Shadow Dancer - The Secret of Shinobi Review by: Eirinn - 5/10
When Lizards attackReady for some fast paced retro gaming Ninja action? Then Shadow Dancer may be just what you're looking for. And while this is another Shinobi game, the gameplay varies greatly from that of other Shinobi titles. I myself instantly loved it. In the game, you take on the role of Shinobi, the "Ninja of the shadows", accompanied by his faithful Canine pal, Yamoto. Together, they fight against the lizard
union. At first glance, I thought Yamoto just followed you around and barked at the baddies. I was pleasantly surprised to learn (quite by accident) that he actually fights alongside you, latching onto your foes with a death-grip, rendering them completely helpless, while you easily pick them off with a shuriken or a slice of the sword. His powers do have their limits however, as he can only attack certain enemies (I'll leave it up to you to figure out which). Sick him on the wrong ones, and he'll be wounded, and turn into a mere pup for a few moments, making him unable to attack or help in any way. Also he can only maintain his grip for a certain length of time before his new found chew toy of a foe shakes him loose, hurting him in the process. To top it all off, in levels 4-1 and 4-2 he also helps by barking at fiends that are hiding in the shadows, waiting for you, that would otherwise kill you without your ever seeing them. Indeed, Yamoto proves himself very useful, and earns the title of Man's best friend. He stands poised, ready to strike at all times. All you have to do is hold the attack button until the indicator at the bottom of the screen flashes, then release it. As for Shinobi, he can attack by throwing shurikens, swinging his sword, or kicking the enemy. He also wields the power of ninjitsu, as usual. This ability can only be used once per level/life, and kills every enemy on the screen, and deal two hits worth of damage to a boss, excepting the final boss, Sauros, who only takes one hit worth of damage from a ninjitsu attack. You face a wide array of enemies along the way to Sauros throne room, including a gray ninja with a small blade, a blue ninja that phases in from thin air, a red ninja that phases in as well, and also a tan ninja that phases in from thin air, each having their own attacks. You will also encounter gunmen, ninjas with rolling attacks and claws for weapons, black ninjas, and more. Knowing how to handle each of these enemies when going into battle is essential. The player will also face five bosses, only one of which is human, or at least, mostly human.
Enough of that, let's move on to ratings, shall we?
Graphics: 9/10
Great graphics here. There's so much to be said, so I'll start with the sprites. They're beautiful. Smooth edges, nice variety of colors, no pixelation, fluid movements, and a nice amount of detail. All around good graphically.
Now the backgrounds: these are also very nice. The most remarkable being found in level 2-2, I believe. The reason this level's background is so impressive is there is a fence behind the player, which the player will leap over several times throughout the level. The action that takes place on the other side of the fence is viewed from the same camera angle as the action that occours in front of the fence. So the player sees Shinobi and Yamoto fighting, through the fence, which creates a nice effect, and makes for somewhat of an interactive background (though there is an actual background that is nothing more than a flat backdrop). However, there are a few minor problems with the graphics. First off, the background in level one is awful. They seem to be going for a heat effect, but the effect is far too exaggerated, and the result is just plain ugly. This is undoubtedly the single worst background I have ever seen in any game since the atari 2600 days. Also, the animations of the enemies when they die are just awful. Still, I don't consider this a graphics issue. Finally the particle effects aren't bad, but they're not impressive by any means. Bland would describe them accurately. All in all though, the graphics are good.
Sound: 6/10
The sound effects are good enough, but the music is rather poor in my opinion. The best track in the game is found in level 2-2 as well, but it sounds very much out of place. It sounds like eighties pop music, and would have worked great in another game, but it just doesn't fit a hack and slash game. Picture the orchestrated "bop" sounds of the eighties pop world set against a world of fighting ninjas and blazing guns. Not sure what they were thinking there, but at least it's more pleasing to the ears than the other tracks. There are a few decent tracks, but most fall short and end up more bland than anything, and many (if not most) are slightly offensive to the ears. I can respect that they tried to incorporate great music here, as some of the tracks are very detailed and layered, but they failed to make those layers play together nicely on the Genesis sound chip.
Story: 5/10
Average.
This is just your basic beat 'em up story. Bad guys invaded and took over a city, and the hero fights the power, in order to rescue the city. In this particular game, the bad guy's name is Sauros, the city is New York City, and the year is 1997. The only slightly original twist is the saving of hostages along the way. This isn't a bad thing, but it isn't a plus either. There is the opening bit of story at the start of the game (as with many retro games, you must wait at the title screen before it will play), but that's it. Typical of many games of it's time, but typical is far from exceptional.
Depth: 3/10
This is just a straight forward hack 'n' slash, and as is typical with this genre, there's no depth to the gameplay, but it can be replayed with or without Shurikens, and the player can control both Shinobi and Yamoto, which is one of the games strong points.
Addictiveness: 1/10
The gameplay isn't bad, but they pull the infamous difficulty-shock trick on the player. The trick where they give you a game that isn't that difficult, and at the very end (literally the last boss alone) the difficulty suddenly junps so high that a ten is an understatement. This is just a terrible idea, and seems to me to be poor game planning. Either that, or a very dirty trick. This alone was so frustrating that I decided once I finished the game, I would never play it again. Difficulty is fine, but taking a game that is a cake walk and making the final boss one of the most difficult games on the console is just a bad game plan to me. Minus the last level, this game gets about a four in this category.
Difficulty: 10/10
This is the most difficult game to beat that I have found for the Genesis. While the first four of five levels are extremely easy for me (I can clear them without losing a single life), the last level is rather difficult, as it is a gauntlet that drains several lives if you're not careful. It's really a cheap way of making the player go through five or six levels and a boss fight, on one level's worth of Ninjitsu. The final boss fight is insane, there is no other word to describe it. And it may result in screaming and a strong urge to throw things. Resist. In this fight, the player must stand in the exact right spot, that is about the same width as Shinobi's body in order to avoid being hit by Sauros' fire attack. Bear ing mind that you need to hit him six times, and can only do so after his fire attack (he also sends ninjas after you), and you die after only one hit. This is an extremely intense level of difficulty, and should have been worked into the game slowly. As a result, I found myself entering the final level with twenty lives and two continues, with five lives each (for a total of thirty lives) and losing every one of them. This happened several times, actually. However, you may enjoy this type of switch in difficulty, or be a glutton for punishment. If so, have at it! This game is for you.
In summary, this game is worth a play if you're a hardcore Shinobi fan, but it's likely that you won't stay interested in finishing it if you're not. It's a shame that the final stage is what it is, as otherwise it's a good game. The gameplay is fun, and in ways rare, if not unique to shadow dancer. Still I can't say that it isn't alot of fun along the way to the end. However, unless you're looking for an extreme challenge, I wouldn't recommend this game.
Graphics
9 Sound
6 Addictive
1 Depth
3 Story
5 Difficulty
10
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