Regarding modern augmentations, SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound — released not even a month apart — have a lot of overlap. Yet, after 45 minutes of play, I was convinced that Art of Vengeance is one of the finest 2D Ninja action games ever made. Perhaps the finest; and such praise doesn’t come lightly.
After Ragebound’s dazzle, I was unsure if Shinobi could top it; yet it has. Visually beautiful, broadly artistic, and almost calligraphic in nature, the styling is well-married to its Japanese thematic. Natural elements of wood, cloth, and stone fuse with heavy machinery, concrete and military steel, the rural areas reflecting the painted landscapes of Hokusai and Taikan.
Lizardcube’s artists use a softening filter for a brush-like, watercolour flavour, and the grading is exceptional, bringing a picture book of panoramas to life without ever drowning out the foreground sprites. The hazy glow of orange-lantern-lit cities, thundering cornfields, and dense, raining cityscapes are majestic to behold, the camera often drawing out to allow a particular diorama to marinate. Where Streets of Rage 4’s multimedia clash was jarring in places, Art of Vengeance nails its aesthetic with pure, curved grace. That said, on Switch 2, the game’s resolution isn’t properly optimised, resulting in jaggy upscaling. Something to consider if that’s your primary console.
The score is provided by the eminent Tee Lopes (Sonic Mania), and a smattering of additions by the legendary Yuzo Koshiro. It’s a fitting, occasionally haunting arrangement of traditional Japanese instruments, layered with rhythms to complement the pace of the action. As locales get more industrial, the tempo becomes increasingly dance-oriented.
Joe Musashi, the returning hero, cuts a fine form. Voiceless, and amusingly grunting his way through cutscene exchanges, he moves with fox-like agility and strikes with a rubber band snap. The animation flows with impeccable detail, from that slight spring of the heels to the graceful arc of a backwards evasion.
Joe’s a blast to control; sprinting by default, and double-jumping and air-dashing freely. His invulnerable roll is cat-like, passing through dangers to position him for the kill. He can fire off Kunai for ranged attacks, drop kick onto the heads of enemies, and wields light and hard sword strikes that combo with the greatest of ease. Ninja action has literally never looked — or felt — this good.
Yet, what really separates Art of Vengeance from the aforementioned Ragebound — despite sharing so many of the same ideas — is its combat implementation. Shinobi doesn’t just give you a nice set of attacks and dodges: it gets deep. The technical opportunities here are so unflappably cool, so tightly engineered, and so seamlessly applied that each new mix-up routine leaves you with a foolish grin.
Unlike past Shinobi games, enemies now have life bars, tying into its new combat approach. Not dissimilar to a fighting game in its core mechanics, Joe is constantly granted new attacks and attack alternatives to try in the field. What it’s careful not to do, however, is blunt ambitions or alienate players with overbearing complexity. You don’t have to employ every trick to get through the game, as basic light and hard attack tandems, the odd Kunai, and whatever super attacks you have at your disposal will serve you well enough. You’re so tooled up by four stages in that the swordplay writes itself most of the time, leaving you to focus on your dodging, the game’s most essential move.
At the same time, if you want to get surgical, it’s ninja heaven. The impressive animation doesn’t interfere, as most of everything is cancellable into the next attack. To get an idea of the game’s motion, you can dash forward, tap ‘R’ to hop over a box without losing pace, before rolling through an incoming Shuriken. From there you light attack twice, tap ‘R’ to leap through the enemy, and slap the button again to whirlwind into them, layering the combo meter. Direct Joe to land back centrally, employ two heavy swipes and then leap for a one-two juggle, before shooting three Kunai through the opponent while they’re still airborne. By this point the Execution Gauge is full, and slamming both shoulder buttons will send Joe ripping through them anywhere on the screen, releasing a bounty of health icons and gold.
If that sounds sublime, it’s because it darn well is. The devs have also implemented a hard-hitting use of slowdown, providing feedback when a critical hit has landed, or when you’ve taken a blow. And the full-screen super attacks, rumbling in with a falling bass line, are a sight to behold. The game also allows you to return to your training dojo from the World Map screen at any time, where you can hone new techniques and acquired skills.
There are some absolutes, however, that can’t be ignored. For example, the charge fist, acquired early on, is required to punch through shielded enemies and inaccessible green barricades. The bosses, too, an impressive assortment of demons, machines, and guardians, are pattern-based and won’t submit to spamming. These encounters are thrilling once you get them down, compelling you to exploit your dashes, dodges, and supers in experimental ways. Art of Vengeance can be challenging, and although not quite on the level of some of Ragebound’s encounters, you are expected to be nimble, especially when navigating moving platforms or threading yourself through deadly obstacles.
Those concerned that the game was another Metroidvania can breathe easy, as it’s a largely linear affair. From the World Map screen you can see percentages of completion, and backtracking is optional. There are five hidden orbs on each stage, and three areas where you can enter “Elite Squad” skirmishes: single-screen crowd battles to test the reflexes. Hidden orbs open up new skill options in the shops that, once purchased, can be applied through your gear menu. Here, you can customise Joe with your preferred attacks, upgrade Kunai to perform different functions, and even refashion the way the combo meter rewards you. It will be interesting to see how skilled players go down different routes with this.
Every checkpoint refills your life and doubles as a new teleportation spot. This means you can return to a stage — and, within that stage, a specific point — at any time. The most Metroid thing about it is that there are certain barricades that can’t be broken until you have a particular skill – but returning to them is neither obfuscated nor tedious, and in many cases either reap a quick reward or help you get closer to 100%. The primary impetus to do this is if you want to upgrade Joe faster, extending his health and super stocks. It’s worth noting that even if you play it in a straight line, it’s a lengthy campaign that will require around 10 hours to finish.
Stage layouts are broad but focused, with width for exploration. They run horizontally and vertically, are full of switches to trigger, and are inventively formed, with things to hang on, walls to run up, and air-dash extending portals to keep you in-flight. As per-Shinobi games of the past, Joe moves through the mountains and into more industrial territory, from factory smelting works to neon-draped cities full of fan-service Sega signage.
The action offers variety, too, whether racing on the back of a Yamato, Joe’s faithful Shadow Dancer canine, or outrunning encroaching walls of flame. There are a few places where you’re unsure if going down leads to a death or a new area, and it can occasionally be unclear where to go next – but this is what the map is for, ultimately. Perhaps there could have been more arcade-like variety in places, like the mountain factory’s awesome saw blade chicane, but the maps are well-engineered to exercise Joe’s skillset. Series fans will also note many a callback to the series’ Mega Drive entries, with a fair lump sum plucked from Shinobi III.
In terms of scoring, if it performed well, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a straight nine. It’s glorious. And that makes its frame rate issues all the more painful. Where Ragebound’s frame rate on Switch was its primary negative, Shinobi is buttery smooth for the most part. But, in certain spots where the camera scales out against busier backgrounds, it seriously suffers.
Initially, these instances are so brief they can be mostly overlooked, but in the Mountain Factory it suddenly becomes prolonged and increasingly severe, causing a jarring, peculiar sprite judder the like I’ve never seen before. We contacted Sega PR to see if this will be addressed in a promised patch, but we’ve had no response.
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