Shinobi

Shinobi was SEGA's attempt to bring the franchise back to its 2D roots after the PS2 experiments. It's a 2.5D sidescroller that feels like a love letter to the classic Genesis era, specifically the beloved Shinobi III, but with a modern coat of paint and a difficulty curve that doesn't mess around.

The story is… there. You play as Jiro Musashi, the father of the series' main man Joe. It kicks off in feudal Japan where you're defending your village from the evil ZEED clan but then boom! You get sucked into a vortex and flung 800 years into the future. Now ZEED runs the world with an iron fist and you've got to slice your way through their futuristic army. The plot eventually spirals into some wild stuff involving an ancient alien and betrayal, but the execution is pretty forgettable honestly. Still, the handdrawn comic style cutscenes between levels are gorgeous to look at, even if the narration makes everything feel cliché.

Gameplay-wise, Jiro has a several moves at his disposal: double jumps, wall jumps, slides, a grappling hook and a whole arsenal of sword combos and kunai throws. The star of the show tho, is the parry system, tapping the R button at the right moment lets you deflect attacks and set up devastating counters. It's super satisfying when you nail it, turning you into an untouchable killing machine. The game also uses a multiplier system that rewards you for not taking damage, encouraging you to play flawlessly for those juicy high scores so it adds replayability if you're into chasing S ranks.

That said, the level design is a mixed bag. The early stages are cool with lots of variety and secrets to find, but as you get deeper in, things start to feel repetitive and cheap. There are way too many moments where enemies attack from off screen or you're forced to make blind leaps of faith into bottomless pits. The game also loves throwing gimmick sections at you like riding a horse or surfing down a river with motion controls and they feel more annoying than fun. And don't even get me started on the stage length, some levels can take over 20 minutes to beat, which is brutal when you're trying to memorize every enemy placement. The soundtrack is serviceable, lots of traditional flutes and drums but it never reaches the iconic heights of Yuzo Koshiro's work on the Genesis.

And of course, this game is hard. You've got limited lives and once they're gone, you're restarting the entire level from scratch. It demands precision, patience and a whole lotta trial and error. Some people call it cheap due to that, others call it fair, I lean towards the latter, most deaths feel like your fault, whether you missed a parry or misjudged a jump. Boss fights are a bit of a relief compared to the levels, they follow clear patterns and usually give you an opening for a flashy QTE attack that deals big damage. They're more about spectacle than frustration, which is a nice change of pace.

Download

The ninja code has been written and the battlefield of a twisted future awaits. If you've read this far, there's only one thing left to do: take up your katana and join the Oboro Clan's fight. First, make sure your system is running homebrew. Once that's true, slash the download button or fire up the FBI app from your HOME Menu, point the camera toward the QR down below and let the power of ancient ninjutsu bring Jiro straight to your console. When the transfer is complete, he will sneak on your HOME Menu, alongside your other icons, ready to parry ZEED's attacks and rewrite history.