Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn
Developer: NatsumeAtari
Publisher: NatsumeAtari, Edigger, United Games Entertainment GmbH
Platforms: Windows (Reviewed), Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch
Release Date: 29 August 2024
Price: $29.99 USD / $29.99 AUD – Available Here
Overview
Tengo Project is a small team composed of key people responsible for titles such as Pocky & Rocky, The Ninja Warriors and Wild Guns, all of which received updated versions with new graphics, sounds and gameplay. Now, it’s time for Shadow of the Ninja to be reborn, graced with all the passion and care that Tengo has been pouring onto its revamps of Natsume’s action classics. That said, Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a much more ambitious project compared to Tengo’s past offerings. As its name implies, it’s a complete remake of the original 1990 title.
Story
A bunch of demons installed a dictatorship in some country not named the United States. It is now 2029 and two ninja mercenaries with a heart of gold have now come all the way from the East to overthrow President Garuda.
The game’s cyberpunk setting and the fact that the antagonists are now established as actual demons are more clearly conveyed in the intro cinematic this time. Curiously, any mention of real places were removed and replaced by fictitious names. The intro is surprisingly dynamic for something rendered using pixel art nowadays.
Gameplay
Originally released on Nintendo’s 8-bit console, Shadow of the Ninja is a side-scrolling action game that plays similarly to Ninja Gaiden on the same system, but with a slower-paced and more methodical gameplay. One of the title’s standout features is its enjoyable co-op mode which arguably felt like the optimal way to experience the game. As a result, solo play wasn’t as engaging and felt a bit gimped; weapon choices were restricted and players could only carry one weapon at a time, reducing their versatility.
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn addresses this by expanding and tweaking your initial loadout. Additionally, a wide array of secondary weapons and items can now be found throughout the stages. Combined with new attacks and moves focused on evasion and mobility, these enhancements make exploring the game’s now multi-layered backdrops much more enjoyable in single-player mode.
If you thought the original Shadow of the Ninja was fun – I certainly do – just wait until you put your hands on this beauty. It’s a fast hack ‘n slash that retains the essence of the original title and demands reasonable caution and precision from players. The gameplay now feels more balanced, allowing for more varied play styles. Enemies don’t spawn right in your face anymore but can still be hard to track at times due to the much larger play area. Despite sharing the same move set, the two selectable characters are now more distinct. Hayate is much faster than Kaede but a bit harder to control. Their differences become more apparent when playing in co-op mode. However, I feel Tengo should have gone further in differentiating them, providing more incentive for repeated playthroughs.
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a very short game even with the addition of a new stage which now brings the total to six. However, they feature entirely new segments while older ones have been carefully reworked, making stages feel longer and more varied when compared to the original title. It’s still a fairly challenging game and now includes an extra difficulty setting. Hard mode shakes things up a bit by making enemies more numerous and aggressive with some of them even altering their attack patterns slightly. While these changes don’t drastically alter the gameplay, they do add a bit more longevity to the overall experience. Most boss battles got enhanced and extended, showcasing their new amazing sprite work. Suffice it to say, Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a treat to both old and new 2D action fans alike.
Visuals
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn truly shines with its completely remade graphics. Tengo Project outdid themselves, transforming the old 8-bit visuals into a fresh mix that combines elements from their previous revamps and the crisp and detailed pixel art found on the best 32-bit side-scrollers. The main characters were animated incredibly smoothly, though some enemies and bosses needed more work in this regard. The cyberpunk backdrops look amazing and are incredibly detailed and varied. The new mech enemies are huge and feature brilliant sprite work. Overall, the visuals in Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn are nothing short of impressive and a joy to look at.
Audio
The remade soundtrack captures the catchy and energetic spirit of the original tunes wonderfully. However, they could have benefited from more variety and additional sections. As it stands, the music tends to loop quite a bit, which can make it sound a bit repetitive and even grating after a while.
Overall
Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is another great 2D action title from the past that was elevated far beyond its original scope. It really has to be seen to be believed, as games with polished gameplay combined with high-quality pixel art like this simply aren’t made anymore. It might be too late for other neglected IPs to start receiving the same treatment as money in the game industry lies elsewhere. Nevertheless, I hope the people at Tengo Project still have steam left for more passion undertakings such as this one.
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