Shadow Dancer's the best Genesis Shinobi

[LoneSage]

ROS's merely a good game now; to be honest time has ravaged it. Shinobi III is an amazing game as well, and like Hard Corps, it pushed the Genesis to the fucking limits.


But there's something about Shadow Dancer, where I can go pick it up, figure I'd play it for 10 minutes, but end up beating the damn thing every time. To me, it's a classic example of a Genesis game -- the anti-thesis of an SNES game A kickin' techno soundtrack, violence, twitch gameplay you can play in spurts, and weird bosses. Weird bosses as in that guy you fight on top of the Statue of Liberty who looks oddly similar to the rocket man boss in SOR2 but is wearing purple (or maybe that's his hair color) and creates rotating cutting blades of death from nowhere. Like Kaneko's DJ Boy, Shadow Dancer is the prime example of a Genesis game.


I hate saving hostages in nearly every game, and in this day and age if you save a hostage you can expect some really fucking weak escort mission that seemingly takes forever *cougzoneoftheenders2cough*. But no, in Shadow Dancer you touch them and their bitch ass starts to run, Musashi ain't no babysitter, he's got Yamato ripping some guy's balls off while he runs at him and slices him good. If anything, I say the hostage rescues are what makes SD a BETTER game than its Genney brethren. It not only adds reason for me to not run through the stage and not bother with killing some enemies, but it's fun to figure out what to do and how to dispose of them. You can either run up to that one guy who you know is giong to throw that stupid green boomerang cutter thing the second you move, or you can sic Yamato at em and come in for the kill -- your choice.

I guess the reason this thread exists is to stir up some dormant emotion within most people about Shadow Dancer; for most, they consider it the black sheep of the trilogy. But look back, play it again (this time with no shuriken, if you want! It's a whole different ball game) and I'm sure you'll remember how badass this game is.

Remember in Stage 1 of Burning Downtown where you were walking along and suddenly a jet of fucking lava from the sewers got you? Damn straight.

As for the young man with the title screen of Shadow Dancer in his sig...good job, soldier.

 

[Baseley09]

ROS's merely a good game now; to be honest time has ravaged it.

Eh nah i'm not having that.......

To me, it's a classic example of a Genesis game -- the anti-thesis of an SNES game A kickin' techno soundtrack, violence, twitch gameplay you can play in spurts, and weird bosses.

Spot on tho, there in lies the void of difference and the cruxt of choice.

I never liked Shinobi III that much, real good game tho.

 

[evasyar]

truly a pinacle achievement for sega genesis...

...shadow dancer the secret of shinobi - during the time of its release, great graphics, sounds, music, gameplay, strategy, memorable main character joe musashi, outstanding bosses and ninjas.

i can only count a few genesis games that actually rivals the arcade version it was based under. this is one of them.

great times, very good memories. you gotta luv games that will keep you going to the end and not whine about save states. if only sega develop some more of these games **sigh** just savor the nostalgia i guess...

 

[RAINBOW PONY]

ive always said this was the best shinobi game, but back in the day I would get shit for it, cause they said it wasn't a "real" shinobi game.

 

[galfordo]

I also really loved Shadow Dancer - my favorite Shinobi title on the Genesis, and in my opinion a more enjoyable game than the arcade game of the same name.

Shadown Dancer for the Genesis is second only to the mighty original Shinobi arcade game, as far as Shinobi titles go.

I wish I still had my copy.

 

[Setsuna1982]

DJ Boy sucks. Big time.

 

[DevilRedeemed]

arcade DJ Boy is awesome.

good thread. Shadow Dancer is an incredible megadrive game. I've been hunting it down of late. I got it when it came out and was playing it all the time. just superb. definetly the best Shinobi game (though the GG versions where fucking incredible - ever play them?).

other underrated megadrive/genesis games off the top of my head: Eswat and Rambo III. much love to those 2 games.

 

[galfordo]

arcade DJ Boy is awesome.

good thread. Shadow Dancer is an incredible megadrive game. I've been hunting it down of late. I got it when it came out and was playing it all the time. just superb. definetly the best Shinobi game (though the GG versions where fucking incredible - ever play them?).

other underrated megadrive/genesis games off the top of my head: Eswat and Rambo III. much love to those 2 games.

YES! I loved E-SWAT as well! Terrific game, and another example of the Genny game being superior to the arcade. Also, E-SWAT had a very cool intro (loved to show it off to my NES scrub friends ).

 

[Loopz]

Allow me to be the first to shit on this thread from a great height.
Shadow Dancer on MD is just that, a shadow of a great arcade title.
Revenge of Shinobi is great because it comes up with some cool new shit to differentiate itself from the OG arcade Shinobi. Shadow Dancer comes off like a bad port with a few wrinkles thrown in, since they knew what a sucky port it was.

AC SD = AC Shinobi > RoS > Shinobi III >>>>>>>>>>>MD SD

That is all.
Yuzo said so, bitches.

 

[DevilRedeemed]

Allow me to be the first to shit on this thread from a great height.
Shadow Dancer on MD is just that, a shadow of a great arcade title.
Revenge of Shinobi is great because it comes up with some cool new shit to differentiate itself from the OG arcade Shinobi. Shadow Dancer comes off like a bad port with a few wrinkles thrown in, since they knew what a sucky port it was.

AC SD = AC Shinobi > RoS > Shinobi III >>>>>>>>>>>MD SD

That is all.
Yuzo said so, bitches.

nnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!........
ddddddddddieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!....

well each to their own I guess. there was such a backlash at the time about this not being a faithful port of the arcade game (I think the Master System got it!!) that when I got to playing it I noticed it was great (IMO) in its own right, as a completly different game. dude, the stage where you go up the Statue of Liberty is not only awesome but hard as hell (was for me back then).

ever play Alex Kid in Shinobi World (think that's what its called)? damn good game there.

btw - I rate the GG versions of Shinobi above the other Shinobis but just below SD. the way you have to use the different shinobis is amazing. unique game, best reason to own a Game Gear back in the day.

 

[daybona]

Yuzo Koshiro game>non Yuzo Koshiro game.

 

[moonwhistle]

ROS > SD > SIII

I like Shadow Dancer alot but for me it's just not as great as Revenge of Shinobi. Shinobi III was pretty good at the beginning but degraded into shit like a gimmicky jet ski riding section.

Eswat is really slick, I picked it up again recently and enjoyed it alot, but god damn I didn't remember it getting so difficult. I can scarcely control the mech thingy when your supposed to fly it.

Most memorable part for me was near the begining when the helicopter boss shows up and that pumping catchy tune kicks in.

 

[roker]

I agree

but the best Shinobi game is the original for the arcade

In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say the level design was better in the genesis version of Shadow Dancer than the Arcade version

For some reason, the arcade version just didn't do it for me

 

[Mike Shagohod]

A few months ago I might have seriously disagreed with LoneSage, but as of late I don't get the charge out of Super Shinobi that I do out of the Mega Drive version of SHADOW DANCER. Maybe it has something to do with the fact all these years later I cannot figure out that damn maze in Super Shinobi. I used to beat that game left and right in it's hey day but now I can't figure it out, so the game usually gets turned off after awhile in that part. Shadow Dancer on the other hand I can power up and play and it's just awesome. I remember being a bit pissed that it wasn't a faithful port of the arcade game when it came out, even though SCI IMPORTS showed the title screen of the arcade version in their advert for it.

Over time it has grown on me. I actually like it over the Arcade original, and that bonus stage was just bad ass. AND YES Devil Redeemed, it was the SEGA Master System that got the arcade port. Below are two pages of Shadow Dancer coverage from the Jan-Feb 1991 issue of MEGA PLAY Magazine as hosted @ my website (that's slowly but surely getting updated offline) SEGA-SPETSNAZ.COM

Though I still love "Super Shinobi" I was never too big on Super Shinobi 2 (III) except for that one horseback riding/ninja killing stage and the morphing effect on that biological BOSS in stage 3.

GK

 

[Formation Z]

Just got my free Mega Drive copy of Shadow Dancer from Buro Destruct, and now I own both US and Japanese versions, same goes for Revenge of Shinobi/Super Shinobi.

There used to be a time when I could ace all those bonus rounds with no probs.

 

[DevilRedeemed]

Merc is the man. must be repeated:
old games magazines>internet.
damn... 1991 - that's 14 years ago.. I was so wide eyed back then, games used to just knock me for six. so much damn quality both on MD and SFC..
anyways. it's definetly a grower. at first I didn't know what to make of it, but as time went on I just couldn't put it dowm.

Saturn Shinobi is very gay and very fun. Abster would like it. there's blood in it.

 

[Fran]

i used to dislike ports,a lot

specially during the 8-16 bits era

because they all were shitty compared to the arcade counterparts

if shadow dancer on the md was a port of the original,i'd hate it big time

the thing is,shadow dancer on the mega is not a port

it's just shadow dancer totally revisited

so i don't have to compare it to the real deal

and it's hella stylish

the BIGGEST thing about shinobi and shadow dancer,
and the reason why i still play those 2 frequently after 2 decades

is the secret 20000 pts bonus

and it's there in all its glory on the md game

so i can only say that,logically,sd on the mega is a must own

the other ones are crap,of course

 

[The Legendary LoneWolf]

I prefer shadow dancer on arcade and can play it anytime I want on my x-box.......... dives for cover when other fuckers throw stars at me

 

[Kirk Foiden]

Wow. Just wow. It's like people on this site have ESP or something. Seems like every time I just play some random game (or one in the series) the night before, someone pipes up about how cool it is. Not that I played Shadow Dancer, last night. I randomly played Shinobi, though.

Another shinobi I thought was rather cool, though I really can't say how it fits in the series (in terms of quality, as it has good points and bad points) is the one on Saturn. In fact, I had no idea that the Saturn did have its own Shinobi until I saw it sold on some vendor table, at random. It was cheap, too. I instinctively picked it up as I didn't want an official 2D-sidescrolling Sega Shinobi game to slip by, especially one that's as unknown as that. It's Shinobi but with FMVs in between them with Live actors. Actually, the Live Actor FMVs are funny to look at (like a Sega commercial is) so it has its own personal cheese-level that makes you smile.

Still, the challenge is pretty good and it harkens back to the style of gameplay, and commands that's in Revenge of Shinobi (Not Shinobi III). Kind of wierd to see them go back to an older game style instead of just building off the last one. Some of the level designs were actually quite well done, for the type of game it is. It's flawed, and has some boss fight issues; but for the money, it offers enough good Shinobi gameplay (particularly during the levels) that saves the title from being bad.

 

[Takumaji]

To me, it's a classic example of a Genesis game -- the anti-thesis of an SNES game A kickin' techno soundtrack, violence, twitch gameplay you can play in spurts, and weird bosses.

 

[Electroman]

Shadow Dancer is a fine game indeed, and I love it but I still rank Revenge first, followed by Shinobi 3.

I appreciate the 'epic nature' of the 1st and 3rd installments more.

 

[Baseley09]

Another shinobi I thought was rather cool, though I really can't say how it fits in the series (in terms of quality, as it has good points and bad points) is the one on Saturn. In fact, I had no idea that the Saturn did have its own Shinobi until I saw it sold on some vendor table, at random. It was cheap, too. I instinctively picked it up as I didn't want an official 2D-sidescrolling Sega Shinobi game to slip by, especially one that's as unknown as that. It's Shinobi but with FMVs in between them with Live actors. Actually, the Live Actor FMVs are funny to look at (like a Sega commercial is) so it has its own personal cheese-level that makes you smile.

Still, the challenge is pretty good and it harkens back to the style of gameplay, and commands that's in Revenge of Shinobi (Not Shinobi III). Kind of wierd to see them go back to an older game style instead of just building off the last one. Some of the level designs were actually quite well done, for the type of game it is. It's flawed, and has some boss fight issues; but for the money, it offers enough good Shinobi gameplay (particularly during the levels) that saves the title from being bad.

Agreed I picked it up ages back for a laugh more like, i'd heard it was rubbish but never believed it, it was a SEGA Shinobi game............it's great really. great use of digitised graphics, nice misic & cinemas.....and for me, the dinosaur puppet in the industrial level is a classic piece of gaming hilarity.

 

[Ely13]

Not a bad game, but RoS > SIII > SD. I received a copy for free with the 40-50 carts I got when I bought someone's Nomad off eBay (along with 2 Gunstar Heroes and a bunch of other random stuff).

Graphics are really nice, but I never got into the gameplay and the rescuing children thing gave me bad Michael Jackson flashbacks.

 

[Hidden Character]

I dig Shadow Dancer and I love the bgm for the "A.D. 1997" storyline with its syncopated rhythms. Oddly enough, NYC didn't burn down in the midst of chaotic violence in '97. Ah well.

SD > SIII > RoS

 

[Mike Shagohod]

I dig Shadow Dancer and I love the bgm for the "A.D. 1997" storyline with its syncopated rhythms. Oddly enough, NYC didn't burn down in the midst of chaotic violence in '97. Ah well.

SD > SIII > RoS

Yep. I always find it funny how the game industry as well as movies and anime always thought HELL on Earth would occur in the 1990s. Let's see in Shadow Dancer NYC burnt down in 1997. In Escape From Newyork NYC is a prison colony in 1997, in the film 1990: The Bronx Warriors, it was supposed to have been a no mans land where Vic Morrow and Fred Williamson were at war and everyone drove around on motorcycles, killing in traditional Barbarian Warrior style.

In 199X according to Double Dragon there was a nuclear war and only Spike & Hammer could make things right in the post apocalypse setting. Then in one even better in 199X the whole world blew up and the aftermath was Hokuto No Ken. ALL HAVE BEEN PROVEN WRONG!



now I guess we just have to wait until 2019: After The Fall of New York

GK