#super shinobi

[redsamuraiii]

SEGA Shinobi to get a Movie Adaptation

Universal Pictures is turning the SEGA video game “Shinobi” into a feature film. The studio has enlisted “Extraction” filmmaker Sam Hargrave and producer Marc Platt to adapt the hack-and-slash series for the big screen. Plot details haven’t been confirmed but “Shinobi” follows protagonist Joe Musashi as a modern-day ninja who confronts evil. It debuted in 1987 as an arcade game and has evolved into a franchise that spans 14 sequels with over five million copies sold to date.

Source : Variety

Happy to see Ninja genre returning as they once dominate Hollywood in the 80s.🥷🏻

[smbhax]

The Super Shinobi (MD)

(ROM from Steam version of The Revenge of Shinobi)

[jayextee]

Shinobi III

The late '80s and early '90s fucking loved ninjas, so of course they were in a lot of media of the time. Videogames no exception, and to me the Shinobi series were always indicative of this trend; plus iconic in their own way.

The first game, an arcade title, was occasionally unfair and brutal but completely memorable. The second ('Revenge of' or 'The Super' Shinobi, depending on region) was an improvement in pretty much every way, offering both a meticulously-balanced action platformer that helped give the SEGA Megadrive a strong launch lineup; and an artistic commentary on East-versus-West attitudes and stereotypes.

Number three eschews the high art in favour of schlocky ninja action, and absolutely excels with it. This being the nineteen-nineties, the stoic and considered pace of the first two games is replaced with a dash-in-and-katana-them-in-half attitude, bolstered by surfing robots and a drop-kicking horse mount. I'm not kidding, such things made my teenage self exclaim "awesome!" thirty years ago, and my adult self hasn't changed their mind one iota since. That's why I play through every now and then, and why I played through it another time today.

Even today, the game's pace and fluidity makes it an absolute joy to blast through; seven levels, split into two discernible halves with a boss at the end; and just enjoy the hour-long ride whilst I'm there. Protagonist Joe Musashi (yeah, really) dashes, blocks, somersaults, divekicks and walljumps the environments with aplomb; although maybe not as stop-on-a-dime responsive as modern (circa 2023) platform action games, there's a nonetheless a feeling of weight to the proceedings that makes it satisfying to chain the moves together -- you aren't just playing as a ninja, you are the ninja.

To top this off, it looks and sounds amazing. It's a great experience all around, offering a perfectly-pitched challenge that may sap a few lives but never overly-frustrates; unless the difficulty is turned up. And even then, it's totally learnable and designed for it.

I feel like it's customary to say something negative about the game to 'balance' the positives? I didn't like waiting for some platform cycles on 7-2. There you go. Motherfucking game is almost perfect. 5/5

[redsamuraiii]

Before there was Ghost of Tsushima and Assassins Creed, there was Revenge of Shinobi. 🥷🏻

Cover Art ‘The Revenge of Shinobi’ SEGA Mega Drive Support us on Patreon

[raamitsu]

WSJ AUTHORS' COMMENT IN REGARDS OF THE END OF JUJUTSU KAISEN'S SERIALIZATION ⭐

#Thank you, Gege Akutami. Most importantly, thank you again for creating Gojo Satoru.

[demifiendrsa]

Official English translated author comments featured in Weekly Shonen Jump 2024 issue #44

Blue Box chapter 166 - Kouji Miura

Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 271 [END] - Gege Akutami

Hakutaku chapter 2 - Kouki Ishikawa

Nue’s Exorcist chapter 68 - Kota Kawae

The Elusive Samurai chapter 174 - Yusei Matsui

Sakamoto Days chapter 184 - Yuto Suzuki

Akane-banashi chapter 128 - Takamasa Moue

Kagurabachi chapter 51 - Takeru Hokazono

Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 244 - Hitsuji Gondaira

Shinobu Undercover chapter 3 - Santa Mitarashi

Astro Royale chapter 23 - Ken Wakui

Hima-Ten! chapter 12 - Genki Ono

Ichi the Witch chapter 4 - Osamu Nishi

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 32 - Shun Numa

Undead Unluck chapter 224 - Yoshifumi Tozuka

Me & Roboco chapter 203 - Shuhei Miyazaki

Kill Blue chapter 71 - Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi chapter 14 - Shoichi Usui

Witch Watch chapter 173 - Kenta Shinohara

Yokai Buster Murakami chapter 14 - Daiki Ihara

[number-one-toku-robot-lover]

Hey people who remember Jiraiya better than I do, would Metalder be considered a ninja by that shows standards? They let Baron Owl and Rocketguy in there.

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2024, Issue #47

One Piece: The Post-Baroque Works Straw Hats learn that the Luffy has been publicly labeled as Vegapunk's killer, and Robin notices a familiar X edited onto Luffy's arm in the accompanying photo; meanwhile, Luffy meets the disgraced prince of Elbaf, Loki. Vivi snuck a message to the Straw Hats past Morgans, and some readers believe Loki's situation to be a parallel to when Luffy met Zoro and take that as a sign he may be recruited to the Straw Hats

HxH: Balsamilco attempts to assassinate Halkenburg, but is struck by Halkenburg's Nen arrow, resulting in his body being possessed. Provided he can evade Benjamin's suspicions, Halkenburg can use Balsamilco's body to assassinate Benjamin instead

Yozakura Family: As Kyoichiro enter's Asa's ship to rescue his father, Momo, he recalls his conversation with Momo about the plan to use Momo's Dreams to break Asa's Conquest over Taiyo's body, and is surprisingly against a plan that would endanger Taiyo; meanwhile, Alpha cries over seeing his father possessed by Asa. In addition to clarifying how Taiyo can be rescued, one could also draw parallels between Kyoichiro and Alpha's desires to save their respective fathers

Undead Unluck: Soul takes the stage to fight Julia; Change fights Gina, disarming her while entering Phase 3, but ends up getting decked in the face for her troubles. Gina's character arc reaches its climax, mirroring her dialogue from her first appearance with a notable change in her opinion on "change" as a concept

Me & Roboco: Ruri and Roboco take the Hunter Exam Serialization Conference's trials to have a serialization approved for Shonen Jump. With her serialization approved, Ruri's manga will likely be a recurring element going forward, possibly getting full faux chapters like Uron Mirage in Witch Watch

Sakamoto Days: Atari foresees her death, which can only be avoided if she meets up with her soulmate; using her precognition, she survives an attack from and ultimately defeats Higuchi, the karma-obsessed killer from Sakamoto's flashback. The viability of Atari's precognition is shown off, but fans start to question her exact wording; while we all assume her "soulmate" is going to be Shin, she has never once directly alluded to him specifically, and might well mean Heisuke instead

Elusive Samurai: now fully human, Shizuku devises a plan to overcome Takauji's divinity and render him vulnerable to human weaponry; a character I don't recognize and can find no information on secretly offers Tokiyuki refuge in Shinano. This will presumably account for some of the missing time in Tokiyuki's historical records

Witch Watch: Nemu tries to come clean about being the stray cat that routinely visits the Otogi Family, but ends up engaging in accidental bestiality with Keigo (and arguably purposeful bestiality with Wolf). Shipteases my personal favorite part of the entire series, making this one of my favorite chapters of the week

Blue Box: Chinatsu realizes that something is up when Taiki doesn't come to meet her, and manages to find him locked up in a shed by a boy who claims to have liked her for some time. Chinatsu's faith in Taiki and righteous indignation towards the other boy are a refreshingly straightforward take on the usual misunderstandings and subterfuge you find in these types of rom-coms

Akane-Banashi: Akane tries to refuse Issho's forceful recruitment, but Urara appears to save her from throwing her career away in a moment of passion; Akane asks Urara to explain Issho and Shiguma's past. Whatever Akane learns here will influence her decision to study under Issho, and will definitely be of extreme importance to how she refines Shiguma's Art

Kill Blue: Juzo finally wins the cavalry battle, then invites Hijiri out for ramen at Noren's uncle's restaurant; Shin almost manages to get a lap pillow from Noren, but is interrupted by Jinta, who now considers him a blood brother. Juzo's refusal to accept one person's suffering for the Greater Good will likely be a recurring theme for this arc

Nue's Exorcist: Tsujita resolves to confess to Gakuro and picks a fight with Kazusa, resulting in both of them getting accidentally groped; Rido seems to be betraying the Exorcists to heal Mizuki's illness; Gashadokuro is resurrected. If we're not going the poly route, then Tsujita's proactiveness is set to earn her the dishonor of being the first losing heroine; either way, Gashadokuro is definitely going to interupt her date with Gakuro

Kagurabachi: Hiruhiko exposits about the Hishaku's organization and somehow comes to the conclusion that it's not just his similarities with Chihiro that would make them good friends, but their differences; the Hishaku close in Samura. If the Hishaku successfully kill Samura or Uruha, Hiruhiko will be given possession of one or both of their Enchanted Blades

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo: Ippongi brings her grandfather to meet Chojo, who in turn comes to believe that Chojo is a dangerous womanizer who's trying to seduce Ippongi. With the number of girls surrounding Chojo, it's starting to seem like the author is trying to set this series up as a harem

Astro Royale: Realizing that the cops are so dangerous because of their synergy, Hibaru realizes the best strategy is to divide and conquer. A nice bit of strategy on Hibaru's part that justifies the one-on-one matchups quite gracefully; I do hope we'll see combo attacks later, though

Yokai Buster Murakami: Kuin and Murakami meet Shutendoji, who doesn't want to be the leader of a yokai gang and instead wants to relax and drink; Murakami recruits her to the Kuin Corps by letting her do just that. Kuin now effectively has both the exorcist and yokai worlds under his command; could a peaceful and unified world be around the corner?

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi: After beating up an old man, Kiyoshi is granted the title of Grand Cross, giving him the right to go on expeditions to the Demon Realm; a bounty has been put on Kiyoshi's head in the Demon Realm. Presumably, Kiyoshi will begin an expedition to the Demon Realm in the following arc

Hima-Ten: Kanna transfers to Tenichi's school, definitely for work and NOT to get closer to Tenichi; Kanna IMMEDIATELY notices that Tenichi likes Honoka, but doesn't seem discouraged. If this doesn't end up poly, I'm rioting

Ichi the Witch: Kumugi gets to know Ichi, and the two seem to hit it off pretty well, though seeing him in action unsettles her a little bit. Magic-based discrimination seems to go beyond gender and applies to aptitude, setting up the hapless Kumugi as a foil to the one-in-a-million Ichi

Shinobi Undercover: Miyake calls out Hibari for being fake as hell and even taunts her for trying to save a civilian; though Hibari fails to deal damage, she manages to send a message to Yodaka. Hibari's refusal to abandon a classmate and decision to call Yodaka for help reinforces the growing themes of Frienship

Hakutaku: Hikuma's team gives a skewed impression of how quickly game development works, and Kitahara reinvents Among Us. As this is the first major conflict, the main team is likely going to win, but the thematic implications may not be clear for a while

Ruri Dragon: Despite her fear of thunder, Ruri uses the knowledge that her classmates aren't scared of her as motivation to use her powers to stop the storm. Ruri's fears of being an outcast are effectively assuaged, and she's beginning to be able to accept herself

As I wrote this, near the end tumblr informed me that I exceeded some kind of text limit about halfway through Hakutaku, so perhaps I'll need to shave these down going forward?

If anyone has any suggestions for how I can better refine this recap series or make it more engaging, please let me know! As it stands, the only benefit I'm getting is an excuse to try to remember the series I don't care as much about, but I don't think that will carry over to other readers, so I'm open to any feedback y'all are willing to give!

[lamazmorradelandroide]

'The Revenge of Shinobi' Mega Drive (1989)

[cinematicbookworm]

When you get booped by me you also get booped by these two dummies

[redsamuraiii]

The Revenge of Shinobi (1989)

House of Ninjas makes me want to play this childhood game again!

[easternmind]

Last year in classic games

For motives I cannot expand on with much glee, I found a little more time than usual this year to reduce my seemingly endless backlog of classics. Despite all the fine new releases 2023 has greeted us with, I was able to finally dive into this eclectic handful of games I gathered over time. It is perhaps no coincidence that I reached out for more direct game experiences than story-driven ones. I find myself increasingly drawn to games designs that are mindful of the player's time as a commodity not to be carelessly squandered.

One note, if I may: I would like to inspire my readers to progressively discard the use of the word retro this year. We are all of advancing years and wisdom, I trust. The introduction of the term retro to the videogame vernacular was a gross mistake furthering the abhorrent notion that games were as ephemeral in their nature as fashion. It is a purely commercial designation by which to profitably repackage old software as a category of its own, originating from the same minds that considered games as mere novelty trinkets of limited marketable lifespan.

It is up to the player to individually decide on an older game's appeal, whether they may be discovering it for the first time or revisiting it for the umpteenth one. This is not only an appeal for those of you who write about games in any capacity, rather to anyone who takes videogames as a serious interest and communicates with others about this the object of their predilection. Thank you.

This loose cart came with a Famicom bundle auction I won in 2009, if memory serves. I turned on the Famicom and tested it merely to verify if it was still in working condition and found myself engrossed in that trademark Pajitnov/Pokhilko elegant approach to game design. As per the cassette's label, Hatris was originally a concept developed in collaboration with ParaGraph, a Russian studio that went on to develop specialized professional software, a year before the Bullet-Proof Software licensing deal. They produced a few games in the turn of the decade that were rather unusual and, some would say, even visionary. I recommend that you look up their story, if you're curious.

The only entry from the group that isn't of Japanese provenance - though it is a Japanese edition - I played it for purely nostalgic motives, perhaps a yearning for a certain pixel, palette and parallax that resoundingly evoke a time I was fortunate enough to experience, first-hand. If I may be honest, I purchased the game for the visual value of its unique cover art, which I deem superior to the US edition's. In saying that, I must highlight that the original Amiga game box art was quite accomplished.

In the Summer of 93 while on holiday at the beach, there was a French Nintendo magazine for sale whose purchase I could not resist. It was very common to find Spanish, English and French publications at the time in Portugal. This edition had a striking four page preview of this Jaleco gem, Ikari no Yōsai, or Operation Logic Bomb as it was named in the West. For years I searched the PAL version in vain, then ultimately decided to import it on account of - you'd never guess! - the superior box art. Playing it this year at long last, I was instantly reminded of an old Game Boy favourite, Fortified Zone, which I now know to be its prequel. Most top-down shooters are best played in co-op. Ikari no Yōsai is strictly and single-player affair and not once did I miss the absence of a friendly companion.

Keio Flying Squadron 2 first came to my attention via an infamous Saturn demo disc, which came into my hands through circumstances I have since forgotten about. I use the word infamous because the entire game code was available in the disc and the level select cheat code enabled me to unscrupulously play the entirety of the game for no additional expense - at only the cost of missing out on the colourful Studio Pierrot anime FMV interludes.

Having played the sequel first, I was somewhat disenchanted to learn the original game did not feature any platforming segments, it being a pure scrolling shooter in the same whimsical vein as Parodius or, say, an AirZonk. Still, a jolly good time with the old three buttons.

For reasons that will not be immediately apparent to younger reading audiences, I pride myself in having completed most Shinobi games, The Revenge Of and GG being my preferred ones. Shin Shinobi Den, or Shinobi X in Europe, was a game not readily available from my usual game dealers. I eventually borrowed the PAL version once, though not nearly long enough to master it. I finally saw it through this year, mere days before SEGA announced a new episode. While the live action clips looked a tad maladroit in the 1990s, they came to acquire that nice patina I now look for in classic games.

Omega Force was known to take the sporadic breather from producing some of KOEI's most cherished and profitable series. I distinctly remember enjoying Destrega quite a bit in its day, a game quite unlike any other. What their 1998 Enigma lacks in consistency and originality, it more than amply makes up for with its own bizarre concepts, extravagant characters and unexpected genre fusions. Of all the titles in this post, this was the one whose pace felt the most sluggish, and needlessly so.

Microsoft Game Studio Japan release schedule plans were not at all kind on this, their first production, Magatama. Earlier this year I praised this era for its highly inspired H&S action adventure titles and even spent a few days delighting myself with the likes of Blood Will Tell, Nightshade, Bujingai, or Chaos Legion. This most unusual creation, developed by the aptly-named Team Breakout - a group composed of many talented ex-Square employees - is one among the finest of the era. Sadly, it did not do enough to persuade players at the time that it was a better purchase than Otogi or its sequel. Playing it with my mind and heart set back in time to 2003, I can say that this misguided consideration may not have withstood a second thought.

I've long wanted to write an extensive article on Japanese firefighting games. In fact, I have the structure laid out for a Japanofiles entry gathering moss in my Tumblr drafts for over a decade now. For a brief period this year I convinced myself I could finally fulfil this aspiration and resumed Sakurazaka Shouboutai as research. Developed by Racdym - later Racjin - for Irem, it is every bit as good as Firefighter F.D.18 or Hard Luck, and in many ways more inventive from a conceptual standpoint. While Konami and Spike found a way to have their games released in the west, Sakurazaka's poor regional sales performance clearly accounts for Irem's reluctance to bear the cost of an overseas ticket.

[jayextee]

Using this platform to talk, well, platforms

This is what 'coyote time' looked like in 1989.

For the uninitiated, and I do hope my posts here aren't simply playing a show to an audience of gamedevs only, 'coyote time' is a term meaning the ability to jump a platform game character after they've ostensibly left their stable footing in a ledge or platform. It is derived from the scant few seconds of solidity Wile E. Coyote feels beneath his feet in the Road Runner cartoons, after he has actually careened off a cliff face.

It's actually long-bothered me that amateur game developers will often repeat verbatim the 'advice' that a platform game can't possibly have good 'game-feel' without the mechanic; to which I have always disagreed, as a part of who I have learned to be is that I will question absolutely anything presented to me as an indomitable truth. After all, before semi-modern times, we all enjoyed platform games that let you fall off ledges as soon as your feet left them, right?

However, I've come to realise that 'coyote time' isn't a new concept. I will repeat that, not a new concept; regardless of the late-jumping implementation of modern platform games.

Y'see, older games used to have these chunky and large hitboxes for the player, which often conformed to the visible height and width of the character sprite. In visual terms, this did indeed mean that a character could indeed be half-off a platform and yet still standing on it, as the collision box still had a corner on solid ground; leaving a character humourously balancing on a single foot, as seen above in 1989's The Super Shinobi.

I see modern implementations of CT therefore as something of a hotfix for smaller player hitboxes being the trend, and the norm. For although these smaller player hitboxes make dodging hazards and other dangers easier, their dissonance with visible sprite dimensions can often make judging jumps a much-fuzzier affair. And some leniency in the jump timing is a band-aid over that.

Which isn't wrong, I don't think coyote time is a bad mechanic (I've used it in my previous two platform games Quickly, Quackley! and NekoNecro) but I don't think it should be a mandatory one either. I have no concluding thoughts to this ramble, it's just the kind of thing I like to think about as a game developer; as I say, questioning anything held up as an incontestable fact. Because often, these things actually aren't.

(Crossposted from my Cohost)

[crownedinmarigolds]

I don't really care much for Assassin's Creed games any more and don't have much of a substantial opinion (gameplay is fun but I can't really get into the overarching story beyond the history based parts)... but I'm a bit confused at the use of a real historical figure in their most recent game as a main protagonist. I don't think they've ever used a real historical person as a player character before, and - I don't know - just feels a little odd that they're choosing Yasuke to be the first. I expect it to be cool and as a well-researched as it could be I'm sure, but it does leave a weird feeling. Like they wanted to have the clout of a black male protagonist but didn't want to touch Africa and "hey! Japan will sell to the weebs!" But obviously you can't just make a black samurai and not expect people to go ahead and make the Yasuke comparison so you may as well just use Yasuke but... hm.

[retrogamelovers]

Which game would you play first from the Sega Genesis 6-Pak?

[demifiendrsa]

Official English translated author comments featured in Weekly Shonen Jump 2024 issue #47

Sakamoto Days chapter 186 - Yuto Suzuki

Ichi the Witch chapter 7 - Shiro Usazaki

Nue’s Exorcist chapter 71 - Kota Kawae

Akane-banashi chapter 131 - Yuki Suenaga

One Piece chapter 1130 - Eiichiro Oda

The Elusive Samurai chapter 177 - Yusei Matsui

Undead Unluck chapter 227 - Yoshifumi Tozuka

Blue Box chapter 169 - Kouji Miura

Hakutaku chapter 5 - Kouki Ishikawa

Mission: Yozakura Family chapter 247 - Hitsuji Gondaira

Shinobu Undercover chapter 6 - Ippon Takegushi

Hima-Ten! chapter 15 - Genki Ono

Kagurabachi chapter 54 - Takeru Hokazono

Hunter x Hunter chapter 403 - Yoshihiro Togashi

Me & Roboco chapter 206 - Shuhei Miyazaki

Ultimate Exorcist Kiyoshi chapter 17 - Shoichi Usui

Witch Watch chapter 176 - Kenta Shinohara

Astro Royale chapter 26 - Ken Wakui

Kill Blue chapter 75 - Tadatoshi Fujimaki

Super Psychic Policeman Chojo chapter 35 - Shun Numa

Yokai Buster Murakami chapter 17 - Daiki Ihara