Hardcore SEGA fans will no doubt be aware that The Revenge of Shinobi on the Mega Drive / Genesis had a few different incarnations during its lifetime due to copyright issues. It’s a proud person who still owns the original Mega Drive cart which features boss characters such as The Hulk, The Terminator, Spider-Man, Batman and even Godzilla!
Two further versions of the game were released in subsequent months to avoid any nasty copyright issues, but Spider-Man remained intact as the level 6 boss as SEGA were able to officially license the famous Marvel superhero, with a credit even appearing on the title screen. The full lowdown on these changes can be found over at Hardcore Gaming 101.
Fast forward to 2009 and we were curious to find out what has become of the Spider-Man boss in the Virtual Console release of Revenge of Shinobi. Predictably Spidey is no more and is now replaced by a pink web-slinger instead, and Batman is still the mutated form that we found in the later versions of the Mega Drive cart.
Check out these badly aligned snaps taken from a webbed camera in the corner of the room while we battled through this epic boss fight.
Despite these amusing cosmetic changes Revenge of Shinobi is still an excellent buy on the Virtual Console. Check out our lovely Revenge of Shinobi review if you need any further persuasion.
[source en.wikipedia.org]
Comments 32
SPIDERMAN!!!!!
Everyone gets just ONE
Tell him Peter, everybody gets one.
I think it's odd Spiderman was in this at all anyways lol
@Blaze. M2 (the company that does the VC emulation for SEGA systems) actually make changes to the ROMs by pathching them unlike Backborne (the company that does the XBLA/PSN SEGA games) who don't bother.
Other things M2 do is remove certain flashing effects by palette changes (part of Nintendos anti-seisure requirements) and the occasional bugfix (such as the Phantasy Star IV level 99 glitch).
Well that confirms it. I am never getting the Virtual Console version of this game. BECAUSE WE CAN'T EVEN GET SPIDER-MAN ON THIS VERSION!
Even with the change, Nintendo (Yes Nintendo) will get sued like crazy about this for no reasons and be force to remove the game.
If I'm ever getting this game, it'll be the original Mega Drive version.
I thought Nintendo said there won't be changes to VC games? So why is it a problem with Earthbound?
So why is it a problem with Earthbound?
Nintendo of America doesn't mind it being changed, Nintendo of Japan does not want it changed. Nintendo of Japan has authority over Nintendo of America. And no Spiderman isn't a big deal.
@ Bass X0: Yes it so. Because that sealed hope of any Marvel games on the Virtual Console for now.
Well only ones that Sega made at this moment in time. Only Activision can use the Spiderman character right now. Capcom releasing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was a one off.
Bass X0- It is a big deal, because the game is change from its origional form.
Well IMO a change is better than no release at all. Oh hey... now you can be the pink Spiderman.
It doesn't make any difference to the gameplay, so it shouldnt matter!
Looks like Spider-Man needs some lessons on how to do his laundry.
What about the Hulk/Terminator thing? Everything Ive read says he wasn't replaced in the revised versions so far but how about now?
Or is the resemblance not as obvious?
I wanna see the Terminator boss!
I thought he was supposed to be orange and green? Frankly I would've much preferred that.
From what I remembered he was always pretty plain and nondescript looking. I remember people saying "look you even fight spiderman!" and I was like "uh, dude, thats not spiderman, thats like, a random person in a red leotard with no mouth". Every action video game has some, (usually various colors of ninjas) I think it's pretty silly to worry about, but I guess thats just the legal landscape these days.
wish we had this in da states... i wanna beat up a pink spiderman....
StarwolfUK: Any idea if M2 are also responsible for the PAL downgrade in Megadrive Hanabi titles?
Nice..... I saw some Sega Mega Drive games today for sale.... I wish I would have seen this article before. I will now be lookin for this game just for this reason.
I think Sony might be partly to blame for this. From what I understand, they're keeping Spidey from appearing in the upcoming Marvel Super Hero Squad show.
I am more disturbed by the long string coming out of his butt than the pink costume.
was curious as to if they kept spidey in the VC release, I have this game on the 6 Pak, so I might pass on the VC version now that I see this article.
@ Super Smash Bros. Fan1999
Seriously? Then what about X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, MVC 1, X-men: Mutant Apocalypse & Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems? If MVC 2 can be released on XBLA & PSN, then I don't see why any of the games that I listed except for MVC 2 can't be on VC.
@Ren: One revised version of this game actually had the Spiderman and Marvel license attached to it, but I see where you're coming from, it was a pretty crappy looking Spiderman to begin with, but it's an awesome game!
Pink spiderman and mutated batman. When are we going to get those two in the same movie....
@Betagam7. Sort of. From what I can gather Nintendo has a specification for what virtual console games should be but the specifications seem to have been misinterpreted somewhat. For instance, Hudson put a blurry filter on the TG16 games because the specifications require the game to output at a certain resolution (they interpreted to require that). I'm guessing the reason for 50Hz gimped games is the specifications saying something about it having to behave like the original hardware would for that region. I'm guessing SEGA interpreted this to mean imported games also had to run at 50Hz (most early Mega Drive games didn't bother with region locking though you had to cut the plastic from the cartridge for it to fit and when inserted into a PAL console they would run in 50Hz).
Sadly, talking to anyone about this is a brick wall. Nintendo don't want to know you because they don't see the problem and the policy SEGA have is we don't deal with virtual console talk to Nintendo.
@BassXO: I thought a pink version of Spiderman exists. Now there is proof! . Still, it's a good game whether it's changed or not. Although seeing the Terminator in Shinobi would've beren great!
@marktheshark: Let me guess. Because Marvel doesn't care about the Virtual Console and wants it to see it die ASAP. It's not like we'll see any of them anytime soon.
"It’s a proud person who still owns the original Mega Drive cart which features boss characters such as The Hulk, The Terminator, Spider-Man, Batman and even Godzilla!"
I guess he means me, lol!
Pink. Right.
What in the world were they thinking?
Its better than flesh colored.
Now that would be disturbing.
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