Revenge of Shinobi (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

The Revenge of Shinobi represents another in the growing collection of SEGA classics making their way to the GBA thanks to the current obsession with all things retro. It's not though, as you might expect, a straight port of the Genesis classic because the developers have instead endeavoured to create an original game utilising familiar characters and locations. The plot is actually quite pleasing; it seems that to free the world from the curse of Ashira-o, Shinobi must recover 5 elemental swords and defeat the Shoguns who wield them. At least that's what it says on the box. Revenge of Shinobi also fills something of a void in the GBA catalogue, which although it has its fair share of beat'em ups has little in the way of ninja inspired romps although they were a huge favourite in the 1980s. The question here though is 'what does it play like?'.

Gameplay

Playing as Shinobi, you start your quest with little in the way of magical powers and only a handful of basic combat abilities. It's up to you to discover new skills and grow stronger as you endeavour to carry out your master?s request. It takes place over five different levels and you are challenged to locate and retrieve one of the Shogun?s blades in each. This mostly involves negotiating sizeable areas and hacking down anyone or anything in your path. There are other weapons apart from your sword though and there are plenty of secret areas to discover which help equip you for any eventuality. To be honest though there's really nothing quite as powerful or versatile as your initial weapon as some of the so-called long-range weapons like throwing stars tend to fall somewhat short of their intended victim. Your other means of defence is magic. To acquire this you need to locate magic scrolls, which are placed around the various levels. There are five different types which can be elevated to four levels of power but using them really isn't as easy as it should be so you'll often activate a spell of some description when you really don't need it.

Controls

Not only are the controls very responsive and intuitive but Shinobi also includes a feature that every developer should try to place in their game: the in-game tutorial. Put in simple terms this means that rather than thumbing through a weighty manual the game?s main features are explained to you via a simplified first level with on-screen 'pop-ups'. This does make the game easier to pick up, especially as the controls take up a whole page in the manual. Mastering the magic, on the other hand, is a whole different story; there?s little guidance on when, where and how to use it and it's much more complicated than it needs to be.

Graphics

The overall presentation, while not outstanding, is well above average although it is more of a 'retro' look rather than a truly enhanced remake that we're all well aware the GBA is capable of. Most of the environments appear a little washed out and both interior and exterior locations repeat a little too often. The animation is also a little strange, for example, although I'm sure Shinobi is meant to be utilising his ninja training to creep up on potential victims he appears simply to be walking crab-like around the various areas. Spells and special effects are a little better but the highlights are undoubtedly the various cut screens and front end presentation which are visually exciting. It's a shame the rest of the game doesn't match this high standard.

Sound

Audio wise this title really is top notch as the developers avoid the usual problem of monotonous music loops by employing some clever editing techniques. This results in a soundtrack that manages to create the perfect atmosphere for ninja action and despite there only being one music selection for each level, unlike the in-game music in other titles, it never becomes distracting. The sound effects are also well above what you'd normally expect from a game of this type and the majority of the weapons sound solid and surprisingly dangerous. One minor quibble is the audio that accompanies Shinobi's movement, which makes him sound like he's wearing tap shoes whether he's on wood, paving stones or even grass.

Final comments

I have to say that I enjoyed Revenge of Shinobi a lot more than I thought I would and it's refreshing to be surprised by anything released for the GBA at the moment. That's not to say that it's without its problems though so although it should keep you entertained for some time, the repetitive nature of the gameplay prevents it from being truly engaging. To make matters worse the whole thing is spoilt because of the incredibly unfriendly password system. It's clear from the 16-digit code and the amount of game data it deals with that Shinobi is screaming out for a battery back up so why wasn?t one included? Outside of that you're still getting a lengthy and reasonably enjoyable game for your money but the awkward 'save' feature does mean that you're either going to have to play the game in one sitting or have reams and reams of paper at your side. Hardly portable then!

Pro: Great Soundtrack.
Con: Terrible Save Facility.
Final score: 5.5

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