Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi

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Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
System(s): Sega Mega Drive, Sega Mega-Tech, Virtual Console, Steam
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Sound driver: SMPS 68k
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP 		¥6,0006,000 G-4043
Sega Mega Drive
US 		1114
Sega Mega Drive
US
(Classic)
Sega Mega Drive
ES 		1114
Sega Mega Drive
FR 		1114
Sega Mega Drive
UK 		£39.9939.99[2] 1114
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
CA
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Wii Virtual Console
JP ▼ 		600pts600
Wii Virtual Console
US ▼ 		800pts800
Wii Virtual Console
EU ▼ 		800pts800
CERO
Missing Parameter!

Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi (シャドーダンサー ザ・シークレット・オブ・シノビ) is a game created in 1990 for the Sega Mega Drive by Sega. Though it shares a similar name and premise, the Mega Drive version of the game is very different to the original Shadow Dancer for the arcade, Master System and home computers. The game is available as part of the Wii's Virtual Console service.

The game was was banned from sale in Germany[4].

Story

“

A.D 1997, New York City

Having vanquished the evil crime empire Neo Zeed, Shinobi was not heard from again. His combat ninja skills were not needed in a peaceful world.

But a new threat arose. In a reptilian form that lived on vicious instinct alone. The colossal monster moved slowly and quietly, and its attack was relentless. The souls unfortunate enough to live became 'hostages' mass panic swept the streets.

It remained only for Shinobi to take action. The ninja of the shadows. His weapons were stealth and quickness of attack. His only allies when facing over whelming force.

Relying on ninja weapons and magic, Shinobi fought on. Assisted by his faithful dog. This is the story of their defiance..

„


The story according to the US manual adds extra detail that Joe Musashi (following the events of The Revenge of Shinobi) decided to visit his student, Kato in New York. Shortly after Joe left, Kato learned of the Union Lizard's takeover of an elementary school, in which he decided to assist in the rescuing of the hostages. However, Kato was fatally wounded by a subordinate of Union Lizard, and when Joe raced back in to the US, it was too late - Kato died from his wounds. After this, Joe swore to Kato's mother that he and Yamato (Kato's pet dog) would avenge Kato.

The Japanese version of the backstory differs from the overseas releases, in which the protagonist is not Joe Musashi, but his estranged son Hayate, who was born in 1977 and raised in the United States after being separated from his true parents. Kato (whose full name is Dick C. Kato) was Hayate's foster father in this version and the man who trained him in the ways of ninjutsu. This backstory implies that the events of The Super Shinobi took place sometime before 1977, although there's nothing in the original game to suggest this was meant to be the case.

Gameplay

Controls are virtually identical to other Shinobi games: A performs a ninjutsu move, B attacks, and C jumps. Ninjutsu is NOT selected from the pause menu like with other games. Holding B charges the attack of a companion attack dog (charge meter shown at the bottom of the screen; releasing B makes dog charge forward onto enemy to temporary hold him up. Control layout can be changed in option menu.

Trivia

  • The game is still classified to be unsuitable for younger audiences in Germany. Therefore it's missing from the Sega Mega Drive Collection in PAL regions.
  • Changing the difficulty level has a big influence on enemy placements and their number. (unlike the other two Shinobi games on the system, where only health, lives etc. are reduced) Bosses remain unchanged aside from a boost in health.
  • The game has a few secret score opportunities e.g. defeating a boss with only one second on the timer remaining (using Ninjutsu) gives a big score bonus. Not using shurikens and Ninjitsu during the pre-boss sections also gives a score bonus.
  • Stage 5 is the only stage without a time limit. One can exploit the respawning Ninjas in room 4 and 5 to accumulate infinite score. Whether this is by design or an oversight isn't clear. However, the fact that this makes all other score techniques obsolete strongly hints at an oversight.

Versions

There are no known differences (the Japanese release also displays English text), same ROM is used for all regions. Only music is optimized for PAL system, the gameplay is slower than intended.

Production credits

Source:
In-game credits


Magazine articles

Main article: Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi/Magazine articles.

Artwork

  • ShadowDancer MD JP Art Cover.jpg
  • ShadowDancerSoS Art.jpg

Digital manuals

ShadowDancer Steam manual.pdf¦Steam manual

Physical scans

Mega Drive version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
78 №41, p68[2]
63 №111, p76[5]
63 №3, p44[6]
80 №20, p54/55[7]
89 №28, p71[8]
82 №30, p96[9]
90 №3, p94[10]
90 №12, p122[11]
84 №1, p81[12]
59 №1, p80[13]
90 №10, p26/27[14]
79 №3/91, p139[15]
82 №9, p38[16]
90 №18, p32/33
80 №23, p54
89 №6, p28[17]
83 №18, p67
83 №25, p44
78 №18, p88
Sega Mega Drive
 81
Based on
19 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
70
[18]
ACE (UK)
78
[2]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
73
[19]
The Complete Guide to Sega (UK)
62
[20]
Console XS (UK) PAL
89
[21]
Cool Gamer (RU)
70
[22]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
63
[23]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
80
[1]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1 (RU)
70
[24]
Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 10 (RU)
60
[25]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
59
[26]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
58
[27]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
80
[7]
The Games Machine (IT)
89
[8]
Génération 4 (FR)
82
[9]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
80
[28]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
90
[10]
Joystick (FR)
90
[11]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK)
84
[12]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
84
[29]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
77
[30]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
80
[31]
MegaTech (UK)
59
[13]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
60
[32]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
59
[33]
Player One (FR)
90
[14]
Power Play (DE)
79
[34]
Raze (UK)
82
[16]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
90
[35]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
75
[36]
Sega Pro (UK)
89
[17]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
83
[37]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
68
[38]
Tilt (FR)
90
[39]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
74
[40]
VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (US) NTSC-U
80
[41]
Video Games (DE)
75
[42]
Zero (UK)
78
[43]
Sega Mega Drive
 76
Based on
38 reviews

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi

Mega Drive, US
ShadowDancerSoS MD US Box.jpg
Cover
ShadowDancer MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Shadow Dancer MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US (Sega Classic)
ShadowDancer MD US Box Classic.jpg
Cover
ShadowDancer MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, EU
ShadowDancer MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
ShadowDancer MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, JP
ShadowDancer MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
ShadowDancer MD JP CartTop.jpg
ShadowDancer MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Shadowdancer md jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, BR (cardboard)

Mega Drive, BR
Secretofshinobi md br cover.jpg
Cover
ShadowDancer MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart
Secretofshinobi md br manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, CA
ShadowDancer MD CA Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, FR

Shadow Dancer The Secret of Shinobi MD FR Manual.pdf
Manual

Mega-Tech version

Mega-Tech,

ShadowDancer MegaTech Cart.jpg
Cart

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 File:EGM US 021.pdf, page 20 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:EGM US 021.pdf_p20" defined multiple times with different content
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 File:ACE UK 41.pdf, page 68 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:ACE UK 41.pdf_p68" defined multiple times with different content
  3. ↑ File:AcaoGames BR 001.pdf, page 8
  4. ↑ File:MD UK Box Back SonicEASDH Alt.jpg
  5. ↑ File:CVG UK 111.pdf, page 76
  6. ↑ File:CVG IT 03.pdf, page 44
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 File:GamePro US 020.pdf, page 70 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:GamePro US 020.pdf_p70" defined multiple times with different content
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 File:TheGamesMachine IT 028.pdf, page 71 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:TheGamesMachine IT 028.pdf_p71" defined multiple times with different content
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 File:Generation4 FR 030.pdf, page 96 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Generation4 FR 030.pdf_p96" defined multiple times with different content
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 File:HobbyConsolas ES 003.pdf, page 86 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:HobbyConsolas ES 003.pdf_p86" defined multiple times with different content
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 File:Joystick FR 012.pdf, page 122 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Joystick FR 012.pdf_p122" defined multiple times with different content
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 File:MDAG UK 01.pdf, page 81 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MDAG UK 01.pdf_p81" defined multiple times with different content
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 File:MegaTech UK 01.pdf, page 80 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:MegaTech UK 01.pdf_p80" defined multiple times with different content
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 File:PlayerOne FR 010.pdf, page 26 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:PlayerOne FR 010.pdf_p26" defined multiple times with different content
  15. ↑ File:PowerPlay DE 036.pdf, page 139
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 File:Raze UK 09.pdf, page 38 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:Raze UK 09.pdf_p38" defined multiple times with different content
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 File:SegaPro UK 06.pdf, page 28 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name ":File:SegaPro UK 06.pdf_p28" defined multiple times with different content
  18. ↑ 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 202
  19. ↑ Beep! MegaDrive, "December 1990" (JP; 1990-11-08), page 28
  20. ↑ The Complete Guide to Sega, "" (UK; 1991-05-xx), page 108
  21. ↑ Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 133
  22. ↑ Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 184
  23. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "February 1991" (UK; 1991-01-16), page 44
  24. ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 1, "" (RU; 1999-xx-xx), page 356
  25. ↑ Entsiklopediya luchshikh igr Sega. Vypusk 10, "" (RU; 2003-10-08), page 155
  26. ↑ Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 86
  27. ↑ Famitsu, "" (JP; 1990-1x-xx), page 1
  28. ↑ Hippon Super, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-04), page 40
  29. ↑ Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 94
  30. ↑ Mega Drive Fan, "February 1991" (JP; 1991-01-08), page 83
  31. ↑ Mega Play, "March/April 1991" (US; 1991-04-xx), page 42
  32. ↑ Micromanía (segunda época), "Septiembre 1991" (ES; 1991-0x-xx), page 27
  33. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 140
  34. ↑ Power Play, "3/91" (DE; 1991-02-15), page 139
  35. ↑ Sega Power, "May 1991" (UK; 1991-04-04), page 32
  36. ↑ Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 54
  37. ↑ Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 67
  38. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 87
  39. ↑ Tilt, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 54
  40. ↑ Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 153
  41. ↑ VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, "February 1991" (US; 1991-0x-xx), page 44
  42. ↑ Video Games, "1/91" (DE; 1991-03-27), page 83
  43. ↑ Zero, "April 1991" (UK; 1991-0x-xx), page 88



Games in the Shinobi series
Arcade
 Shinobi (1987) | Shadow Dancer (1989)
Sega Master System
 Shinobi (1988) | The Cyber Shinobi (1990) | Shadow Dancer (1991)
Amiga
Atari ST
Amstrad CPC
Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
IBM PC compatibles
MSX
 Shinobi (1989)
Sega Mega Drive
 The Revenge of Shinobi (1989) | Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (1990) | Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (1993)
Sega Game Gear
 The GG Shinobi (1991) | The GG Shinobi II: The Silent Fury (1992)
Sega Saturn
 Shinobi Legions (1995)
Game Boy Advance
 The Revenge of Shinobi (2002)
Sony PlayStation 2
 Shinobi (2002) | Nightshade (2003)
Nintendo 3DS
 Shinobi 3D (2011) | 3D Shinobi III (2013)
Nintendo Switch
 Sega Ages Shinobi (2019)
Shinobi related media
Music
 The Super Shinobi & Works (1989) | Shinobi Original Soundtrack (2002) | Legend of Joe Musashi: Shinobi Music Collection (2009) | Shinobi 3D Original Soundtrack (2012) | Kunoichi Original Soundtrack (2014) | Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (2015) | The Revenge of Shinobi (2016) | Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (2022)
Book
 Shinobi: The Fear Pavilion (1994) | Shin Shinobi Den Hisshou Kouryaku Hou (1995) | Prima's Official Strategy Guide: Shinobi (2002) | Shinobi: The Rise of Hotsuma (2002) | Shinobi: The Complete Guide (2002) | Shinobi the Wide Ilustration Archive (2003) | Kunoichi Koushiki Guide Book (2003) | Kunoichi Perfect Guide (2004)
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