Shinobi Legions

n/a

NTSC-U NTSC-J PAL
Shinobi Legions
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Sega (Japan, Europe), VIC Tokai (US)
Developer: Sega, Tose
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (2 tracks)
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1995-06-30 ¥4,8004,800 GS-9010 US 1995-09-21 T-2301H EU 1995 MK81082-50 DE 1995 MK81082-50 PT 199x UK 1995-10-06 £49.9949.99 MK81082-50 PL 1996 199zł199 AU 199x FSHI06SSC BR 199x 192136

Shinobi Legions, known as Shinobi X in Europe and Shin Shinobi Den (新・忍伝) in Japan, is a video game in the Shinobi series, originally released for the Sega Saturn in 1995. During development the game was known as Shinobi EX.

The game uses digitized graphics for its character sprites and makes heavy use of live-action cutscenes, which have been criticised for the quality of their costumes and acting.

Programming errors mean that Shinobi Legions cannot be played if two controllers are connected to the console.

Story

Years of civil war have brought the ninjutsu code and its warriors to the brink of extinction. A ninjutsu master selects three children to carry on the ninja traditions for the next generation: two brothers, Kazuma and Sho, and his own daughter Aya. He begins to train them.

Fifteen years pass. The oldest boy, Kazuma, begins to reject all the ninjutsu teachings, save for the technique of strength. Obsessed with power, Kazuma demands that the master teach him the ultimate technique. The master refuses, and Kazuma vows to return one day and take revenge. Sho and Aya continue their studies and master the ninjutsu teachings.

Kazuma returns with an army and the resources to build a fortress. Although the old master has died, his pupils contain the secrets of the ultimate technique. Kazuma sets up a trap to lure Sho into his hideout, and kidnaps Aya to use her as a bait.

Gameplay

Sho

Shinobi Legions is a side-scrolling action game that plays similarly to its Mega Drive predecessors, Revenge of Shinobi and Shinobi III. The game is played as the ninja Sho. Sho can be moved with or and can crouch with . He can move while crouching with and . He can run with or . He can jump with and somersault by pressing again at the peak of a jump. Somersaulting increases his jump height. Running while somersaulting increases the distance of his jump. Sho can jump off a platform by pressing +. He can hang off tree branches and other lines by pressing after jumping and jump off by pressing + or +. He can also jump off walls by holding toward the direction of the wall and pressing . He can do a roll by pressing in a motion (or if facing left).

Sho can attack enemies in melee range using his katana by pressing . His katana can also repel enemy shurikens if timed correctly (which can sometimes kill the enemy that threw it). He can slash upward with + and sweep the sword upward with + (or + if facing left). He can dash toward an enemy with his sword, granting him a short period of invulnerability, by pressing + (or + if facing left). Sho can use his katana while crouching or jumping. He can drop from the air while stabbing by pressing + while in the air. He can do a spinning slash by pressing while somersaulting. He can thrust by pressing when coming out of a roll. He can also execute combo moves while standing by pressing (forward slash followed by upward slash) or (forward slash, upward slash, then a sweep attack) or while crouching by pressing (forward slash followed by an upward slash).

Sho can also throw shurikens with . Shurikens are ranged and can hit enemies from across the screen but are finite. There is a greater emphasis on using the katana than the shurikens since the latter is considerably more limited than in preceding games. Sho can throw shurikens while crouching or jumping. He can throw eight shuriken in a semicircle by pressing while somersaulting (to throw them downward) or rolling (to throw them upward).

Sho can guard while standing or crouching, protecting against enemy attacks from the front, by holding or (and also by continuing to hold after he attacks). He can move while guarding. this can be done either stationary or moving, standing or crouching, but not in mid-air. He has a life meter and loses some life whenever he takes damage from an enemy. If Sho loses his entire life meter, he loses a life. If he loses all of his lives, the game ends, but it can be continued as long as the player has continues remaining. The player can choose between three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, and Hard). The player can also choose the number of starting shuriken from the options menu.

Instead of choosing from different ninjutsu techniques, as in the prior Shinobi games, Sho gains temporary ninjutsu abilities by picking up special items scattered across each level. Items are mostly dropped from defeated enemies rather than found in crates. Also found in each level are blue orbs called Soul Balls. Sho gains an extra life whenever the player collects ten of them.

The game awards the player bonuses for completing a stage without using shuriken or without taking any damage. In between each stage, the story is progressed through live-action cinematic sequences. These sequences are in Japanese, with subtitles for the overseas localizations.

Items

Recovery

	Soul Ball
	Collect ten to earn an extra life.
	Small Life
	Partially restores Sho's life meter.
	Large Life
	Fully restores Sho's life meter.
	Small Shuriken
	Increases Sho's shuriken count by one.
	Large Shuriken
	Increases Sho's shuriken count by five.

Ninjutsu

	Bishamon
	Doubles Sho's offensive power. Additionally, a large Bishamon apparition appears each time Sho swings his katana, and enemies that touch it are injured. Sho glows with red energy while he possesses this power. Lasts until the end of the stage or until the player loses a life.
	Thunder Dragon
	Destroys all enemies on the screen by pressing (except bosses, which are damaged). This item can be used once. It is not carried over to the next stage if it is not used.
	Invincibility
	Absorbs six attacks without inflicting damage. Sho is followed by a trail of shadow images while this effect is active.

Trap

	Bomb
	Explodes and harms Sho if he is too close.

Stages

	The Capital
	Mt. Fuji
	Bio-Lab
	Samurai Mansion
	Undersea Cave
	Ivy Mountain
	China Town
	Rocky Mountain
	Missile Transport Road

History

Development

Sega of Europe's producer David Nulty was reportedly unimpressed with the quality of Shinobi Legions and decided to delay the game from seeing a European release so that the entire soundtrack could be replaced. The new soundtrack was produced by Richard Jacques, who aimed for a style closer to that of Yuzo Koshiro, the man behind The Revenge of Shinobi's musical score. For this reason, this version of the game is often seen as superior to its North American and Japanese counterparts. Since the game only credits those who were involved with the live action cutscenes, it is unknown who composed the original soundtrack.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English (US)	Shinobi Legions	Shinobi Legions
Japanese	新・忍伝	Shin Shinobi Den
English (Europe)	Shinobi X	Shinobi X

Production credits

Shin Shinobi Den/Shinobi Legions

Cast

• Sho: Tetsuya Aoki
• Kazuma: Hiromitsu Miyamoto
• Aya: Kumiko Odaka
• Ukyo: Masayuki Ohta
• Sakyo: Narito Shigemi
• Kouryuu: Tatsuo Inada
• Talace: Shinnosuke Yagami
• Nicholi: Kouichi Natsuyama
• Rushudo: Eiichi Takagi
• Swordman: Taketo Nakamura
• Stickmaster: Yoshiki Tsujimoto
• Ninja: Arata Okumiyama
• Martial Artist: Eiichi Takagi

Staff

• Camera: Yasuhiro Kinoshita
• Lighting: Manabu Yasuda
• Recording: Shuuichi Oki
• Video: Eiji Hiroishi
• Artwork: Touei Bijyutu Center
• Stylist: Masako Yamada
• Decorations: Keiichi Tamai
• Propman: Kouzu Shoukai
• Clothing: Tokyo Ishou
• Special Effects: Ryuuichi Ito
• CG: Axe
• Editing: Yasurou Mizukami
• MA: Masaya Ishihara
• Record: Hisayo Shiba
• Assistant Director: Hiroyuki Shimizu, Kouji Yamamoto, Fumie Saito
• Action Coordinator: Yuuta Morokaji
• Business Coordinator: Isao Nagaoka
• Camera Assistant: Toshihiro Gotsubo
• Lighting Assistant: Akio Yamanaka, Harumi Sumiyama, Masatsugu Inoue
• Cooperation: Toei, Japan Action Club, AD Studio
• Director: Nagi Onomichi
• Producer: Hirofumi Nakanishi
• Co-production: Kids Company
• Presented by: Sega Enterprises

Source:

In-game credits

Shinobi X

Cast

• Sho: Tetsuya Aoki
• Kazuma: Hiromitsu Miyamoto
• Aya: Kumiko Odaka
• Ukyo: Masayuki Ohta
• Sakyo: Narito Shigemi
• Kouryuu: Tatsuo Inada
• Talace: Shinnosuke Yagami
• Nicholi: Kouichi Natsuyama
• Rushudo: Eiichi Takagi
• Swordman: Taketo Nakamura
• Stickmaster: Yoshiki Tsujimoto
• Ninja: Arata Okumiyama
• Martial Artist: Eiichi Takagi

Staff

• Camera: Yasuhiro Kinoshita
• Lighting: Manabu Yasuda
• Recording: Shuuichi Oki
• Video: Eiji Hiroishi
• Artwork: Touei Bijyutu Center
• Stylist: Masako Yamada
• Decorations: Keiichi Tamai
• Propman: Kouzu Shoukai
• Clothing: Tokyo Ishou
• Special Effects: Ryuuichi Ito
• CG: Axe
• Editing: Yasurou Mizukami
• MA: Masaya Ishihara
• Record: Hisayo Shiba
• Assistant Director: Hiroyuki Shimizu, Kouji Yamamoto, Fumie Saito
• Action Coordinator: Yuuta Morokaji
• Business Coordinator: Isao Nagaoka
• Camera Assistant: Toshihiro Gotsubo
• Lighting Assistant: Akio Yamanaka, Harumi Sumiyama, Masatsugu Inoue
• Cooperation: Toei, Japan Action Club, AD Studio
• Director: Nagi Onomichi
• Producer: Hirofumi Nakanishi
• Co-production: Kids Company

Sega of Europe Staff

• Music: Richard Jacques
• Producer: David Nulty
• Technical Support: Tokuhiko Uwabo
• Localization Team: Lia Ithell, Simon Bradley, Cara McMullan
• Quality Control: Paul Chapman, Darren Jones, Chris Wesson
• Sega Sound Library by: InVision Interactive
• Presented by: Sega Enterprises

Magazine articles

Main article: Shinobi Legions/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #75: "October 1995" (1995-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Game Players (US) #0811: "Vol. 8 No. 11 November 1995" (1995-1x-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source GamesMaster (UK) 80 №33, p50/51

	80
Based on 1 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score CD Consoles (FR) NTSC 48 Consoles + (FR) NTSC-J 92 Consoles + (FR) 92 Computer & Video Games (UK) NTSC-J 84 Digitiser (UK) 79 Edge (UK) NTSC-J 40 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 80 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 65 Freak (IL) 85 Fusion (US) 50 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 94 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 80 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 90 GamePro (UK) NTSC-J 58 Gamers (DE) PAL 53 Games World: The Magazine (UK) NTSC-J 81 Hobby Consolas (ES) NTSC-J 79 Joypad (FR) NTSC-J 88 Joypad (FR) 91 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 65 Maximum (UK) 25 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J 68 Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-J 85 Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL 84 Next Generation (US) 50 Player One (FR) 89 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 67 Saturn+ (UK) PAL 82 Secret Service (PL) 80 Sega Magazine (UK) PAL 82 Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J 76 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-J 81 Sega Megazone (AU) 85 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 60 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 62 Super Juegos (ES) 88 Todo Sega (ES) 79 Ultimate Future Games (UK) NTSC-J 50 Última Generación (ES) 66 Videogame Advisor (US) NTSC-J 91 Video Games (DE) NTSC-J 82 VideoGames (US) NTSC-U 80

	74
Based on 42 reviews

Shinobi Legions

Saturn, JP
Cover
Spinecard Disc Manual

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Saturn, EU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, DE
Cover
Disc

Saturn, PT

Saturn, AU
Cover
Disc

Saturn, BR
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	497,772,576		CD-ROM (EU)	MK81082-50 V1.000
✔	CRC32 MD5 SHA-1	466,879,056	1995-05-19	CD-ROM (JP)	GS-9010 V1.000

External links

• Sega of Japan catalogue page (Japanese): Saturn