The RetroBeat — Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master is a Genesis treasure I missed

I cherished my Sega Genesis as a child, however now that I spend lots of my grownup life wanting into retro video games, I’m shocked by what number of wonderful titles I missed out on for the 16-bit system.

That features Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, probably the greatest Genesis video games that I by no means performed in my youth.

Actually, I missed out on the entire Shinobi collection. I’m undecided why. I suppose I simply most well-liked hedgehogs to ninjas. However nowadays, I discover that Shinobi III at all times get lots of love from retro gaming followers. And because it’s within the Sega Genesis Classics assortment that I’ve on my Change, I made a decision to lastly give the sidescrolling motion recreation a I strive.

A particular type of ninja

By no means having performed the collection, I assumed it might be much like Ninja Gaiden, one other traditional, ninja-based 2D motion recreation. However whereas Ninja Gaiden focuses on up-close sword assaults, Shinobi is extra about your ranged recreation. Throwing shurikens is your most important type of assault.

Which will tempt you to think about it as a run-‘n’-gun recreation, like Contra or Gunstar Heroes. However Shinobi is slower and extra methodical. You may run, however that’s a harmful endeavor. To succeed, you must watch out, memorizing enemy patterns and ensuring that you just make your assaults rely. You could have a restricted provide of shurikens. When you discover loads of them all through the phases, you may run out of should you’re not cautious. In contrast to a Mega Man recreation, you may’t simply continuously shoot.

If something, it jogs my memory of the traditional Castlevania video games. It’s a must to watch out and use your sources properly if you wish to succeed. And identical to with the retro Castlevania video games, Shinobi III showcases some unimaginable artwork. The phases options a number of the finest pixel work and backgrounds I’ve seen on the Genesis. The degrees even have a enjoyable quantity of selection. One has you browsing on a crystal blue ocean, whereas one other has a powerful Alien vibe.

The music can be a ton of enjoyable. It’s energetic and catchy, with only a ting of Japanese affect to promote the entire ninja motif.

Ninja star

Shinobi III makes for a improbable playthrough. The issue curve is true the place it ought to be. The journey begins off on the straightforward facet, however by the top you’ll must be a grasp of its extra difficult platforming strategies — together with wall-jumping — with a view to succeed. That is very true within the final degree, a type of endurance take a look at that has you dodging electrical energy as you leap and climb your option to security.

Shinobi III is simply super-solid. Every little thing about it really works. The motion, the platforming, the music, and the graphics all work collectively to create a sidescroller that’s thrilling and, at instances, virtually cinematic.

For those who’re like me and haven’t performed Shinobi III earlier than, it is best to do one thing about that.

The RetroBeat is a weekly column that appears at gaming’s previous, diving into classics, new retro titles, or how previous favorites — and their design strategies — encourage right this moment’s market and experiences. When you’ve got any retro-themed initiatives or scoops you’d wish to ship my approach, please contact me.