Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance Brings 2D Ninja Action To Nintendo Switch This August

YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

Very excited for this, especially given who's making it - Lizardcube's really made a name for themselves when it comes to SEGA titles, having developed the excellent Wonder Boy III remake and Streets of Rage 4. This looks to be more of the things I loved about those two - a rock-solid update to the original gameplay paired with exceptional and striking 2D art direction. Can't wait to play it.

_{also SEGA stop with the Digital Deluxe nonsense, jeezaloo}

I like the art-style of this game and the gameplay. I hope it runs well on Switch because I MIGHT be tempted to buy the digital deluxe edition. Maybe they will release a demo for this to try out eventually.

We got 3 ninja games this year. And 2 of them are coming to Switch.

Looks great. Really happy Sega brought this IP back.

Oh hell yes, eating good this year with the new ninja gaiden game and this coming up!

Dont like the art style. Why has everything in 2d be Cel-shading these days? And i dont like all the effects shown, when you hit someone, its just to much of everything.

Game looks great and it's nice to have a new Shinobi game for once but this one seem like it's going towards the beat em up route unlike the older Shinobi game where it's just an action platformer. Unlike the older games where enemies will take one or two hits, this one you had to actually button mash, perform combos, and string attacks. Enemies also seem to have their own lifebar as well just like any typical beat em up. Not that I had any problem with this change but turning Shinobi into a beat em up is okay in my book as Ninja Gaiden itself was originally a beat em up too and it got turn into an action platformer which Shinobi originally was.

...I have never managed to actually beat a Shinobi game. I got decently far in Shinobi III in the Mega Drive Classics collection (PS4 version cause Switch version has too much input lag) but I don't think I managed to make it to the end before I had to stop playing.

This game looks cool though. Not a priority for me personally, I don't have much attachment to the Shinobi brand, but I'm pleased to see Sega is continuing to release followups to their legacy series. Would love to see a new Comix Zone, Ristar, Phantasy Star (classic Algol series, not online), Fantasy Zone, and other classic Sega series get a new chance to shine one of these days, so hopefully Sega continues the trend.

SEGA pouring gasoline on me and lighting my soul on fire. I'm going to need to jump into an ocean to deal with this excitement.

Looks alright, but doesn't look very Shinobi--ish if that makes any sense lol
Looks like that recent Prince of persia game combat wise mixed with a 2D Okami's visuals.

Looks like a cel-shaded "The Messenger". By the way, if you have not played The Messenger, HIGHLY recommend. I'm usually not into these style game, but it had me hooked from day 1.

People who love feudal ninjas are eating good this year.

Unless it's AssCreed

I'm more of a akihabara kinda guy though so gimme Kuda Izuna any day

Animation looks great. However, the life bars over the enemies concerns me. Maybe I’m just misremembering but Shinobi was not a combo focused brawler, was it? Most enemies should die in one or two hits I think…

Well, anyway it could still turn out great. I won’t judge it too early.

@MSaturn It seems like they're taking from the PS2 Shinobi - a DMC-esque hack-n-slash game - in terms of combat, but I don't think that's a bad idea.

The good news is the Power Surge games AREN'T exclusive to some Sega streaming thing like /v/ was saying.

Plus, at $30, it's GOTTA have a physical... right? (I feel like Josh Fairhurst is going to break like an Ace Attorney villain)

Yes please! Physical when?

Another SEGAxLRG edition seems like

Both Shinobi and Sonic Racing look very good. With Sonic Generations, the Yakuza Pirate game and Project Century (which looks superb), Sega seem to be levelling up. If the new Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi turn out well, I might even say "SEGA are BACK".

Been a good week for retro reveals with seeing a proper demonstration of this game along with Neon Inferno. Looks very good to me and I think the art style fits pretty well. I love beat-em-ups so if they incorporate combos into the gameplay as it looks like they have, I'll probably like it. The Shinobi series has always added things with each game, so that would be in line with the series as well.

THIS!!!
My most anticipated game of the year so far
(Even more so than Metroid or silksong)

Awesome! I might have to play some classic Shinobi games while i wait. Anyone know which current platforms might have the original arcade game or Shadow Dancer? I think Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi 3 might be on Nintendo online but I'm not sure.

Also if any of you remember there was a pretty sweet Shinobi game on 3DS but i don't think it was real popular. Shame too cause it's actually really good. Sort of a hidden gem.

one of a few highlights during the presentation for me. cannot wait.

Absolute banger! Can't wait.

@MSaturn agreed. I love that they're bringing back the IP but it looks more like a hack n slash combo focussed game than the classic action platformer's of the 90's. I'll wait with cautious optimism. And play Shinobi 3.

@N00BiSH I see. I played that game too; I remember it was pretty good. Thanks for the clarification.

@snichelsticks I'm with you! Shinobi 3 is one of the top 10 action side scrollers of all time.

@MSaturn heck yeah! i unfortunately have yet to get very far, but it looks and plays incredible. i've played both shadow dancer and revenge too. shadow dancers my favorite so far but 3's certainly going to take that spot

@Truegamer79 I remember that one - though I haven't played it in ages. From what I can recall, it was pretty fun, if a bit difficult.

I think my dad used to play shinobi back in the day so I would probably like to try this.
@Samalik NinNin!

My (ninja) body is ready. Let's go!

Because Shinobi 3 is my favorite and what I consider the best in the series, I hope this plays like an enhanced version of 3. There is clear progression from 1 > 2 > 3 and I hope that continues onto this one. Take everything from the previous games (3 especially) and expand upon it.

Looks amazing, Day 1

Maybe this is unpopular but I would have loved a shinobi X/ legions look from the Saturn way more just to stick out from the crowd.

This looks heckin' awesome!!!!!! My only concern is that I have not played any Shinobi games aside from the PS2 entry. I'd heard that the 2D ones were super hard. I dunno if I'm up for that kind of challenge in 2025. But for now, I'll put this game in the "very interested" column.

This is awesome! I've recently played Shinobi for the Game Gear and it was awesome. Already have the second game lined up to play late this year, but I'll have to bring it forward with this arriving in August!

Great to have Shinobi back, but it has to be said... it never should have gone away and SEGA still have a lot of work to do to restore any good faith with me!

Beat both the GG Shinobis multiple, multiple times back in the day, and remember dying in about 30 seconds whenever I played the arcade game when I was a kid. Don’t really remember puzzles featuring as part of the series. Or health bars on enemies. To me this looks more like a totally different game series wearing a Shinobi mask.

Still looks cool, though. And I like Lizardcube. So I’m interested regardless.

This looks really good. Loved Shinobi 3 on the 3DS so I'm definitely interested.

This reminds me a lot of the 3DS Shinobi, will for sure be adding this to my wish list!

Great to see Shinobi back, gameplay looks crisp, personally I could do without the hand drawn style though.

Looks good! It's giving me that Shinobi from 3DS vibes. Can't wait to check this one out, it looks fab!

Wow! It looks great!

This and Ninja Gaiden Ragebound (I can't tell which one looks better) will be day 1 for sure.

PS: I just realized both are coming put in Summer lol.

This looks amazing! Really glad to see Lizardcube bring their signature art style again!

Ninjas are falling from the sky! Wow I’m loving everything about this. Good call on dusting this one off. The Shinobis are some of segas very best and they couldn’t have gotten a better team on this. Streets of rage 4 has to be my favorite beatem up in years. I’d love a coop comic zone game from these guys.

@MSaturn Shinobi 3D also featured a combo system. Although enemies could usually be killed in about 1-3 hits, you can optionally land extra hits to increase your score.

I agree with your sentiment about the life bars though. Shinobi III, in particular, had such a smooth gameplay flow by being able to effortlessly kill a string of opponents in seconds. As much as I liked 3D, it lacked the same kind of fast-paced action that made Shinobi III so great.

While I bet LizardCube's entry will still be fun, I am a little worried that it's going to stray too much from the formula of the classic 2D games.

@Tryffel me, on the other hand, miss the early 2000s when half the new releases were cell shaded lol

Not quite the game I was expecting from the Shinobi IP, but I like Lizardcube's track record so far. The trailer shows me that Lizardcube is paying attention to the small details that make a game work well. It's why SoR4 felt so great and why I still play it off-and-on at random times. It just feels like a great game. Not sure if I'll pre-order this, but the bonuses might tempt me. Seems people are a little split on the art style, and I'm a bit torn but the animation looks fluid and it looks like it might suite the tone of the game. Won't know until we get more of a gameplay trailer.

Can’t wait, I love quite a few Shinobi games, been missing it since that 3DS release all those years ago!

Looks great. I have high hopes for this one.

Really wish Streets of rage 5/new game was being made by this studio again but really thrilled to see me boi Shinobi back!

Holy moly!!!!
This scratches every itch. Day one!

Shinobi and VF are my iconic SEGA franchises. I NEED this to be good. Also can someone port the Saturn and 3ds games?

@Serpenterror if it clears things up for ya, all sources are pointing to this game being a metroidvania like symphony of the night, so the amounts of hits and combos enemies need are likely just due to it being early on in the game!

Day one for realsies 😁

Loved SOR4. Will definitely keep my eye on this.

Streets of Rage 4 is one of my favorite games of this/last generation. Big fan of the originals but this one blew my expectations out of the water! So stoked Lizardcube is taking this one on as well. Best news.

Looks great! That's the way to do a trailer. I'll be getting this physically. Unfortunately, the digital version seems to get a bunch of goodies included. Hopefully, the physical version will have something similar.

@Daggot It was a quiet night at work last night, so I threw on SoR4 "for a minute." Maaaaaaaan I forgot how good that survival mode is. It's nuts.

@Ryu_Niiyama I'm glad to see love for the Saturn game. That game is ludicrous but I love it.

This looks great.

The way they are going about the season pass means I won’t pay full price for it. Maybe I will get it when the whole thing drops to £20 or so. (I might have bought it at full price if there was none of the nonsensical situation of expecting people to pay for something in advance then not receive it for 6 months).

@LikelySatan Exactly. I still throw on survival randomly just to enjoy the combat. So good.