Overview – developed by Tengo Project and published by ININ Games in collaboration with Natsume Atari, Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is the latest revival from the Natsume library. Take on the forces of the evil emperor Garuda as the ninja’s Hayate and Kaede, battling waves of mutants and mechanical monsters. This title is available on all major console platforms, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank PR Hound for providing the copy of Shadow of the Ninja Reborn used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review, starting with the story. Please note, I will be omitting some minor gameplay details, as there are some elements I don’t wish to spoil for players.
Story – in the year 2029 and the world’s largest city has been plunged into a dystopian nightmare, gripped by the Iron fist of the evil Emperor Garuda. Many lives were lost as control was taken by this demon, leading to an assassination to be ordered against the evil emperor. To complete this task, two ninjas have been deployed from the shadows, Hayate and Kaede are sent to Garuda’s stronghold on a mission to take his head.
Gameplay – Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a full remake of the original 8-bit adventure from 1990, bringing the action to modern systems in High Definition. In this new iteration, the stages have been expanded, with 6 challenging stages that are separated into multiple zones, with 5 redesigned stages and a brand new final stage. These stages are filled with pitfalls, traps and platform challenges that players will need to overcome if they wish to succeed.
To overcome the threats of Garuda’s stronghold, players must employ an arsenal of weapons and ninja skills to be complete their assassination mission. The two playable characters for this release have the same move set, with special ninja skills to get through the battle. Their basic weapons are a Katana that is a fast attack, alongside a new heavy chain that can be shot in 8 directions. These attacks can also be powered up, to make them even more powerful.
Throughout the stages, boxes can be found containing glowing orbs, which will power up the sword and chain attacks when they are picked up. There are two levels of power-up that can be picked up, increasing the damage and changing the way that the weapons function. The chain gains a larger hit box, providing more range to the heavy attack. Then there is the Katana, which will get an energy attack that can hit targets at a greater distance.
Great care must be taken when the ninja is powered up, as the power can be lost when taking damage. On screen, the player can see their total health, which will be slowly depleted if damage is taken from enemies or from traps/pitfalls. Players have 8 health points when starting the game, with markers appearing when power ups are collected. If the player health falls below the marker, the power of the weapons will be reduced by one level.
There is also a strong emphasis on acrobatic platforming, with rails to hang from, gaps to jump across and walls to run up. This is where the movement skills come into play. In the ninja skill tool box, players have access to several techniques to help navigate the environment. These include a special hover technique to cross wide gaps and a wall running skill to climb vertical surfaces. There are many more skills to uncover, but telling would spoil the fun.
There is also a system called ninja gear, where special weapons and recovery items can be found in the same boxes as the power-ups. The ninja gear includes ranged weapons, melee weapons and recovery items, with each of them having a limited number of uses. A set number of ninja gear items can be held at one time, with new items forcing old items to be dropped. Ninja gear must be switched manually, which can slow the action down.
If a player loses all of their health during a stage, they will get a game over, losing all of the gear that they were holding. Players can continue if they wish, starting at the beginning of the zone they were defeated. This means if the player dies before the end of stage 1-1, they go back to the beginning. However, at any time the player dies after transitioning to a new area, they start from that point, this also applies to boss battles.
At the end of a stage, players will encounter a big boss that they will face in an enclosed arena. These battles are tough, with most of them having multiple phases that will push players to the limit. Bosses have patterns and phases to them, which keeps the pressure on the player and knocks the challenge up a notch. When a boss is defeated, the end of stage screen will appear, providing bonuses for clearing the stage and ninja gear left over.
Clearing stages for the first time will also unlock them for the special time attack mode. This mode challenges players to set the best possible time in a stage, going through all zones in one shot and no continues. Beating a stage can also unlock ninja gear, which will be added to the shop the first time a stage is cleared while still holding them. The shop allows ninja gear to be bought at the start of a new game or time attack stage, at the cost of money earned during play.
There is a multiplayer mode, letting two players can work together to get through the adventure in co-op play. In this mode, two players can work together with their own health and ninja gear, making their way through the six stages as a team. Sadly I was not able to test this feature out, so I am unable to comment much on it.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to discuss the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – this game has a relatively simple control system, with all actions on the controller in a comfortable layout. There is a manual that players can refer to at any point, providing details for all of the inputs that players can use whenever they are needed. The game plays comfortably with the Dualshock 4, as it supports both D-Pad and thumbstick control, alongside the option to fully remap all of the controller inputs.
Difficulty – this is a brutally difficult title, with a level of challenge that some players may find frustrating. There are some segments that players must figure out how to solve or risk death, along with death traps and pitfalls that can kill quickly. There is also an issue with attacks from off screen enemies, which can cause knock back and pit damage. There is a Normal and Hard game mode, with the recommended option being Normal.
Presentation – Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is visually stunning, taking an 8-bit game with limited colors and overhauling it into a HD 32-bit style. This takes the form of beautiful sprite work, backgrounds and animation, which is as smooth as silk during play. There is also artwork from the studio responsible for the original version. The audio has been redone too, with music that maintains the classic spirit with a heavy electric guitar edge.
Final Thoughts – I have played and enjoyed the other Natsume revivals that Tengo Project have done in recent years, which made it easy for me to jump onto this release. However, my experience was a little bit of a mixed bag when I started. This was due to the high difficulty, as well as some minor flaws with the experience itself, like the relatively slow ninja gear switch mechanic. This did initially sour my experience, but it got better the more time I put in.
This is a brutal challenge that will really push the limits of player skills, with potential frustrations from repeated death. If you are someone that enjoys tough games, or have the patience to learn the layouts and enemy patterns, then you will have a good time with this. Overall, it is another solid revival that breathes life into a long forgotten classic from the past, with gorgeous visuals, new content and gameplay mechanics that elevate it further.
In the end, I give Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn a final score of 3.5/5. This is a solid but brutal revival of a classic action title, taking the 8-bit original and completely rebuilding it with new visuals, content and a rocking soundtrack that make it worth the effort to play. If you want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
Link to steam version (HERE)
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