The Revenge of Shinobi

For the Game Boy Advance game, see The Revenge of Shinobi (2002).

n/a

NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J NTSC-U/PAL (02) NTSC-J (02) NTSC-U/PAL (03) NTSC-J (03) NTSC-U/PAL (Virtual Console) NTSC-J (Virtual Console)
The Revenge of Shinobi / The Super Shinobi
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-Tech, PlayStation 3, Virtual Console, Steam, PlayStation Now, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch Online
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (JP, EU) Sega of America (US) Sega Corporation Sega Games Sega Corporation
Developer: Sega R&D 6 M2
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT) Tec Toy (BR) Samsung (KR)
Licensor: Marvel Entertainment Group (1.01, 1.02, 1.03)
Sound driver: SMPS 68000
Genre: Action
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1989-12-02 ¥6,0006,000 G-4019 US 1989-12 $64.9964.99 1105 US (Classic) 1992 $29.9529.95 1105C US (Classic rerelease) 199x 1105C US ▼ (Sega Channel) 1994 SUBsub EU 1990-10 1105 FR 1990 369F369 1105 PT 199x MDJ1105 UK 1990-10 £34.9934.99 1105 SE (Rental) 199x GR 199x CZ 199x AU 199x CA 199x BR 199x KR 1991-11 GM4004JG KR (Rerelease) 19xx GM4064JG UK 199x £? ? JP ▼ 2009-03-10 600pts600 US ▼ 2009-08-17 800pts800 EU ▼ 2009-08-07 800pts800 DE ▼ 2009-08-07 800pts800 AU ▼ 2009-08 800pts800 US ▼ 2012-05-02 $2.992.99 211207 EU ▼ 2012-05-02 €2.492.49 211207 DE ▼ 2012-05-02 €2.492.49 211207 UK ▼ 2012-05-02 £1.991.99 211207 AU ▼ 2012-05-02 $3.493.49 211207 US ▼ 2019-02-01 $0.990.99 211207 EU ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 211207 DE ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 211207 UK ▼ 2019-02-01 £0.790.79 211207 AU ▼ 2019-02-01 $1.351.35 211207 US ▼ 2019-02-01 $0.990.99 211207 EU ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 211207 DE ▼ 2019-02-01 €0.990.99 211207 UK ▼ 2019-02-01 £0.790.79 211207 AU ▼ 2019-02-01 $1.351.35 211207 JP ▼ 2012-05-23 ¥571 (600)571 (600) NPJB-00090 US ▼ 2012-05-22 $4.994.99 NPUB-30325 EU ▼ 2012-05-23 €4.494.49 NPEB-00413 DE ▼ 2012-05-23 €4.494.49 NPEB-00413 UK ▼ 2012-05-23 £3.693.69 NPEB-00413 AU ▼ 2012-05-23 $6.756.75 NPEB-00413 KR ▼ 2012-05-30 ₩6,3006,300 NPHB-00251 JP 2015-09-16 US ▼ (Sega Forever) 2017-07-26 FREEfree EU ▼ (Sega Forever) 2017-07-26 FREEfree DE ▼ (Sega Forever) 2017-07-26 FREEfree AU ▼ (Sega Forever) 2017-07-26 FREEfree US ▼ (Sega Forever) 2017-07-26 FREEfree 12+ EU ▼ (Sega Forever) 2017-07-26 FREEfree 12+ JP ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub US ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub EU ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub UK ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub AU ▼ 2023-06-28 SUBsub

The Revenge of Shinobi, known in Japan as The Super Shinobi (ザ・スーパー忍), is a Sega Mega Drive action game developed by Sega R&D 2 and published by Sega. First released in Japan in December 1989, the game is an evolution of the 1987 arcade game Shinobi, and was one of the most impressive games in the Mega Drive's early library. A critical and commercial success, The Revenge of Shinobi is fondly remembered as a classic and seminal Sega game, and would receive numerous sequels, ports, and re-releases.

The introductory cutscene and subsequent title screen feature the famous martial arts actor Sonny Chiba dressed as Hattori Hanzou from the popular TV series Kage no Gundan.

Story

Taking place three years after Shinobi, the criminal organization Zeed from the original game has reformed and renamed themselves Neo Zeed (literally New Zeed). Neo Zeed decide to have their revenge on the first game's protagonist Joe Musashi and his fellow members of the Oboro Ninja Clan, by killing Joe's master and kidnapping his fiancée Naoko. Joe, having reached his Clan too late, manages to learn of Neo Zeed's plot from his dying master. Joe decides to travel the world to gain his revenge on Neo Zeed, and try to save his fiancée before it's too late.

Revenge of Shinobi does not reference the arcade sequel to Shinobi, Shadow Dancer. However the Mega Drive reimagining, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, is considered a sequel to this game.

Gameplay

The Revenge of Shinobi is a side-scrolling action platform game. The player controls Joe Musashi, who must traverse several districts before his final confrontation with the head of Neo Zeed. Joe is moved around with or and can crouch with . He can move while crouching with and . He can jump off a platform by pressing +.

Joe can attack with , which throws shurikens (which are actually kunais) at distant enemies or stabs or kicks enemies in melee range. Shurikens are limited and must be collected. The player can find a Power Pack item that empowers Joe's shurikens, gives him his sword, and lets him block enemy projectiles while moving forward, though these effects are lost if he takes damage. Joe can jump with . A key move in The Revenge of Shinobi is the somersault, performed by jumping and pressing again at the apex of a jump. The somersault maximizes Musashi's jumping height and enables him to throw eight shuriken at once by pressing during the maneuver. Additionally, some stages have foreground and background layers; jumping between these is also accomplished using the somersault move.

Joe also has a special ninjutsu ability that can be used once per life with . The player can choose between four ninjutsu abilities, which can be selected by pausing the game with  START . If Joe finds a Ninjutsu item, he can use two ninjutsu abilities on the same life. The game awards the player a bonus for completing a round without using a ninjutsu ability or for finishing with a certain amount of shurikens (eleven shurikens for each life that the player has remaining).

Joe has a life gauge, which is diminished each time he takes damage from an enemy weapon. It can be replenished by items. Touching an enemy but not a weapon knocks Joe back. If Joe loses his entire life gauge, he loses a life. Extra lives can be found in the rounds and are also given for every 50,000 points accumulated. If he loses all of his lives, the game ends, but it can be continued. The game starts with three continues. The player can choose between four difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Hard, and Hardest). As difficulty increases, amount of starting lives decreases from 10 to 1. Musashi takes twice as much damage on Hardest. From the options menu, the player can also choose the amount of starting shuriken from 0 to 90 (though there is a trick to enable infinite shurikens).

Ninjutsu spells

Besides his regular assortment of moves and attacks, Musashi has the ability to perform four special ninjutsu techniques. Only one can be used in each level, unless a Ninjutsu item was picked up, or the Jutsu of Mijin was used to reset your life total.

	Art of Thunder (雷の術)
	Envelopes Musashi with a shield of lightning energy that sustains damage for four consecutive hits.
	Art of the Fire Dragon (火龍の術)
	Summons four dragon-shaped columns of flame that move across the screen and damage all enemies in their path.
	Art of Floating (浮身の術)
	Improves Musashi's agility by heightening his jumping capability.
	Art of Pulverizing (微塵の術)
	The most powerful Ninjutsu technique in the game. Musashi explodes, damaging all enemies on screen at the cost of one life. Minjin will, like Karyu, destroy all weaker enemies on screen, but with this ninjutsu, Musashi's power against boss enemies is much greater. This is an interesting and strategic ninjutsu, as though Joe loses a life in performing it, doing so causes his health to be fully restored and he is granted an extra ninjutsu attack. It is possible to use Mijin on Joe's last life, but this requires a continue to be used to resume his quest.

Items

A variety of crates can be found in each level, some hidden in the scenery, which can be broken open to release items.

	Power Pack
	Increases Musashi's strength, giving him a sword in melee range, empowering his shurikens, and defending him against enemy projectiles while walking forward. The effects are lost after taking damage.
	5 Shurikens
	Gives the player 5 more shurikens.
	10 Shurikens
	Gives the player 10 more shurikens.
	Small Heart
	Heals Musashi for two health bars.
	Large Heart
	Fully heals Musashi.
	1-Up
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Ninjutsu
	Gives the player the ability to use another ninjutsu on the same life.
	Bomb
	Explodes and harms Musashi if he is caught in the blast.

Rounds

Rounds consist of three scenes, the last of which is a battle against a unique boss character.

	Ibaraki Province, Japan
	This bamboo forest is where the game begins. Through these ancient ruins, Musashi must make his way to the House of Confusion. At the end of this district, he is confronted by the mighty samurai Blue Lobster.
	Tokyo
	Musashi begins this stage near a rocky canyon. Winged ninja swoop down from the sky to attack him. Past the waterfalls, Joe stalks the darkened roof tops of Tokyo, and eventually enters a blinding disco where he must battle with the Shadow Dancer.
	The Military Base
	This Neo Zeed military complex is heavily guarded by armed soldiers. Joe must contend against light infantry as well as enemies armed with flame throwers and attack dogs. The second scene takes him on board an air carrier. If he touches one of the air locks, he dies. The aircraft is controlled by a powerful supercomputer that houses a human brain, which Joe must defeat in order to progress.
	Detroit
	Detroit is one big junkyard, with countless cars being moved by conveyor belts and into a melting furnace. A tough Terminator-like android guards the site.
	Area Code 818
	This stage takes Musashi past skyscrapers and freeways. The final battle is fought on top of an armoured vehicle carrying a gigantic ballistic missile.
	Chinatown
	After a showdown with the kung-fu gangs of Chinatown, Musashi hops on board a speeding train. Eventually he finds himself in the clutches of a shapeshifter who attacks in the form of Spider-Man and Batman. A revised version (1.01; see below) of the game replaced Batman with Devilman. The first scene of this round contains a particulary hard jump, which you also will encounter in the next round. It's recommended to practise the jump here as you don't get punished for failing it yet.
	New York
	Ninja and machine gunners guard the breakwater of New York's dockside. Leaping from boat to boat, Joe infiltrates Neo Zeed's container ship and comes face to face with Godzilla. The first scene has a famously hard jump. Jutsu of Fushin isn't helpful in this case as it only increases your vertical reach of a jump while horizontal distance stays the same.
	Neo Zeed Marine Stronghold
	Here Musashi will face his final enemy, the leader of Zeed himself. His fiancée Naoko is trapped somewhere beneath the maze-like cellars of this stronghold, and Joe must terminate Zeed quickly before Naoko is killed by the latter's trap.

Achievements

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Achievements.

Music and sound

The game's soundtrack, composed by Yuzo Koshiro, has been highly praised. While game developers were generally discouraged or even prohibited from crediting themselves in their work (to prevent them from gaining recognition and asking for increased salaries, and from being headhunted by other companies), Koshiro was already renowned for his exceptional video game soundtracks, and his celebrity was capitalized upon by directly crediting him on the title screen.

A suite of music from The Revenge of Shinobi was performed live by an orchestra at the Fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert in 2006 at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Germany. The arrangement was done by Koshiro himself. Music from the game was also performed at two concerts of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony in Stockholm, Sweden in 2007, and during the encore as the most voted song when PLAY! was performed in Singapore in June 2007.

History

Legacy

The Revenge of Shinobi was later released on the Mega Drive based arcade platform the Mega-Tech.

The game was also released in several compilations: Mega Games 2 and 6-Pak for the Mega Drive, Sega Classics Arcade Collection for the Sega Mega-CD, Sega Smash Pack for PCs, and Sega Smash Pack Volume 1 for the Sega Dreamcast. It was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2009 and on the Sega Vintage Collection series as part of the "Alex Kidd and Company" digital compilation for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade in 2012.

From a strictly Japanese perspective, The Revenge of Shinobi was followed by Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (a.k.a. The Super Shinobi II). However, from a western perspective the Shinobi III name can cause problems, as it either implies Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi is the "second" game (with RoS being the first), or that Shadow Dancer is not part of the main series (which appears to contradict earlier promotional material).

Comic adaptation

Few comic strips were made primarly based off The Revenge of Shinobi. The Official Sonic the Hedgehog Yearbook 1991 had "The Dark Circle" single-part story, which can be seen as prequel to Sonic the Comic stories. Sonic the Comic would then host few more Shinobi story arcs, that are connected by a single plot of Joe Musashi rescuing Naoko and defending himself against Neo Zeed. Story arcs are: "The Fear Pavilion" (issue #1 to issue #6), "The Art of War" (#19 to #24) and "Power of The Elements" (#47 to #53). Sonic the Poster Mag 4 special issue also included a single-part story "Way of the Warrior".

Versions

Because of copyright issues regarding certain boss characters (many of which were based on cultural icons) there were at least four versions of the game released in Japan and North America, and the later two also appearing in Europe. Another revision was eventually released for the Wii's Virtual Console.

Version	Details
1.00 (1989)	The Super Shinobi. This is the original 'final' version, released in Japan and North America (The Revenge of Shinobi). Bosses clearly resembling Godzilla, Spider-Man, the Terminator and Batman are present. Both Spider-Man (albeit red and black, not red and blue) and Batman are actually impersonations by the boss of Chinatown, who upon defeat reverts to a small bat-like creature and flies away. Furthermore, enemies with flamethrowers resemble the movie character John Rambo.
1.01 (1989)	The Revenge of Shinobi. Batman is replaced by the anime character Devilman. The fake Spider-Man is recoloured into the licensed character from Marvel Comics. Since he is now the real Spider-Man, he doesn't morph into a bat-like shape; instead he actually leaves the battle when enough damage is inflicted, with Devilman entering to replace him. Enemy soldiers with flamethrowers are also changed to bald men with headbands, away from their original likeness to John Rambo. Godzilla remains unmodified.
1.02 (1990)	The Revenge of Shinobi. Europe and international release. Spider-Man is acknowledged by a copyright notice (Sega already had the license to the character for another game they were developing at the time, Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin). Godzilla is still unaltered. Spider-Man's web now cover and slow down player if hit.
1.03 (1990)	The Revenge of Shinobi. Another international release. Godzilla is replaced by a skeletal dinosaur. Everything else remains intact from the previous revision, including the licensed use of Spider-Man. This version was used in the 6-Pak cartridge.
1.04 (2009)	Since the licensed use of Spider-Man was for a limited period of time, the game was subsequently prevented from being re-released in recent years on compilations and digital download services. The 2009 release for the Wii Virtual Console features a new specific software revision that omits the Marvel copyright notice and replaces Spider-Man with a pink palette swap of the character, which still behaves the same as the licensed Spider-Man. The picture of Sonny Chiba used on the title screen was also replaced with a photograph of M2 director Tsuyoshi Matsuoka, presumably as the license to use Chiba's likeness also expired.

Prototype versions also exist, one of which was (presumably mistakenly) released on the compilation Sega Smash Pack. This version features some cheats enabled by default, missing bosses and music, and other differences.

Instead of each region having their own ROM regional version, the game uses a single universal one. It runs different code depending on what region of console it detects at startup:

• If it detects a Japanese console then it will show "The Super Shinobi" at title screen and the good ending will play fully, showing credits.
  
• If it detects US console then it will show "The Revenge of Shinobi" at title screen and good ending will have credits cut.
  
• If it detects PAL console then it will do same thing as for US console. The gameplay speed is not optimized for PAL thus being slower. Music plays at correct speed.

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English	The Revenge of Shinobi	The Revenge of Shinobi
English (US)	The Revenge of Shinobi	The Revenge of Shinobi
Japanese	ザ・スーパー忍	The Super Shinobi

Version history

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Changelog.

System	Version	Size	Date	Comment	Ref	Icon
	0000040000010000000000000000004.1.0	56MB	201912032019-12-03				(info) (55.95 MB)
	0000020000000000000000000000002.0.0	44MB	201901312019-01-31				(info) (43.83 MB)
	0000010000020000020000000000001.2.2	43MB	201810312018-10-31				(info) (43.15 MB)
	0000010000020000010000000000001.2.1	41MB	201808062018-08-06				(info) (41.41 MB)
	0000010000010000010000000000001.1.1	48MB	201709262017-09-26				(info) (47.56 MB)
	0000010000010000000000000000001.1.0	48MB	201709132017-09-13				(info) (47.57 MB)
	0000010000000000090000000000001.0.9	45MB	201707262017-07-26				(info) (44.88 MB)
	0000040000010000000000000000004.1.0	146.4MB	201912122019-12-12
	0000020000020000000000000000002.2.0	152.7MB	201906032019-06-03
	0000020000000000000000000000002.0.0	144.5MB	201901312019-01-31
	0000010000020000020000000000001.2.2	140.2MB	201810312018-10-31
	0000010000020000010000000000001.2.1	134.3MB	201808062018-08-06
	0000010000010000020000000000001.1.2	178MB	201710092017-10-09
	0000010000010000010000000000001.1.1		201709252017-09-25
	0000010000010000000000000000001.1.0	177MB	201709132017-09-13
	0000010000000000090000000000001.0.9	157MB	201707262017-07-26

Downloadable content

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Downloadable content.

Production credits

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Production credits.

Digital manuals

• 

  Steam manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini JP manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 US manual

• 

  Mega Drive Mini 2 EU manual

Magazine articles

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Promotional material.

Artwork

• 

  Sega Forever icon

• 

  Logo

• 

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 50 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 89 Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J 83 Computer Entertainer (US) 100 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 94 Complete Guide to Consoles (UK) 94 The Complete Guide to Sega (UK) 94 Console XS (UK) PAL 90 Cool Gamer (RU) 50 Computer & Video Games (UK) 93 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 85 Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 10 (RU) 60 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 93 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 70 The Games Machine (UK) 88 Joystick (FR) 96 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) 81 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL 81 Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J 83 Mega (UK) PAL 91 Mega Action (UK) 90 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 85 MegaTech (UK) 94 MegaTech (UK) PAL 93 Mean Machines (UK) 94 Mean Machines Sega (UK) 94 Megazone (AU) 96 Player One (FR) 95 Power Play (DE) 91 Raze (UK) PAL 92 Sega Power (UK) PAL 93 Sega Power (UK) PAL 100 Sega Pro (UK) 96 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 90 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 81 Tilt (FR) 90 Tricks 16 bit (RU) NTSC-U 72 Tricks 16 bit (RU) NTSC-J 82 User (GR) NTSC-J 90 Zero (UK) 97

	86
Based on 41 reviews

The Revenge of Shinobi

Mega Drive, JP
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, JP (Alt)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (Sega Classic)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (Sega Classic; 1995 re-release)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, EU
Cover
Cart Manual PCB

Mega Drive, PT
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, PT (Colour Manual; Mega Games 2?)
Manual

Mega Drive, PT (Blue Manual; Mega Games 2?)
Manual

Mega Drive, SE (rental; Hent; black)
Cover

Mega Drive, GR (Zegetron)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, CZ (Datart)
Manual

Mega Drive, CZ/SK (DDC Agency)
Cover
Manual

Mega Drive, AU (Vertical manual)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU (Horizontal manual)
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, AU (?)
Cover

Mega Drive, BR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, KR
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, KR (re-release)
Cover
Cart

Mega Drive, CA
Cover

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,
Cover

Technical information

Main article: The Revenge of Shinobi/Technical information.

External links

• Sega of Japan Virtual Console pages: Mega Drive
• Nintendo catalogue pages: US, AU
• The Revenge of Shinobi on Steam
• The Revenge of Shinobi on PlayStation.com: JP, US, KR
• The Revenge of Shinobi on PlayStation Store: JP, JP (PS Plus), US, UK, AU, KR
• The Revenge of Shinobi on Google Play
• The Revenge of Shinobi on iTunes: US, UK
• Hardcore Gaming 101: Shinobi examines the entire Shinobi series