#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

[demifiendrsa]

Weekly Shonen Jump 2025 issue #4/5 cover

[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.

[slutpoppers]

Lord Orochimaru vs Anko Mitarashi

Naruto the classic series (2003)

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2024, Issue #52

HxH: Morena's card game begins, and she exposits that she was conceived in a state-sanctioned non-consensual orgy; Borksen learns that thanks to Nen restrictions, she actually does have actually does have an escape route. The implications of Morena's backstory are certainly staggering, but also lost on me

Yozakura: Taiyo has an "I know you're in there" fight with himself, ending with him expelling Asa by shooting himself in the heart. Taiyo's willingness to damage his own body to make it uninhabitable to Asa doesn't seem ideal, but definitely preferable to being possessed

Undead Unluck: Soul tries to force Andy and Victor's souls back together, but Rip cuts them apart permanently with Unrepair. This is Rip's capstone, where he finally uses Unrepair for someone else's happiness instead of ruining his own with it

Roboco: Roboco writes more shameless ripoff manga, but finally learns that her own original material is a lot better. I have no faith that this lesson will stick

Sakamoto: Atari's luck has literally run out; she reveals to Tenkyu that his friendship w/ Uzuki is irreparable; Shin resolves to kill Tenkyu, even if it means severing ties with Sakamoto. Both Tenkyu and Shin are losing their friends because they're killing in their name against their wishes; Atari's an idiot for using such an obscene amount of luck last chapter just to fire ONE bullet

EluSam: Tokiyuki and realKojiro gush over Kojiro as he fights Nagao; the scene cuts away to Mima getting into architecture and interior design. This seems to have an affect on enemy morale, but I feel like it's not worth ignoring what seems to be Kojiro's most important fight

Witch Watch: The flashback gang discusses the legacy of Familiars and their prejudice towards humanity; Kuon warms up to the team, and Taiga raises more death flags. The idea of magic fading away as a sign of peaceful times is a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately because I've been revisiting Medaka Box; this may inform a future essay

Blue Box: Taiki endears himself to Chinatsu's dad with his earnest, if a bit overbearing, nature. I'm glad we're not drawing out the tension too much, it makes the dad more relatable

Akane: Despite Miroku's refusal to let them perform, Shiguma and Issho learn enough rakugo for Kiroku to give them a slot; Miroku offers to grant Kiroku his name and rank if he will use it to expel the pair. This is clearly the event that led to the founding of the Arakawa School, but even with a foregone conclusion, it's a nailbiter

Kill Blue: Juzo and Shin use assassin techniques to advertise the bakery; Yoichiro wagers his staff's bonuses to whichever club can beat their challenges. Clearly he's plotting something, but I can't quite see yet how this furthers his plans

Nue: Rido spontaneously achieves his Bankai Spirit Armor and promptly passes out. It looks cool, but I'm already so unclear on this power system's rules that such an upgrade only serves to confuse me further

Kagurabachi: In a side story, we revisit everyone's favorite guy, Sojo, trying desperately to enjoy a bath despite his routine being ruined at every turn. Looking back, I'm sad that Sojo died; I hope he continues to haunt the narrative

Chojo: Keinain's new assistant, Makami, finds everything about the Chinjuku station to be lewd; this is not because she's a prude, but an extremely repressed pervert. Would

Astro Royale: Himuro reveals he became a cop to stop the Yotsurugi family from interfering with his dad's business, but only found out later that they were supporting him through hard times; the damage he caused this business relationship resulted in his father's suicide; he eats the Daybreak Ore and becomes a mutated mass. Himuro's motivations now reflect Kinpa's, but just like he hurt his dad by targeting the Yotsurugi's, his rage is misdirected and self-destructive

Kiyoshi: Asuta's time runs out and he gets away, cementing the sacrifices made to summon him; as he leaves, he calls Kiyoshi his soulmate in a perverse twist on Kiyoshi's own desire for friendship. Axe-deniers when the lead fails and lets 100 innocent people die - 🎉🍾🥳🎊🥂; throw the yaoi girlies in there too since there's about to be a huge boost in sales

Hima-Ten: Tenichi takes up the rear on the class hike; Himari fakes an injury to keep him company. Very cute, but how the hell does this moron not realize she's in love???

Ichi: Just before the contest begins, Ichi sees a mysterious figure; the Kindake Magik vows to kill everyone who doesn't worship his mushrooms, then escapes into his mushroom forest. So much for not being a human-hater; Togeice's poor sense of direction will certainly make this challenge much harder on her

Shinobi: Yodaka sabotages Hachikuma's strings and turns them against him. Though heavy-handed, Yodaka straightening and braiding Hachikuma's discarded, tangled strings as a symbol of the value of putting effort into maintaining relationships is sweet

Hakutaku: The mechanics of the AR game are explained, but Hikuma sleeps through people actually enjoying it. Maybe it's cus I don't like mobile games, but I do not see the appeal of this game, which is probably the most damning indictment of a game design manga

Syd Craft: Elio is revealed to be Levie Olyn, Syd's favorite romance author, who became his assistant after he cleared her name in a case; she writes her books to vent her DEFINITELY NOT ROMANTIC feelings for Syd. That's a great dynamic, I love girls who pine, I'm super endeared to this idiot

My top 3 manga for the week are:

Undead Unluck, unsurprisingly, for its fantastic color page, multiple great spreads, and at least two of what will undoubtedly become the most iconic moments in the entire series; congrats on netting the final cover of the year!

Syd Craft for continuing to expand upon its concept in a way that really appeals to me; let it be known I never said Tsutsui was a bad author, I just said he was a coward

Kiyoshi for dodging the axe, establishing an interesting dynamic between Kiyoshi and Asuta, and the bravery to leave it on such a bleak cliffhanger

Runners up include Astro Royale and Shinobi Undercover, both for giving me some interesting symbolism to chew on, as well as Hima-Ten and Chojo for women in denial that fall short of Elio

Edit: I want to correct something I said last week - it does not seem like Bug Ego is joining Weekly Jump after all, I think someone I follow on twitter either got a bad tip or I misunderstood what they said. Bug Ego was added to the Shonen Jump app, not Shonen Jump itself. Apologies for any confusion!

[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.

[lamazmorradelandroide]

'The Revenge of Shinobi' Mega Drive (1989)

[redsamuraiii]

The Revenge of Shinobi (1989)

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

[cinematicbookworm]

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

[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.

[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.

[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 15 - Daiki Ihara

[retrogamelovers]

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