Go Ninja Go Ninja Go.
In another timeline, Shadow of the Ninja would have seen the spotlight as the “go to” Ninja game on the NES. Unfortunately for it, Ninja Gaiden would be the frontrunner in the clash of Ninjas, even so much so as seeing a Shadow of the Ninja sequel on the Gameboy repurposed as a prequel to Ryu Hayabusa Gaiden antics. However, not willing to let Shadow of the Ninja fade into complete obscurity, developer Tengo Project has seen fit to remake the 1990 original, complete with the expected difficulty of a short-length NES game, for better or worse.
Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn sees you suiting up as one of the Ninja duo in Hayate or Kaede, each a visually striking character that has their own gameplay feel, even if it is such a minuscule difference. The game's co-op feature allows for both characters to occupy the screen at once, allowing you to slice and dice with a friend. What I feared with co-op going in was each other getting in one another's way, but thankfully, you cannot hurt each other with your attacks and you don't interfere with the other player. Should one of you perish, the lone survivor goes it alone until they too die. This can alleviate much of the game's trial-and-error difficulty.
The plot sees the pair sent to assassinate Emperor Garuda, the tyrannical leader of a dystopian United States in 2029. While that is the goal, you generally don't get a sense of this as the levels don't illustrate any sort of progress you're making in the narrative. Technically, if you randomized the entire level selection, it wouldn't impact anything. Granted, this is a remake of a NES game, so I wasn't expecting a story whatsoever to begin with. What is here is fine, just don't expect really much of that story to be present in gameplay at all.
Set out across a half dozen chapters, with each ending with a unique boss encounter, this cyberpunk future of the United States is a visually appealing one. Each level has a nice attention to detail and color approach, making everything pop. I will say that a few assets are hard to parse if they are a background or foreground element, but as you'll come to learn, the gameplay and exploration here is one that is strictly enforced as good ol’ trial and error. Is that a pit? Well, only one way to find out.
Still, the visual upgrade given to this remake is very much welcomed. It has that classic old-school feel, but consists of color and detail that just wasn't possible back in the day. It's a bit more than your standard 16-bit tech appeal and falls more in line with a lot of PS1’s 2D games of the era. This also translates to smoother animations for both its pair of protagonists and the enemies that will attempt to cut you down. That, and the terminator-like teleporting into each level is a very flashy effect that never lost its appeal.
Tengo Project strikes a great balance of making the whole experience feel of its era while maintaining a great number of modern enhancements without compromising the original too much. While I do wish they would have modernized a few things I'll get into shortly, fans of the era will certainly be entertained here, especially with a few filters to add to the experience even more. What's old is new again.
Like the games of its era, in-depth tutorials were not really an active quality-of-life feature yet. Thankfully, there is a digital manual that provides insight on a few things that the game won't actually mention, namely a gliding jump needed to traverse a few of the platforming challenges. While it certainly took a while to really figure out how to get the distance needed to clear a few wide jumps, the manual is a cool throwback to a time when a lot of essential information about the game was found within its illustrative pages. And thankfully, you can bring this manual up at any time while in game.
While the presentation of the remake is truly impressive, playing the game is where I'm not entirely sure I enjoyed it as much as I had hoped. Much of this has to do with movement and the general feel of gameplay. Hacking and slashing with your katana is fine, as is the use of your chained sickle, a weapon called a Kusarigama. This grants you a longer reach and is good for enemies that you won't want to get too close to. As it stands, combat is fine, serviceable, and functions as you'd expect.
Jumping, however, is likely to cause more deaths than any single enemy in the game. While the glide jump is one thing, the feel of the jump is awkward and stiff. It simply kills any momentum this game could have had. It's not the worst jump in gaming history, but it just doesn't feel good whatsoever. As you are playing as a pair of ninjas, it's bizarre that the jump feels weighty and sluggish. It's also odd that the glide jump requires the use of not just the jump button, but also pressing down and the button to pull it off, instead of just holding the button down. In addition, you also cannot dash and then jump, as the jump needs to be while you are stationary.
This frustrating control setup also translates to using items. At first, I wasn't sure why I couldn't use certain items until I consumed what was in front of them. As you find crates throughout each level, they will contain any of several consumables or limited-use weapons like throwing knives, long swords, and additional ranges alternatives. These items then exist alongside your health bar in an organized lineup.
However, healing items are what you'll certainly want to aim for, but depending on where they are in your item bar is where my frustration lies. To use an item, you select it and press a button. Simple right? Well, you can only freely select between two items, regardless of your stock. However, to use the other items, you need to hold down the button and then use the d-pad to select the item you want in the lineup. If the game had paused while I did this, I likely wouldn't have had an issue, but this clunky system operates in real time, making you very vulnerable while you peruse your stock. Trying to navigate these items during a boss fight is infuriating.
The items that you’ll unlock as you play, which include anything from Makibishi’s to Shuriken’s and Cleavers, can be used for your next playthrough, giving you early access to when you would normally find them throughout the campaign. You’ll have a set amount of money based on your previous playthrough, and more weapons are unlocked as you play. However, each playthrough seems to be its own save file and while there is a continue feature, I could never make use of it. This lead to a huge issue I had with the game, impacting my time greatly.
About halfway through chapter four, my game crashed. “The software was closed because an error occurred.”. We’ve all seen this message pop up from time to time on the Switch. However, while Shadow of the Ninja has a continue feature that states “continue from where you left off”, it was greyed out. I only had the option to start again. Sure, I could bring in weapons I had unlocked, but as the game is quite difficult, this really soured my opinion of the game. Thankfully, my second attempt went fine, I simply made sure to not close the game until I had wrapped credits.
Part of what Shadow of the Ninja does is by teaching you its patterns. This game has a very linear way of progressing, meaning you’ll jump, slash, and attack in ways predetermined by the developer. This type of game is meant to be beaten a certain way as enemy placement, platforms, and the timing of all of it is set to a certain path. Shadow of the Ninja can be extremely difficult because of this path, as the placement of an enemy means if you don’t take them out at a certain moment, background elements like lasers and bullets will hit you, regardless of being cautious.
What helps is that each level is its own checkpoint and each level is very short. If you perfected this game’s rhythm, you could easily beat it in an hour, but ultimately, a first playthough should take about 6 hours of learning the ins and outs of what it expects from you. What is decent of the developer to do is that normal difficulty can see you granted extra items to help you progress should you die a lot. While I would have preferred Celeste level accessibility options, I’ll take what I can get.
Ultimately, Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn knows what it wants to be and doesn’t deter from the path. It is meant to exist within the era of the original while having a brand new visual look that really is breathtaking in its execution. While I personally would have loved to see some changes to the movement system, and a better method to use your items, I can respect the developer’s choice to maintain the appeal of the original and what games of that era played like, even if I feel it makes for more frustration than anything else. Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn is a gorgeous remake meant to appeal to those looking for a challenge and to dive into the love those players have for this type of game. Whether we will see a true sequel arrive in the coming years is unclear, but for now, Shadow of the Ninja gets its turn in the spotlight.
Developer -Tengo Project, NatsumeAtari
Publisher - NatsumeAtari, Edigger, United Games Entertainment GmbH Released - August 29th, 2024. Available On - Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC. (Steam) Rated - (T) - Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch. (Portable) Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.