Shinobi
Ninjas were everywhere in the eighties, and Sega with its arcade Shinobi was among those helping to kick off that wave. The 8-bit version for the Master System from 1988 brings the arcade action into the living room — and it does so its own way: it's simpler in some respects, but all the tougher and more uncompromising in others.
The content is purely genre-based and instantly understandable. You fight your way through levels as a ninja, slashing and shooting enemies and gradually freeing captured hostages scattered across the individual sections. The boss fights at the end of the levels test your reflexes and your memorization of patterns, and the overall difficulty is honestly old-school — the game gives nothing away for free and expects you to learn by trial and error.
Stylistically Shinobi keeps its face: readable graphics, a recognizable ninja silhouette and an atmosphere that breathes the period's martial-arts action movies. On 8-bit hardware it's a decently handled conversion that preserves the mood of the original, even if it had to scale back the sweep of the arcade cabinet.
For fans of the genre it's a solid, playable action title that admittedly won't surpass the series' later and more accomplished sequels on more powerful hardware, but as an 8-bit ninja classic it holds its own. It's a title that wants you to master it — and the reward is that good old feeling that you've honestly hacked your way through the merciless levels by your own skill.
Why play: Stylish, honestly tough 8-bit ninja action with hostage rescue — for lovers of the genre a reliable classic that doesn't skimp on challenge.
Game 11 of 67 for SEGA Master System
The same title elsewhere (1)
The 8-bit Shinobi on the Master System from 1988 brings the arcade ninja action home, simplifying it in some respects while charting its own course in level design elsewhere. Two years later, the port arrived on the handheld Game Gear, keeping the same gameplay and colors, but its smaller screen shows a shorter stretch ahead of the hero — ninja duels and shurikens come at you faster, making the game more demanding on reflexes. The Master System's wider view, by contrast, allows for a calmer, more tactical approach. The two versions sound similar. For a more comfortable pace, choose the Master System; for gaming on the go, pick the Game Gear.
