Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi

PlatformHack and slash/Beat 'em up

Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, also known simply as Shadow Dancer, is a side-scrolling action game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis in 1990. It is the second game in the Shinobi series released for the Mega Drive, following The Revenge of Shinobi. However, it is not a continuation of the previous game, but rather a loose adaptation of the 1989 arcade game Shadow Dancer. Like in the original arcade game, the player controls a ninja followed by a canine companion. The Secret of Shinobi was well received by critics.

The play mechanics are similar to the arcade version of Shadow Dancer, with the main difference being the addition of a meter for the dog that accompanies the protagonist. In order for the dog to attack an enemy, the player must hold down the attack button until the meter is filled. The dog will only attack when he is barking towards a nearby enemy. This allows the player to sic the dog on an enemy while standing and jumping, allowing for more versatility than in the arcade game (where the dog only attacked while the player was crouching). The objective of each stage is also slightly changed from retrieving time bombs to rescuing hostages, much like in the original Shinobi.

In 1997, an evil ninja cult, Union Lizard, worshipping a giant reptilian demon, had taken over New York City, turning most of the city to ruins. The few citizens who survived Union Lizard's onslaught of chaos are now kept prisoners by its members. A ninja warrior, accompanied by his faithful dog Yamato, emerges from hiding to combat Union Lizard's reign and rescue the hostages. The identity of the protagonist, which is kept ambiguous in the in-game opening, varies between supplemental materials. The Japanese manual identifies him as Hayate, son of Joe Musashi from the previous games in the Shinobi series, while the English language manual identifies him as Joe Musashi himself coming out of retirement.

Shadow Dancer was released by Sega for the Sega Genesis in 1990 in Japan and North America, and in Europe in 1991. It was re-released via emulation services such as the Wii's Virtual Console and Microsoft Windows in 2010, and was also included in the North American version of Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and a further re-release came with Sega Genesis Classics (released as Sega Mega Drive Classics in PAL regions) eight years later for Windows, Linux, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi was very well received. Video Games & Computer Entertainment awarded this "brilliant and beautiful arcade monster" an overall score of 33 out of 40. ACE gave it a score of 778/1000 and Hobby Consolas gave it a 90%.