx alot Instigator. You brought back some great f*cking memories for me.

God I loved Shinobi 1,2,3 so damn much. Uh what I would do for a good 3D Shinobi. I can only dream. *cries*

 

[Instigator]

thanx alot Instigator. You brought back some great f*cking memories for me.

God I loved Shinobi 1,2,3 so damn much. Uh what I would do for a good 3D Shinobi. I can only dream. *cries*

You're welcome.

Make sure to visit this thread as well:

http://new.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=50009&highlight=castle+illusion

 

[Sapiens]

Revenge and III are both excellent. One is not better than the other, if that makes any sense.

Revenge has better level design. III has nicer graphics and effects though.

Music is excellent is both. Yuzo's soundtrack is wicked, but III has this awesome recurring theme.

 

[Shinobi]

Shinobi III is probably my favorite game of all time.

Bill Cosby agrees.

:lol WTS...

I agree. Shinobi III is the best of the Shinobis. People always claims Revenge is better, mainly because Yuzo was there...

I feel the same thing happens with the Streets of Rage series...because 2's music was so good and 3's music was so poor/disappointing/crap, the entire game gets so horribly dismissed some idiots even consider the original to be a better game. Doesn't make much sense to me, but whatever.


I choose not to directly compare the home and arcade Shinobis. In my view they're slightly different takes on the same theme..namely, being a ninja and kicking ass. I prefer the Revenge/Shinobi 3 style, but I'm not gonna look down on those who prefer the Shinobi/Shadow Dancer style. It simply comes down to preference.

My favourite game out of all of 'em is defintely Shinobi 3. The level of control was just amazing...the wall jumps, hanging onto and climbing along the ceiling, being able to block shurikens, riding that horse, doing moves on the jet ski. Awesome art design, ridiculous boss design (Hydra's one of the meanest looking bosses I've ever seen), fantastic visuals (loved the five level vertical scrolling, which Batman and Robin also used), and music that's as good as any in the series. As others have said, it's probably my favourite action game ever.

Having said that, Legions was a fine game for what it was. The digitized visuals weren't ideal (seeing a hand drawn Shinobi on the Saturn would've been crazy), but they provided a fresh and interesting look. Ultimately a lot of the stages made the game look like a remixed version of ROS and S3, and the bosses weren't as good as those found in those games, but it was still a pretty cool romp. I would love to grab the MP3's from the European version...the couple I do have sound terrific.

I also love GG Shinobi on the Game Gear, which featured Yuzo tunes, and some tight gameplay on it's own. It's kinda short and fairly easy, but I've never found the Shinobi games entirely difficult, save for the original game (well, maybe the arcade Shadow Dancer as well...and PS2 Shinobi).

The only game that I'd say disgraces the Shinobi name is Cyber Shinobi on the Master System, which was complete and utter drek.

Anyway, goes without saying the entire series is one of my favourite of all time. Just hope the next installment gets back the visual edge that the series enjoyed before the PS2 game, cause it lost it big time in that game. :lol

 

[Apharmd Battler]

KICK ASS THREAD!!!

 

[Dujour]

I never finished the SMS one, but Revenge and III had studpi-hard bosses. Great games. WHere else can you fight Spider-man, Batman, Godzilla, the Terminator, and ride a friggin horse?

As much as I love Hotsuma (no love for hibana's dumb costume), bring back Joe Musashi to the lead TO TAKE DOWN ZEED once and for all.