A long-dormant franchise often faces the challenge of either appealing to existing fans or trying to capture a new audience. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance masterfully walks the revival tightrope of creating an experience that appeals to fans old and new, delivering a precision-driven action/platformer that deserves to be mentioned among the best of the last several years.
Lord Ruse, a steel-willed menace who heads the militaristic organization ENE Corp, has obtained a legendary artifact that grants him the power to achieve his goal of world domination. After Ruse invades the Oboro Clan’s village, Joe Musashi embarks on a globe-trotting quest for vengeance. Thanks to tight platforming, an impressive combo-driven combat system, and a customizable suite of abilities, Musashi controls like a dream from the moment you pick up the controller. Every victory felt like a personal triumph, and every defeat – of which there were several – was a personal failing I could adapt from.
For this first Shinobi game since 2011, Sega worked with developer Lizardcube, the studio behind prior revivals of Streets of Rage and Wonder Boy. That decision paid off, as Lizardcube’s incredible art style makes for one of the most beautiful games of the year. Detailed, painterly environments serve as gorgeous backdrops to the superb action and exploration.
As the series’ signature ninja, you travel from the quiet village of the Oboro Clan to various biomes, both grounded and fantastical. From storming a castle and freeing hostages in a neon-drenched city to raiding a secret scientific lab and fighting through a haunted desert (plus other locations so outlandish I don’t want to spoil them), you have ample opportunities to enjoy the full range of Lizardcube’s beautiful art, and with it, appropriately over-the-top enemies to slice through.
Though the eye-catching visuals are the first thing you notice, the fluid combat is what will carry you through the hundreds of encounters. You can customize your build however you’d like, with four Ninpos and two build-modifying amulets equippable at a time. I loved dealing heavy and kunai damage to the soldiers, ninjas, and supernatural beasts that awaited me, which fills their execution gauge and allows me to land a finishing move.
When things got too hairy, I could rely on my Ninpo attacks, like one that sets enemies ablaze or another that summons a snake to deal enormous damage. When things really went sideways, I changed the tides of fate with Ninjutsu arts, which either deal damage to all enemies or heal Musashi. And you’ll need to leverage all moves at your fingertips, as the game’s 15-hour campaign offers creative and challenging combat scenarios that only intensify when you reach the pulse-pounding boss of each stage.
When you’re not in combat, the rewarding exploration and precision platforming prevent the adrenaline from dropping out, thanks in large part to Musashi’s range of smooth-controlling traversal abilities. Though the stages are self-contained and largely linear, most borrow from Metroidvania conventions in that their branching maps constantly expand as you explore, and nearly every alternate path leads to a valuable collectible or upgrade. Some optional paths grant relics that expand the shop, while others offer some of the most difficult sequences in the game in pursuit of a new weapon for Musashi.
Though I only obtained 100-percent completion on a few stages during my first playthrough, I’m excited to return to these sprawling levels with my expanded ability suite to grab more rewards and complete more scenarios. I appreciate how massive and well-designed the stages are, flawlessly hinting at where you should go next. However, they’re so long that they sometimes overstay their welcome, which eliminates the urge I often feel with quicker-hit action games of “just one more level.” Still, any gripes I have about Art of Vengeance are relatively minor in the grand scheme of this excellent experience.
Each time I sat down to play, I met each obstacle with an eagerness to see what it would throw at me next, and I was rarely disappointed. This is Lizardcube’s finest work to date, and it further excites me for the rest of the dormant-franchise revivals Sega has planned. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance should serve as a blueprint for delivering a retro-facing experience of an absentee franchise while still leveraging modern technology and game design conventions.