Shadow Dancer (MD, 1990)
Graphics-7 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-7.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-8 Fun-7.5 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
+ Fast paced and sometimes intense, bumping into enemies doesn’t hurt you, difficulty options (no shuriken mode and easy/normal/hard), double plane fighting (jump over fences), good bosses overall, decent enemy AI, bonus levels (easier than in Shinobi 1 but not as cool), dog companion (distracts enemies - not that useful though), some large sprites, smart bombs, weapon upgrade (just makes your shuriken and melee attack stronger here), hostage rescue (restores the dog, weapon upgrade, points), new levels and mechanics compared to the arcade game (better variation and overall graphics and music), some hidden items (1-ups)
+/- Can’t walk while attacking, no shuriken mode is easier in some ways since the rate of fire on the sword is more consistent, 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)
- Trial & error (boss patterns, some enemy spawn points, can’t look up/down), short (5 levels), 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), can't adjust your jump height and can’t turn around before reaching the maximum height of a jump, the dog is unreliable (it doesn't attack if it's jumping up/down a ledge), very tedious final boss, no shuriken mode doesn't apply to boss fights, 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), weak sword swing and death (from swords) sfx,
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 Fun-7.5 Originality-5.5
Overall Score-7
+ Fast paced and sometimes intense, bumping into enemies doesn’t hurt you, difficulty options (no shuriken mode and easy/normal/hard), double plane fighting (jump over fences), good bosses overall, decent enemy AI, bonus levels (easier than in Shinobi 1 but not as cool), dog companion (distracts enemies - not that useful though), some large sprites, smart bombs, weapon upgrade (just makes your shuriken and melee attack stronger here), hostage rescue (restores the dog, weapon upgrade, points), new levels and mechanics compared to the arcade game (better variation and overall graphics and music), some hidden items (1-ups)
+/- Can’t walk while attacking, no shuriken mode is easier in some ways since the rate of fire on the sword is more consistent, 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)
- Trial & error (boss patterns, some enemy spawn points, can’t look up/down), short (5 levels), 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), can't adjust your jump height and can’t turn around before reaching the maximum height of a jump, the dog is unreliable (it doesn't attack if it's jumping up/down a ledge), very tedious final boss, no shuriken mode doesn't apply to boss fights, 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), weak sword swing and death (from swords) sfx,
Notes:
HP Hack: http://elektropage.ru/publ/khaki/smd/shadow_dancer_the_secret_of_shinobi_smd_hack_hitpoints_was_added/29-1-0-150