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In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, is the remastering of another game from the past – and this time that game is a properly old one; 33 years old to be exact.
It goes by the name of Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn. As you may have guessed, what Tengo Project and United Games Entertainment have done is remaster the original Shadow of the Ninja, which was widely acclaimed as one of the best action adventure games on the NES.
So, I guess the question I need to answer in this review is whether a game from so long ago can still cut the mustard, or should we have left it in the past? Well, grab your shuriken, we’re going in!
We’ll start with the way that the game is presented, and here the news is very good. The port to the current generation has been carried out very well. This is still a side scrolling action platformer, but the graphics now are nice and rounded, with a shiny HD gloss over everything. The design of our two heroes, Lord Hayate, a ninja, and Lady Kaede, a kunoichi or female ninja is great and both have had a bit of a makeover from the original game, looking and moving very well. The animation of all the characters on screen is very good indeed.
The levels we work through are quite large too, whilst the world is very detailed, with multiple paths through them, each complete with various dangers to contend with. And the sound of the game is also worthy of praise, especially the actual gameplay sounds – the “Hai” as your character attacks, the plaintive cry as they die, and the rest of the noises being bang on.
The thing that will attract fans of the original game is the return of the original composer, Iku Mizutani, who was famous for creating the Natsume sound (the original developers of the original game). He has returned to bring his musical touch to Reborn with fast paced retro melodies which fit in with the new gameplay perfectly.
The story of the game hasn’t changed in the intervening years. It is the year 2029, and for a change, it is a vicious, dystopian future. We are sent to go and assassinate a dictator in a futuristic New York City, and of course, we can’t just ring his doorbell. We have to fight our way through six stages to reach him, with the levels getting increasingly tricky and harder to survive. Are you up to the challenge?
Well, you better be as Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn comes from a time when gamers were tough and games were tougher! Forget your multiple lives and continues here – if you die, that is game over, and given how absolutely jam packed with challenges and enemies the game is, you will die a lot. There is an achievement for completing the game, in hero mode, without using a continue, and I cannot see myself ever troubling that particular leaderboard!
The levels are designed in such a way that you have to use all the skill of a ninja to make your way through them, all before worrying about fighting – and the challenge is real.
The way that the ninjas move is great, with jumps, ceiling hangs and dodges all in the arsenal, as well as various attacks. There are two main attack methods in fact, and you start each level with a katana, the classical Japanese sword that has short range but delivers good damage up close and personal. As you explore and break various crates, you can find various things to help you, including a personal favourite in the form of a kind of glowing “thing” (I have no idea what it is supposed to be, sorry) that when you pick it up, allows you to fire beams of energy every time you swing the sword. Defeating enemies from further away is a great idea, trust me.
One of the main features of the original game that is recreated in Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is the two player mode, with one person controlling each of the protagonists. Luckily, there isn’t any noticeable difference between Hayate and Kaede, so largely it doesn’t matter which character you use. Sitting with my son partaking in some couch co-op has been a great experience, and I have to say, he has enjoyed it as much as I have. It’s good to see that gameplay is still king in this house at least.
All in all, Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn is a remaster done the right way. It takes what was a great game, tweaks the way that it looks and drags it kicking and screaming into the modern era, refusing to ever allow the resulting game to be a pushover like so many do. The challenge is real here, maybe too real for some, but the feeling you get as you move closer to your goal will be seen as a gaming high.
Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn – A Classic Reforged – https://www.thexboxhub.com/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn-a-classic-reforged/
Buy Shadow of the Ninja – Reborn on the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/shadow-of-the-ninja-reborn/9mv0x2m6bl5k