Sega Ages: Shinobi
» System: Switch » Buy it from: Online » Buy it for: £5.99
We’ve been constantly impressed with
M2’s emulation work on the Sega Ages series and its latest pair of titles (Shinobi and Fantasy Zone) are excellent. In case you’re unaware of Sega’s classic, Shinobi casts you as Joe Musashi, a deadly ninja who has been tasked with bringing down the criminal ‘Zeed’ organisation. Armed with an unlimited supply of throwing stars and the ability to unleash a devastating magic attack during each stage, Joe must fight his way through hordes of enemies, rescuing kids as he goes. In addition to his weapons, Joe also has access to a handy super jump which lets him leap between floors, meaning it’s far easier to avoid enemy fire. While it’s a relatively dormant franchise (the last new game was released in 2011) the original game remains incredibly popular amongst fans and it’s been given some quality care from the tech wizards at M2.
As you’d expect, the attention to detail just from an options point of view is staggering, and it greatly eclipses the efforts of Zerodiv’s shooter collection that we’ve reviewed this month. There are numerous display options, you can switch between the international and Japanese versions of the game, choose the option to select stages, alter the speed of enemies projectiles and even emulate an old arcade screen. The emulation appears faultless, but it’s the new Ages Mode that will appeal to most players. Shinobi has always been a tough game so M2 has allowed Joe to take an additional hit before he dies. In this mode he starts off with a white suit, which turns red upon taking a hit. To make things even easier you can now rewind time by pressing the ZL or ZR buttons during play (this works in both Ages mode and Arcade mode). You don’t have to use this if you don’t want to, but it certainly makes those pesky bonus stages a lot easier to complete.
Add in an amusing credits sequence and Shinobi is another quality addition to M2’s new Switch range. It’s not quite the jaw-dropper that Virtua Racing is, but it is the best way you can experience the game short of buying an original arcade board.
>> Score 86%