Reviewed
07.15.2004
Publisher
Sega
Developer
Sega
Format
4
Megabit
Origin
Import
/ Domestic
Available
1990
(Japan)
1990
(USA)
Exclusive
Yes
Difficulty
Adjustable
Dimensions
2D
View
Side
Genre
Action
Player(s)
1
Options
6
Button
Mega
Key
Requires
n/a
Importable
100% |
| Intro |
|
> I was hooked on The Revenge
of Shinobi, then Sega announced they were making
Shadow
Dancer for Genesis as well. Of course, I thought
they were talking about the awesome, but very difficult, arcade game of
the same name. As it turned out, Sega only did an arcade
port of Shadow
Dancer for the Master System. The Genesis
/ Mega Drive iteration was to be largely new.
> After bringing down the Neo Zeed, Joe "Shinobi" Musashi went to New York
to spend time with his former student, Kato, then retired to his native
land. Later, Kato was fatally injured while protecting local school
children from a new gang of thugs. Musashi rushed back to New York
to find that Kato had died, and left only his faithful dog, Yamato.
A group called the Union Lizard (led by Sauros) killed Kato. Musashi
was enraged and promised Kato's mother that he would avenge her son's death...
> If you're into collecting import games, then Shadow Dancer
is a good one to get. It's 100% importable, as long as you have a
conversion cartridge. The entire game is in English, though, so there's
no language barrier. |
| Graphics |
|
> For the most part, I really enjoyed the scenery in Shadow Dancer.
Especially in the "Burning Downtown" and "Statue of Liberty" levels, Sega
injected lots of detail and background effects. Musashi animates
nicely, as do the various enemies. The coolest enemies are certainly
the deadly ninjas. They don't just stand there, they jump around,
almost unpredictably. The bosses aren't really anything to write
home about, although the final boss, Sauros, is sweet. Finally, the
Ninjitsu is pretty much been-there done-that Shinobi stuff. |
| Control |
|
> Shadow Dancer's controls are fairly simple. Musashi
has Ninjitsu, jump and attack buttons. Although jumping can be done
in the same plane, across planes, or up/down levels, gone is Musashi's
double jump. Depending on your proximity to the enemy, Musashi will
wield either a shuriken or katana. Let's not forget Musashi's newest
friend, Yamato. If you "charge" (hold) the attack button, you can
send Yamato to disable the nearest enemy, while you move in for the kill.
Be careful though, if the enemy is too strong, Yamato will be disabled
for a bit. What's the downside to Shadow Dancer's gameplay?
It would be that Musashi is only one-hit from death at all times -- there's
no health bar. That can be very frustrating.
> Your main mission is to survive to the end of a level. Along the
way, there's hostages to save, and power-ups to be earned. When you
get to a boss, Musashi must fight him alone. Some of the boss attacks
are unpredictable and frustrating too. The only other thing I didn't
mention is the Bonus Rounds. In the tradition of Shinobi,
kill ninjas to earn bonuses. |
| Sound |
|
> Of course, since Yuzo Koshiro didn't compose the music,
it's not anywhere near awesome. Still, it gets the job done and is
at least average Genesis fare. The sound effects are
pretty good, though nothing stands out as fantastic. |
| Fun |
|
> Most everyone belly-ached about Shadow Dancer only having
five levels (with multiple stages). That never bothered me, since
most games have a hard time holding my interest through the first few levels.
> There are 3 difficulty settings, and the option to play with unlimited
shurikens, or none at all. Even with the easiest settings, though,
Shadow
Dancer is no push over. The last few stages can be quite
frustrating -- believe me. At any rate, there's lots of ninja action
fun to be had. |
| Bottom
Line |
|
> Although Shadow Dancer is way different than its arcade
brother, any serious ninja action fan would not be without this game.
It's not as good as The Revenge of Shinobi or Shinobi
III, but it's a worthy game for your Genesis
library. The only question is, why did Sega change
the awesome artwork from the Japanese release? |
| Ratings |
| Overall:
8.7 | Graphics: 9.0 | Control: 9.4 | Sound: 7.5 | Fun: 9.0 |
~
Shinobi ~
|
