Preliminary: Welp, just finished the first stage. Loved the Look of the big boss looking enemy at the end (tho you didn't fight him), always love super tight arcade controls, love the music. Fast-paced, glad you can shoot projectiles, intuitive (I even figured out the first boss once you, indeed, do fight him). One Mission down, apparently there's 5 in total. Let's give this a proper playthrough.

Look: 8/10 Yesss, not only was the music great for Mission 2's Stage 3, but the Look was great. I lovvvve dim/nighttime/dusk settings in videogames, and I love that game designers have seemed to agree even since the early days!

Sound: 8/10 Great jingle for the first stage (and it was used in other stages... I think it was the same song as in Stage 3 of Mission 2 but that was a jam too if not, reminded me of C64 music). Not a big fan of the constant humph sound from jumping etc but overall a great Sound.

Play: 8/10 Always glad when there's a Continue feature, even if some people see that as a pay-to-win or coin-eating method. Thank goodness for no friendly fire lol those poor kid hostages would've been goners. I wish there were a cool jump-and-kick type attack like most the early ninja themed platformer hack and slash games have had so far. I also wish you could hit away projectiles, always a feature I like. Also lame when an enemy spawns as you're moving and that can insta-kill you.

Feel: 8/10 Quickly ducking after shooting and similar situations reminded me (fondly) of Elevator Action, a favorite when I started this chronology project. Biggest complaint for sure for this game is the lack of a jump-and-attack feature that's smooth. I got used to the quirk where you basically have to bounce off/be stunned by an enemy in some situations, but being able to slice and dice while I was in the air would've been the better solution ha. (Mind you, you can slice your sword and throw the shuriken when in the air, hard to explain, but it's a much clunkier mechanic than the rest of the controls and was not something to rely on except in obvious situations. Something with the angle mechanic)

Attachment: 8/10 Welp I got sucked in on my first play session but it's time for movie and bed. I'm on the 3rd boss the buddha rotating situation. First one that I am not sure what to do. I will return to it tomorrow! Sadly I am getting sick but hopefully it's a short mild one.... hopefully. That gets in the way of gaming for sure. (Turns out the boss is as simple and intuitive as I thought, it just sucks. I hate dps check type bosses, no challenge except smash super fast. What a buzzkill that boss is. The rotating buddha boss. Terrible mechanic imo. No matter how fast I spam clicked attack and jump, even after using the Magic thing, there

Welp on my 2nd play session, I got it on my first try ha. I had read the arcade version uses dynamic difficulty, so I was planning to die and then try a few more times. Allegedly the boss health goes down with deaths. But it didn't prove necessary. I guess I just needed a break ha. In general, though, I was not a fan of that buddha head boss. The mechanics, the boss itself, I can only imagine having to repeatedly try that on an actual arcade machine. Bogged down the fast-paced fun game up to that point. And around that point the swarms of color-clad ninjas got to be so annoying and difficult, again slowing down the otherwise straightforward fun.

Nice, the next boss (Lobster) was much more enjoyable. Hard but enjoyable. Had a specific spot I was able to intuitively figure out where to hit him. That's the kind of mechanic/challenge I like. More than a "dps check." On to the last mission! And at last! After a very difficult (understandable, of course) final boss, with mechanics I had respect for tho,

Completion: Main Story, Score: 291,040 Playtime: 1h20m

Erittäin halvan hinnan innoittamana poimin Switchin joulualesta Shinobin Sega AGES -julkaisu. Tästä seurasi vajaa pari tuntia nopeatempoista ninjatoimintaa.

Shinobi on arcade-peli vuodelta 1987, ja sen tuntee. Haaste on ankaraa ja meno hienon hölmöä. Vihollisiksi on päässyt esimerkiksi Spiderman ja Arnold Schwarzenegger -kopiot sekä samurai nimeltä Lobster. Taustalla pauhaa yllättävän pirteä mutta tarttuva musiikki. Ikäisekseen peliksi Shinobi on ihan mukavaa katsottavaakin isoine tarkkoine spriteineen, mutta tyylin puolesta peli on hieman pliisun värinen ja jäykkä. Myönnettäköön, jotain outoa charmia siinäkin on.

Toiminta ei tosin ole pliisua. Peli koostuu vihollisten niittaamisesta heittotähdillä, kidnapattujen lasten pelastamisesta sekä kentän loppupisteen saavuttamisesta. Kentät ovat oikeasti todella lyhyitä, mutta etenkin loppupuolella nämä lyhyet matkat ovat sitäkin kuolettavampia. Yksikin vihollisen miekanisku tai ammus tappaa. Väliillä pelaaja pääsee bonuskenttiin viskelemään ninjatähtiä ensimmäisestä persoonasta. Visuaalinen spektaakkeli on aikanaan ollut varmasti huikea ja pelattavuudeltaankin nämä ovat hauskoja, mutta yhtäkään bonuskenttää en päässyt läpi asti.

Sega AGES -julkaisussa on oletettavasti loputtomat määrät "kolikoita" ja continuet eivät lopu kesken. Kuitenkin, aikanaan pelihalleissa Shinobi on varmasti ollut tehokas ryöstämään pelaajia. Pelin haaste ei aina tunnu ihan täysin reilulta, mutta pahimmilta ylilyönneiltä on vältytty. Yllättävänä hyväntahtoisuuden eleenä kehittäjiltä kidnapattujen lasten pelastamisen jälkeen samassa paikassa on usein yksi tai kaksi vihollista vähemmän seuraavilla yrityksillä. Mukavaa edistymisentunnetta ankarassa pelissä. Kenttiä Shinobissa on sen verran vähän, että jos edistystä vain tapahtuu, hirveän karvasta makua ei pelistä kerkeä suuhun kehkeytymään. Ainakaan minulle ei kerinnyt.

Shinobin Sega AGES -julkaisu meni itselle mukavana välipalana. Peli tarjosi juuri sopivalla haasteella sopivan hölmöä arcade-mähinää. Hirveän ravitseva välipala Shinobi ei sinänsä ole, enkä tiedä tuleeko pelin pariin palattua, mutta pienen hetken nautin tästä höntistä ninjajuustosta.