Shadow Dancer (MD, 1990)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-7.5/7*
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5/7.5* Fun-7/7.5* Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
*+2 HP hack
+
Pretty fast paced and sometimes intense (most enemies die in one hit, higher rate of fire than in Shinobi 1-2 for SMS & MD - almost as fast as you can mash the button)
Bumping into enemies doesn’t hurt you/no contact damage
Difficulty options (no shuriken mode and easy/normal/hard modes - more resilient bosses+more enemies?)
Double plane fighting (jump over fences) - Shinobi 1-2
Good bosses overall
Decent enemy AI
Dog companion (distracts enemies - not that useful though)
Some large sprites
Smart bombs (regain one per sub level/lost life, gain a point bonus if you don't use it for a sub level)
Weapon upgrade (just makes your shuriken and melee attack stronger here, can't block and it doesn't add 1 HP) - similar to Revenge of Shinobi
Hostage rescue (rewards: restores the dog, weapon upgrade, points) - minor collectathon element as it is required
New levels and mechanics compared to the arcade game (better variety and overall graphics and music)
Some hidden items (1-ups) - Revenge of Shinobi
Can melee attack in mid-air here
+/-
Bonus levels (easier than in Shinobi 1 but not as cool)
Can’t walk while attacking
No shuriken mode is easier in some ways since the rate of fire on the sword is more consistent and enemies generally can't block melee attacks
One hit kills (there’s a rom hack by nemesis that adds 2 extra HP – replenishes after each sub stage though so it’s a lot easier)
Can’t use the dog against bosses
The weapon upgrade doesn’t carry over to the next sub stage of a level (even on Easy mode)
Time limit
Fairly easy to rack up extra lives, can’t jump during a shuriken throw animation (it’s very short though)
Can trick the level 3 boss (buzzsaw babe) into walking off the ledge and dying
-
Trial & error (boss patterns, some enemy spawn points, can’t look up/down and the vertical scrolling is kinda slow)
Differences between magic powers are only cosmetic (they’re all smart bombs; in the first Shinobi for the SMS you also had flight and partial invincibility, in Revenge you had high jump+shield+kamikaze attack)
Can't adjust your jump height and there's a slight delay before you can turn around in mid-air if you had some forward momentum
Short (5 levels)
The dog is a bit unreliable (it doesn't attack if it's jumping up/down a ledge)
Tedious final boss (short vulnerability period and you have to stand just right+clear the room of ninjas in time)
No shuriken mode doesn't apply to boss fights - can't hit them in melee
Somewhat uneven difficulty
No alternate weapons (nunchaku, chain, bombs, rockets are all missing)
The camera doesn’t adjust when walking to the left (keeps Musashi closer to the left edge of the screen) until reaching a wall while moving right
No death sfx when killing enemies with the sword (only the swing makes a sound) and the upgraded melee attack sfx is so-so
Limited continues (only 3 on easy) - pretty easy to rack up extra lives though
Not enough enemy variety later on
Notes:
HP Hack: http://elektropage.ru/publ/khaki/smd/shadow_dancer_the_secret_of_shinobi_smd_hack_hitpoints_was_added/29-1-0-150
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5/7.5* Fun-7/7.5* Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
*+2 HP hack
+
Pretty fast paced and sometimes intense (most enemies die in one hit, higher rate of fire than in Shinobi 1-2 for SMS & MD - almost as fast as you can mash the button)
Bumping into enemies doesn’t hurt you/no contact damage
Difficulty options (no shuriken mode and easy/normal/hard modes - more resilient bosses+more enemies?)
Double plane fighting (jump over fences) - Shinobi 1-2
Good bosses overall
Decent enemy AI
Dog companion (distracts enemies - not that useful though)
Some large sprites
Smart bombs (regain one per sub level/lost life, gain a point bonus if you don't use it for a sub level)
Weapon upgrade (just makes your shuriken and melee attack stronger here, can't block and it doesn't add 1 HP) - similar to Revenge of Shinobi
Hostage rescue (rewards: restores the dog, weapon upgrade, points) - minor collectathon element as it is required
New levels and mechanics compared to the arcade game (better variety and overall graphics and music)
Some hidden items (1-ups) - Revenge of Shinobi
Can melee attack in mid-air here
+/-
Bonus levels (easier than in Shinobi 1 but not as cool)
Can’t walk while attacking
No shuriken mode is easier in some ways since the rate of fire on the sword is more consistent and enemies generally can't block melee attacks
One hit kills (there’s a rom hack by nemesis that adds 2 extra HP – replenishes after each sub stage though so it’s a lot easier)
Can’t use the dog against bosses
The weapon upgrade doesn’t carry over to the next sub stage of a level (even on Easy mode)
Time limit
Fairly easy to rack up extra lives, can’t jump during a shuriken throw animation (it’s very short though)
Can trick the level 3 boss (buzzsaw babe) into walking off the ledge and dying
-
Trial & error (boss patterns, some enemy spawn points, can’t look up/down and the vertical scrolling is kinda slow)
Differences between magic powers are only cosmetic (they’re all smart bombs; in the first Shinobi for the SMS you also had flight and partial invincibility, in Revenge you had high jump+shield+kamikaze attack)
Can't adjust your jump height and there's a slight delay before you can turn around in mid-air if you had some forward momentum
Short (5 levels)
The dog is a bit unreliable (it doesn't attack if it's jumping up/down a ledge)
Tedious final boss (short vulnerability period and you have to stand just right+clear the room of ninjas in time)
No shuriken mode doesn't apply to boss fights - can't hit them in melee
Somewhat uneven difficulty
No alternate weapons (nunchaku, chain, bombs, rockets are all missing)
The camera doesn’t adjust when walking to the left (keeps Musashi closer to the left edge of the screen) until reaching a wall while moving right
No death sfx when killing enemies with the sword (only the swing makes a sound) and the upgraded melee attack sfx is so-so
Limited continues (only 3 on easy) - pretty easy to rack up extra lives though
Not enough enemy variety later on
Notes:
HP Hack: http://elektropage.ru/publ/khaki/smd/shadow_dancer_the_secret_of_shinobi_smd_hack_hitpoints_was_added/29-1-0-150