Shinobi | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Griptonite Games |
Publisher(s) | Sega |
Composer(s) | Norihiko Hibino Yoshitaka Suzuki Takahiro Izutani |
Series | Shinobi |
Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure, hack and slash |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Shinobi, known in Japan as Shinobi 3D, is a Nintendo 3DS video game developed by Griptonite Games (a division of Foundation 9) and published by Sega as part of the Shinobi series, and was released worldwide in November 2011.
The game is primarily controlled with buttons, but there are mini-games that make use of the touch screen. [1] Player controls the protagonist Jiro Musashi in arcade style gameplay, similar to the original 2D games. The game typically plays in a 2D side-scrolling fashion, using 3D graphics.
The game's story begins in the year 1256, Kencho Era Japan, where the young Oboro Clan Leader Jiro Musashi (father of Joe Musashi, the main character from the original Arcade and Sega Genesis Shinobi games) is summoned to defend his home village from the ninja forces of Zeed. After battle, he is sent 800 years into the future, where Zeed now rules with an iron fist. Aided by Sarah, the leader of a local resistance, Jiro continues his battle against Zeed. As he battles on, he begins to uncover a deeper conspiracy (depending on the level of skill and difficulty), a secret mission is unlocked, revealing an ancient alien Orn that instigated the events in the Kamakura era, including the betrayal of Jiro's own teacher, in hopes of creating the most powerful Ninja army in space. After defeating Orn, the alien's spaceship explodes, and Jiro, protected by a Ninjutsu spell, is last seen re-entering the atmosphere. After landing on Earth, Jiro walks into the horizon, presumably to restart the Oboro Ninja Clan anew. The timeline is altered so Joe Musashi doesn't exist in the 20th Century in this timeline.
The game was revealed in the May 2011 issue of Nintendo Power . [2] [3] [4] Sega originally planned to release the game in September 2011, but due to slow 3DS hardware sales, they postponed the game up until November of that year. [5]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 69/100 [6] |
Shinobi 3D has received mixed to positive reviews, receiving an aggregate score of 69 on Metacritic. [6] Destructoid praised Shinobi 3D for having "tons" of content, but noted that the steep difficulty curve and lack of coherent narrative may turn off some players. [7] Official Nintendo Magazine UK similarly stated that "Shinobi won't be to everyone's tastes since we're now in an age where games are expected to be easy enough for everyone", but said it should be enjoyed by players looking for a challenge. [8] GameSpot praised the way the game reconciles difficulty with accessibility, remarking that the game makes only a few missteps in this, and calls Shinobi 3D "among the small number of quality games in the growing 3DS library worthy of a spot on your shelf". [9] However, GamesTM was more critical of Shinobi 3D, judging the "unsympathetic difficulty" of the game as "cheap and archaic within the context of plodding action". [10] According to Eurogamer : "To call this a bad game would be grossly unfair, but it's a truly unexceptional one. For a series like Shinobi, that is dishonour enough". [11]
Shinobi (忍) is a side-scrolling hack and slash video game produced by Sega, originally released for arcades on the Sega System 16 board in 1987. The player controls ninja Joe Musashi, to stop the Zeed terrorist organization from kidnapping students of his clan.
The Revenge of Shinobi, released in Japan as The Super Shinobi, is a hack-and-slash action video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Sega Genesis, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the Mega-Tech.
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, released in Japan as The Super Shinobi II, is a 1993 hack-and-slash platform game developed and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the direct sequel to the previous The Revenge of Shinobi. The game was intended to be released in 1992 and to be very different from the final version of the game in terms of levels and storyline. Shinobi III received critical acclaim. It's been ranked among the greatest Mega Drive/Genesis games.
Shinobi is a 3D action-adventure video game developed by Overworks and published by Sega as part of the Shinobi series. It was released for the PlayStation 2 console on November 12, 2002, in North America; December 5 in Japan; and May 15, 2003, in Europe. The game stars the master ninja Hotsuma, leader of the Oboro clan, who wields Akujiki, a sword that feeds on souls. He can also use ninja magic, shurikens, and special moves. Upon finding a golden castle after an earthquake, Hotsuma makes it his goal to defeat the powerful sorcerer Hiruko, who had summoned hellspawn creatures in Japan to destroy Tokyo. Hotsuma's mission is to stop Hiroko from destroying the world and avenge the death of his clan.
Shinobi is a series of hack-and-slash games created by Sega. The ninja (shinobi) Joe Musashi is the protagonist of the original series of games. The first Shinobi was released in 1987 as an arcade video game. Along with Alex Kidd and Sonic the Hedgehog, Joe Musashi has long been one of Sega's flagship characters, acting as a mascot for a short time in the late 1980s when ninjas were popular in mainstream media. The series' games are a showcase of Sega's technical accomplishment, noted for their high quality of graphics, gameplay and music, as well as their high level of difficulty. The Shinobi franchise sold more than 4.60 million copies.
Nightshade, released in Japan as Kunoichi and stylized in all regions with the kanji 忍 behind the title, is an action video game for the PlayStation 2 (PS2), developed by Overworks and published by Sega in 2003. It is the eleventh game in the Shinobi series and follows the exploits of a female ninja named Hibana. The game is a sequel to the 2002 PS2 game Shinobi.
The Cyber Shinobi is a side-scrolling hack and slash produced by Sega that was released for the Master System in 1991. It was the third Shinobi game for the console and served as a futuristic sequel to the original Shinobi. The game was released in Canada, Europe, Australia and Brazil, at a time when the Master System was discontinued in other markets.
The G.G. Shinobi (ザ・GG忍) is a side-scrolling action game by Sega released for the Game Gear in 1991. It was the first Shinobi game developed specifically for a portable game platform. The player controls the modern-day ninja Joe Musashi, protagonist of previous Shinobi games, as he goes on a mission to rescue four kidnapped comrades from an enemy, gaining control of the other ninjas as the game progresses in a manner similar to Mega Man. It was followed by The G.G. Shinobi II: The Silent Fury in 1993. The G.G. Shinobi was one of the first Game Gear games available on the 3DS Virtual Console in March 2012.
Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, also known simply as Shadow Dancer, is a side-scrolling action game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis in 1990. It is the second game in the Shinobi series released for the Mega Drive, following The Revenge of Shinobi. However, it is not a continuation of the previous game, but rather a loose adaptation of the 1989 arcade game Shadow Dancer. Like in the original arcade game, the player controls a ninja followed by a canine companion. The Secret of Shinobi was well received by critics.
The G.G. Shinobi II: The Silent Fury is a side-scrolling action game by Sega released for the Game Gear in 1992. It is the sequel to The G.G. Shinobi, an offshoot of the Shinobi series created for Sega's portable platform. The player controls Joe Musashi as he rendezvous with his ninja allies from the previous game, giving the player access to different characters with unique abilities as the game progresses.
Star Fox 64 3D is a 3D rail shooter video game co-developed by Nintendo EAD and Q-Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is a remake of the 1997 video game Star Fox 64 for the Nintendo 64. It was released on July 14, 2011 in Japan, followed by other markets in September.
Ridge Racer 3D is a 2011 arcade-style racing video game for the Nintendo 3DS, published and developed by Namco Bandai Games. It was the first Ridge Racer series title on a Nintendo platform since Ridge Racer DS (2004) and as usual for the series revolves around cars racing around high speed tracks while drifting. The game received positive reviews and was a commercial success.
Super Monkey Ball 3D is a platform party game, part of the Super Monkey Ball game series. It was developed and published by Sega for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. Players can either use the Circle Pad or the internal gyroscope of the Nintendo 3DS to navigate AiAi and the others so they can collect as many bananas as possible within the time limit as in previous games in the series.
Naruto Shippūden 3D: The New Era is a video game developed by Tomy and published by 505 Games for Nintendo 3DS. This title is the eighth and final installment of the Ninja Council series of Naruto videogames. The game was never released in North America.
Sonic Generations is a 2011 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, and Nintendo 3DS. Produced in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, the game follows Sonic and his sidekick Tails as they form an alliance with their past selves and travel through levels from previous Sonic games. It features two gameplay styles: "Classic", which plays from a side-scrolling perspective like that of the original Sega Genesis Sonic games, and "Modern", 3D levels similar to those in Sonic Unleashed (2008) and Sonic Colors (2010).
Senran Kagura Burst is a hack and slash video game developed by Tamsoft, and the first entry in the Senran Kagura series. It was originally published for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan as Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows in 2011; an expanded "director's cut" version was released in 2012, and received Western releases in 2013–2014. A remake, Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal, was released for the PlayStation 4 in 2018 and Microsoft Windows in 2019.
Sonic Lost World is a 2013 platform game developed by Sonic Team. It is part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and was released in October 2013 for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in PAL regions by Nintendo and by Sega in North America and Japan. A port of the Wii U version for Windows was later released in November 2015.
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by Sanzaru Games and published by Sega for the Nintendo 3DS. Along with its Wii U sibling Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric, Shattered Crystal is a spin-off of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise and is a part of the Sonic Boom sub-franchise, which consists also of an animated television series, whose games serve as its prequels. The two games together formed the third and final part in Sega's exclusivity agreement with Nintendo, following Sonic Lost World and Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games in 2013.
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric is a 2014 action-adventure platform video game developed by Big Red Button and published by Sega for the Wii U. Along with Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the Nintendo 3DS, it is a spin-off of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series and is a part of the Sonic Boom franchise, which also consists of an animated television series, a comic series by Archie Comics, and a toyline by Tomy. The storyline follows Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy, who must stop Lyric the Last Ancient from acquiring the Chaos Crystals by powering up a robot army and wiping out all organic life, after Sonic accidentally awakens Lyric from a thousand year rest, while escaping Doctor Eggman.
The Water Temple is an area from the 1998 Nintendo 64 video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is the sixth dungeon encountered in the game. It was created by Ocarina of Time director Eiji Aonuma, who was inspired by his love of diving. It has players raising and lowering water levels to access different areas while utilizing a pair of Iron Boots to sink to the bottom. The difficulty of navigation combined with the cumbersome nature of using the Iron Boots led to several changes to the dungeon to assist players in the 2011 remake of Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. The difficulty players faced also caused Aonuma to apologize for the issues, while noting that the dungeon was not difficult so much as it was frustrating. Despite the criticism, some critics have been more forgiving, praising the Water Temple for its complexities.