Shinobi
1987 · Action · Arcade
Overview
Shinobi (1987) is Sega's ninja action game: Joe Musashi rescues kidnapped children from the Zeed organisation with shuriken, blades and ninja magic.
Deep Dive
Joe Musashi must rescue the children of his clan held hostage by the Zeed organisation, across five missions. He fights with throwing stars and close-range sword and kicks, moving between the upper and lower levels of each scene, and each stage requires freeing every hostage. A once-per-stage ninja magic attack clears the screen. Between missions a first-person bonus round challenges players to hit leaping ninjas with shuriken. It became one of Sega's major arcade series.
Developer Story
Shinobi was developed by Sega and released in arcades in 1987. It became the foundation of Sega's ninja action franchise that produced entries through the 2000s.
Did You Know?
- Shinobi spawned one of Sega's longest-running franchises, with console exclusives including The Revenge of Shinobi on Genesis widely regarded as the finest game in the series.
- The arcade version's hostage rescue mechanic was simplified or removed in most console ports, changing the game's reward structure significantly.
Sources & further reading
- Shinobi (1987 video game) — Wikipedia
