Ninja Five-O/Ninja Cop (GBA, 2003)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-7.5 Control-7.5 Challenge-8/8.5** Story-4.5
Level Design-7.5/6.5* Frustration-8/9** Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
*Level 5 and parts of level 4
**Hard mode
+
Shinobi/Rolling Thunder/Bionic Commando-style gameplay except with more maze-like levels with 3+ locked doors each (same ranged weapon upgrade system as in Shinobi 2-3 where it's downgraded if you're hit). No double plane/2.5D gameplay here though
Choose your path for the first 3 levels/missions. Missions further down the list are harder however and there's no difficulty scaling if you start at mission 2 or 3
More fun hostage rescue than in Shinobi 1 (they're literally held by enemies here so you have to time your attacks to avoid killing them - if you do you lose a bit of health and points). Optional here too
Fun to use grappling hook (mostly great control over the swing)
Fast overall movement
Good bosses (second one has separate moves for if you fight him on the roof or on the ground, good escalation for the final boss)
Can quickly restart any sub level
Can jump up ledges instead of climbing them (can also feign doing it and fall back to hanging position)
Charge meter which fuels two spells/magic abilities (temporary invincibility and smart bombs, the former is triggered only if the meter isn't full). The meter is filled a bit by killing enemies and more from a power-up they sometimes drop which encourages aggressive play)
Difficulty options (easy-hard - have to unlock hard, more and sometimes different enemies+fewer power ups+die if a hostage dies (!)+more aggressive final boss on hard)
Pretty good variety
Can look around quite far using binoculars (similar to Metal Gear)
Can destroy regular enemy shots with your ranged weapon (and some boss shots with the sword)
Shows bosses' health bars
Enemy drops never disappear so you can save an item for later if you don't need it right away
Unlockable time trial mode
Good animation
+/-
Save in-between levels (not sub levels, auto-saves when dying or quitting a sub level, unlimited continues)
Unlimited continues
Have to rescue or kill all hostages in levels that include them
Level 3 onwards get more maze-like with some backtracking unless you've memorized them (could've had a map feature)
Levels are divided into several short sub levels
Can't run (Shinobi 3) - sliding and swing jumping are fast so it feels a bit odd
Melee attacks aren't context sensitive unlike in Shinobi
Auto-grab ledges
Can shoot/throw while swinging but not use the sword
Can't shoot/throw up or down (can hit enemies slightly below you with the melee attack if you duck or right above/below you if jumping - somersault slash)
Can't gain any attack combos (start with a two slash melee one)
Gain health refills at certain point intervals
No opportunity to upgrade your weapon during a boss fight
Can't do the somersault spread throw from Shinobi 2-3 - you do have unlimited ammo by default instead though
Can slide through regular enemies without taking damage
Can't manually teleport (done in a cutscene after beating a boss)
Not being able to climb platforms from below like in Bionic Commando or Ninja Gaiden 3/SMS (have to swing instead) sometimes makes things more difficult in more cramped spaces
Swing jumping is affected by momentum rather than how long you hold the jump button - takes some getting used to
Contact damage - not there in Shinobi 2-3
Other enemies aren't affected by enemy dynamite and shots - would screw up hostage situations so it's understandable
Can't remap the controls to make L activate the special rather than A+B - I sometimes triggered it by accident and the invincibility can't be canceled
No time limits or bonuses from beating sub levels quickly on either difficulty
Same ending on hard
-
Can't play the full game on Easy - only the first three levels
Some control issues (kinda slow melee attack which can't be canceled with throwing/jumping/sliding, some delay at the apex of each jump even if you just tap the button, the slide is a bit clunky (can't jump or attack cancel and minor movement delay after one, can control the length though), no weapon inventory - overly low rate of fire+so-so width on the level 3 ranged weapon and only the level 2 weapon has a spread to it, can't shoot or swing while looking around (while you can sometimes adjust the camera using the binoculars, in some cases you can't adjust the camera so as to see enemies far away from you+the camera doesn't properly follow your movement when standing still on a horizontally moving platform), have to duck to pick up items and have to use the melee weapon to break item containers, wall jumping is a bit clunky (have to wait a bit to attach to the wall then press away from it and jump when you see yourself moving away from the wall) - can't zig-zag jump quickly, the grappling hook could've had a bit of auto-aiming applied when trying to attach to the small round points, loose scrolling while falling and swinging, minor movement delay after landing from a swinging jump or after melee attacking in mid-air, some delay when trying to fire backwards while swinging/clinging and your avatar doesn't default to shooting away from the wall when wall clinging)
Can't trigger invincibility if the charge meter is full
Unnecessary backtracking for the next locked door in various levels since no new enemies appear - since sub levels are short it doesn't become a big issue though. Later on there's some from having to both rescue (or kill) all hostages and find all keys - either a map or an arrow pointing in the right direction would've helped game flow
No alternate melee weapons and the one you have doesn't get upgraded when your ranged weapon does (Shinobi (SMS, 1988) has three melee weapons and four ranged ones)
Keep finding items that you already have a full stock of (such as hearts when at full health) - this occasionally leads to pointless detours
Weapon level and charge meter are reset in-between levels even on Easy
Some trial & error (can't grab or attach the hook to the moving platforms with spikes beneath them, boss patterns, surprise attacks later on - unless you have some energy left you'll probably get hit when surrounded by warping in ninjas even if sliding, some enemies occasionally respawn which can lead to cheap hits, shots from off screen in a few spots - level 5)
Generic and kind of ugly cutscenes using photos and silhouettes of real people (no explanation of who you are and your or the bad guys' motives, not much animation either, the last still in each one uses pixel art and looks pretty good but it doesn't look uniform with the rest)
Kind of generic sprites overall (the larger enemies and bosses look good)
Could've had one or two more magic abilities (Shinobi (SMS, 1988) has six!)
Only one level track for the first 3 levels
The bats can be pretty annoying in some rooms unless you happen to have the spread weapon
Some tedious parts (level 4 at times (cramped spaces, waiting for slow moving platforms, bats and snakes, kinda slow boss fight, fewer weapon power ups), level 5 as well due to the extreme amount of laser traps, escape sequence after the final boss - too many traps makes it too stop and go)
Not much of an ending (visually like something from the late '80s and with no text to explain anything)
A bit short (4 levels divided into 3 sub levels each and then 2 sub levels for level 5 followed by a short escape sequence)
No music during the escape sequence (feels unfinished)
Level Design-7.5/6.5* Frustration-8/9** Fun-7.5 Originality-6
Overall Score-7.5
*Level 5 and parts of level 4
**Hard mode
+
Shinobi/Rolling Thunder/Bionic Commando-style gameplay except with more maze-like levels with 3+ locked doors each (same ranged weapon upgrade system as in Shinobi 2-3 where it's downgraded if you're hit). No double plane/2.5D gameplay here though
Choose your path for the first 3 levels/missions. Missions further down the list are harder however and there's no difficulty scaling if you start at mission 2 or 3
More fun hostage rescue than in Shinobi 1 (they're literally held by enemies here so you have to time your attacks to avoid killing them - if you do you lose a bit of health and points). Optional here too
Fun to use grappling hook (mostly great control over the swing)
Fast overall movement
Good bosses (second one has separate moves for if you fight him on the roof or on the ground, good escalation for the final boss)
Can quickly restart any sub level
Can jump up ledges instead of climbing them (can also feign doing it and fall back to hanging position)
Charge meter which fuels two spells/magic abilities (temporary invincibility and smart bombs, the former is triggered only if the meter isn't full). The meter is filled a bit by killing enemies and more from a power-up they sometimes drop which encourages aggressive play)
Difficulty options (easy-hard - have to unlock hard, more and sometimes different enemies+fewer power ups+die if a hostage dies (!)+more aggressive final boss on hard)
Pretty good variety
Can look around quite far using binoculars (similar to Metal Gear)
Can destroy regular enemy shots with your ranged weapon (and some boss shots with the sword)
Shows bosses' health bars
Enemy drops never disappear so you can save an item for later if you don't need it right away
Unlockable time trial mode
Good animation
+/-
Save in-between levels (not sub levels, auto-saves when dying or quitting a sub level, unlimited continues)
Unlimited continues
Have to rescue or kill all hostages in levels that include them
Level 3 onwards get more maze-like with some backtracking unless you've memorized them (could've had a map feature)
Levels are divided into several short sub levels
Can't run (Shinobi 3) - sliding and swing jumping are fast so it feels a bit odd
Melee attacks aren't context sensitive unlike in Shinobi
Auto-grab ledges
Can shoot/throw while swinging but not use the sword
Can't shoot/throw up or down (can hit enemies slightly below you with the melee attack if you duck or right above/below you if jumping - somersault slash)
Can't gain any attack combos (start with a two slash melee one)
Gain health refills at certain point intervals
No opportunity to upgrade your weapon during a boss fight
Can't do the somersault spread throw from Shinobi 2-3 - you do have unlimited ammo by default instead though
Can slide through regular enemies without taking damage
Can't manually teleport (done in a cutscene after beating a boss)
Not being able to climb platforms from below like in Bionic Commando or Ninja Gaiden 3/SMS (have to swing instead) sometimes makes things more difficult in more cramped spaces
Swing jumping is affected by momentum rather than how long you hold the jump button - takes some getting used to
Contact damage - not there in Shinobi 2-3
Other enemies aren't affected by enemy dynamite and shots - would screw up hostage situations so it's understandable
Can't remap the controls to make L activate the special rather than A+B - I sometimes triggered it by accident and the invincibility can't be canceled
No time limits or bonuses from beating sub levels quickly on either difficulty
Same ending on hard
-
Can't play the full game on Easy - only the first three levels
Some control issues (kinda slow melee attack which can't be canceled with throwing/jumping/sliding, some delay at the apex of each jump even if you just tap the button, the slide is a bit clunky (can't jump or attack cancel and minor movement delay after one, can control the length though), no weapon inventory - overly low rate of fire+so-so width on the level 3 ranged weapon and only the level 2 weapon has a spread to it, can't shoot or swing while looking around (while you can sometimes adjust the camera using the binoculars, in some cases you can't adjust the camera so as to see enemies far away from you+the camera doesn't properly follow your movement when standing still on a horizontally moving platform), have to duck to pick up items and have to use the melee weapon to break item containers, wall jumping is a bit clunky (have to wait a bit to attach to the wall then press away from it and jump when you see yourself moving away from the wall) - can't zig-zag jump quickly, the grappling hook could've had a bit of auto-aiming applied when trying to attach to the small round points, loose scrolling while falling and swinging, minor movement delay after landing from a swinging jump or after melee attacking in mid-air, some delay when trying to fire backwards while swinging/clinging and your avatar doesn't default to shooting away from the wall when wall clinging)
Can't trigger invincibility if the charge meter is full
Unnecessary backtracking for the next locked door in various levels since no new enemies appear - since sub levels are short it doesn't become a big issue though. Later on there's some from having to both rescue (or kill) all hostages and find all keys - either a map or an arrow pointing in the right direction would've helped game flow
No alternate melee weapons and the one you have doesn't get upgraded when your ranged weapon does (Shinobi (SMS, 1988) has three melee weapons and four ranged ones)
Keep finding items that you already have a full stock of (such as hearts when at full health) - this occasionally leads to pointless detours
Weapon level and charge meter are reset in-between levels even on Easy
Some trial & error (can't grab or attach the hook to the moving platforms with spikes beneath them, boss patterns, surprise attacks later on - unless you have some energy left you'll probably get hit when surrounded by warping in ninjas even if sliding, some enemies occasionally respawn which can lead to cheap hits, shots from off screen in a few spots - level 5)
Generic and kind of ugly cutscenes using photos and silhouettes of real people (no explanation of who you are and your or the bad guys' motives, not much animation either, the last still in each one uses pixel art and looks pretty good but it doesn't look uniform with the rest)
Kind of generic sprites overall (the larger enemies and bosses look good)
Could've had one or two more magic abilities (Shinobi (SMS, 1988) has six!)
Only one level track for the first 3 levels
The bats can be pretty annoying in some rooms unless you happen to have the spread weapon
Some tedious parts (level 4 at times (cramped spaces, waiting for slow moving platforms, bats and snakes, kinda slow boss fight, fewer weapon power ups), level 5 as well due to the extreme amount of laser traps, escape sequence after the final boss - too many traps makes it too stop and go)
Not much of an ending (visually like something from the late '80s and with no text to explain anything)
A bit short (4 levels divided into 3 sub levels each and then 2 sub levels for level 5 followed by a short escape sequence)
No music during the escape sequence (feels unfinished)