Shinobi for PlayStation 2

First off, I've always been a fan of Shinobi from the beginning at the arcade all the way to this point. So...I'm somewhat biased. To begin this "dissertation" of the game we are focused not on the character ninja himself but rather a sword called, "Akujiki" which in Japanese literally means, "Evil Eat". In the very beginning of the game, akujiki starts off as a simple sword that serves as nothing more than a fighting tool. After the first two stages, the sword wakes up and begins to hunger for souls. Now is where things can get a little more difficult.

Depending on how you look at it, Akujiki can be either a friend or foe. Let us for the sake of the game consider him a friend. Each time you kill an enemy in close succession of a slice, Akujiki gets stronger. However, if you stop for a moment and I mean more than two seconds...akujiki gets the munchies and goes back to its weak state. However, kill 4 or more, and Akujiki changes colors to reveal a powerful sword that slices and dices like you wouldn't imagine. Fill up your slash gauge; hold down on the attack button for a few seconds and watch Hotsuma or his older brother Moritsune perform a really impressive feat. Pretty cool! Sometimes, the more enemies the better and other times, the fewer the enemies the easier.

Well, that was the "KIND" review. What good would a nice review be without both sides, right? Absolutely.

As I said earlier, the game can be fun (The first four stages, that is). After that point, the game goes from easy fun to a nearly impossible struggle! If you can get pass stage 4a (That's the one with Hamora in the burning city); completion of every stage beyond this point is an impossible feat. For example, the very next stage is an underground cave consisting of lava, fire breathing butterflies, tanks, resurrected members of your Oboro Clan and an End Boss who is hard to target, somewhat hard to hit (especially when you need to with Akujiki powered up its most powerful state) and sometimes hard to see. There are Ninja Magic scattered thoughout the stage but in some cases...IT'S NOT ENOUGH.

Beyond this, the stages get extremely hard and I do mean HARD! There are levels that require you to hop from wall to wall and from platform/roofs to platform/roofs as your enemies float in midair blasting you endlessly. In the mean time, you're trying to keep your composure, fight off enemies, advance through the stage w/o getting killed and all the while trying to abate Akujiki's hunger issues. To make matters worst, you only have a finite amount of shirikens (daggers) that ONLY stun but can kill weaker enemies if used excessively.

The final level is almost impossible to beat (I don't care how good you are at this game). I did beat this level but it took me almost two months to do so and even then I had to use the game shark. The stages are long (sometimes 15 minutes in length to complete) and if you die anywhere before the boss level, you go right back to the beginning. The camera controls are just plain irritating! At some points, you almost have to keep your index finger on the L1 button so as to keep the controls consistent. However, if you're slashing and dashing randomly as it usually is the case for beginners; it's very very very VERY easy to become disoriented as to where and what direction you need to be heading (especially in stage 4a where every inch of that burning city looks the same). If you go the wrong direction, you have to turn around only to realize that Akujiki is starting to get the munchies and there are no enemies around to kill. Akujiki does have a special move that takes nearly a full slash gauge. However, you have to power it up (which means you can't move, can't slash, can't throw daggers, can't do anything for a few seconds) all the while enemies are jabbing, biting, poking and attacking you. So how do you pull them off? You don't. It's not worth it especially in sticky situations. Your enemies can block but you can't. The whole midair attacks are great if you can pull them off. If there are four enemies in the air and the only way to kill them is to dash and slash from enemy to enemy, you better have pretty good coordination with your controls because one mistake and you fall to your death.

The graphics are alright. The controls are somewhat smooth but the camera angles are hard to work with. Overall, the game play can be frustrating. If you have lots of time and patience, you might find it rather interesting to play. The unlockable characters in the game such as Moritsume and Joe Musashi are great and they do add an element of fun. I especially love playing as Moritsume. He IS fast and powerful and beating the stages with him is easier than with Hotsuma. Joe Musashi is awesome too but throwing endless daggers gets old after a while.

I like the game but I also like 80's music too (so that should give you a hint as to what kind of person I am). If you like fun games that won't contribute to a migraine or frustration, I suggest you get Ninja Gaiden or Tenchu. If you want an impossible challenge, I recommend this one. Sega was great in the 80's and parts of the early 90's but let's face it, their reign is over. Even Nightshade (aka Kunoichi) isn't that great. 88 stages? Who in the world has that kind of time on their hands?

Shinobi is fun but way too hard.