Revenge of Shinobi (MD, 1989)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8 Control-7 Challenge-8
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+
Varied action
Great ninja atmosphere (cheesy '80s style)
Good power up system (four different special abilities that are fun to use, upgraded shuriken lets you block projectiles)
Secret items (shoot/hit walls)
Pop culture influenced bosses (Godzilla, Terminator, Batman, Spiderman)
Becomes a very different game with limited/no shurikens (more tactical/methodical and slower paced)
You can make dogs fetch your shuriken by throwing above them
Block grenades by cutting them
Each boss offers a different type of challenge
Simply touching enemies generally doesn't hurt (no touch damage/contact damage)
Difficulty and ammo options
+/-
Pretty easy to fool some enemies into jumping down pits
-
Trial & error (boss patterns, some cheap enemy placements, leaps of faith (can’t look down or up))
Uneven difficulty curve (Godzilla is quite tough while the train and airplane bosses are easy)
Player character (Joe) moves pretty slow for being a ninja
Tricky to pull off somersaults
Frustrating final level (a maze)
Joe automatically uses his melee attack when standing above item crates or next to the metal lifts in the factory level or next to the doors in level 1 (also uses it somewhat too soon against some enemies)
Inconsistent knockback (a few projectiles make you fall towards them instead of away from them when hit)
Somewhat limited jump height control (also can't shoot immediately after hitting jump, need to wait a split second which takes some getting used to)
Bugs:
-You can throw shurikens through small parts of some walls (hit detection bug)
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+
Varied action
Great ninja atmosphere (cheesy '80s style)
Good power up system (four different special abilities that are fun to use, upgraded shuriken lets you block projectiles)
Secret items (shoot/hit walls)
Pop culture influenced bosses (Godzilla, Terminator, Batman, Spiderman)
Becomes a very different game with limited/no shurikens (more tactical/methodical and slower paced)
You can make dogs fetch your shuriken by throwing above them
Block grenades by cutting them
Each boss offers a different type of challenge
Simply touching enemies generally doesn't hurt (no touch damage/contact damage)
Difficulty and ammo options
+/-
Pretty easy to fool some enemies into jumping down pits
-
Trial & error (boss patterns, some cheap enemy placements, leaps of faith (can’t look down or up))
Uneven difficulty curve (Godzilla is quite tough while the train and airplane bosses are easy)
Player character (Joe) moves pretty slow for being a ninja
Tricky to pull off somersaults
Frustrating final level (a maze)
Joe automatically uses his melee attack when standing above item crates or next to the metal lifts in the factory level or next to the doors in level 1 (also uses it somewhat too soon against some enemies)
Inconsistent knockback (a few projectiles make you fall towards them instead of away from them when hit)
Somewhat limited jump height control (also can't shoot immediately after hitting jump, need to wait a split second which takes some getting used to)
Bugs:
-You can throw shurikens through small parts of some walls (hit detection bug)