Game Gear Shinobi Appreciation Thread
It has been a while since we have had any threads devoted to classic Shinobi games. And when we did the discussion was focused more on Genesis games so I figured it's as good a time as any for an appreciation thread (or hatred thread if you don't like them) for the awesome but overshadowed GG Shinobis.
There were many things I loved about these two games:
- Sega could have just cheaply ported over or altered SMS Shinobi games but they didn't. We got original games made from the ground up that use the GG's capabilities. It was a nice surprise for those of us reading gaming magazines then (EGM originally showed a pic that looked just like the first SMS game so that's what I was expecting).
- They could have just mimicked the Genesis Shinobi games and given us graphically downgraded clones of those but they didn't. The gameplay was changed up quite a bit. Instead of linear platform games, the GG Shinobis had a somewhat Mega Man-like structure where you could choose the level order and beating them would free a different character with different abilities. Pink Shinobi could walk on ceilings and throw bombs, Blue had a grappling hook, Yellow could walk on water, Green could throw shuriken and double jump.
- These games were nicely filling a void in the portable game scene of the early '90s, i.e. for excellent action-platformers. The Lynx was lacking in that department. The Game Boy had a few great ones like Bionic Commando and Operation C but those felt more like colourless versions of NES classics than new experiences to me. GB Ninja Gaiden was cool (although it originally supposed to be a Shadow of the Ninja game) but nothing amazing. I might have enjoyed more Lynx and Game Boy games than Game Gear games in total but for exclusives, the Shinobi games were probably my favourite portable games of that era.
If you haven't played these Game Gear games before and are wondering what the differences between the two Shinobis are, the main variation is that in the second game you also have to find a crystal in each level. You will need to revisit levels once you acquire certain ninjas and have the skills to reach different parts of them in order to find the crystals. This gives the game a bit more Metroid-ish design feel than the first game, and it makes it longer (thankfully part 2 has a password system). I like the added depth of the sequel myself. The graphics and music are pretty similar in both games.
So yeah, both were really cool, and not just by portable standards. What do you think of the games?
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...r/g-shin2a.png
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...r/g-shin2b.png
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...r/g-shin2c.png
