Occasionally, games such as Shinobi: Art of Vengeance strike a perfect chord for me. While I don’t always seek out 2D action platformers, when one offers fast-paced battles, diverse platforming puzzles, levels packed with hidden secrets, and a striking visual style, it’s hard not to get drawn in.
The game’s hand-drawn aesthetic is harmoniously executed, boasting vibrant and exquisitely rendered backgrounds that serve as a stunning backdrop. Despite this, the characters are distinctly highlighted with remarkable clarity. The strategic selection of crucial frames within each action sequence seamlessly blends with visual effects, creating an illusion of intricate motion without the need for a single sword swing to be drawn in 100 different poses by any animator.
To be honest, while there’s much to criticize about this game, its graphics are one aspect I feel comfortable commending without any reservations.
The main issue with this game is that although all its components are captivating, their intricacy doesn’t expand in a fulfilling manner as play progresses. To illustrate, let’s consider the combat system. You possess an assortment of techniques at your disposal, including light and heavy attacks, throwable shurikens, and dodges. As one would anticipate, you can string together different types of attacks in numerous sequences for impressive combos, with these options growing as the game advances, allowing you to purchase additional ones from the shop. Additionally, the dodge plays a role in this system, enabling its use during combos to maintain the attack sequence. Moreover, your shurikens have limited impact on damage but swiftly fill up an enemy’s stun meter, which when fully charged, permits you to execute a one-hit kill move that rewards you with currency, health, and more shurikens.
The game is incredibly enjoyable due to its smooth gameplay, the thrill of landing combos, and the exhilaration of narrowly avoiding attacks at the last moment. What sets it apart is the instant gratification when you annihilate enemies with lightning speed, showering you with rewards. However, the main issue lies in the lack of progression throughout the game. Although you can purchase new moves from the shop, they hardly impacted my combat strategies. I found myself lacking a sense of growth or advancement in my weapons and abilities, which eventually led to waning interest.
In simpler terms, as you progress through the game, you’ll unlock various special moves, but there isn’t usually a need to use many beyond a few. The initial move tends to deal significant damage, and once I found one that could easily penetrate an enemy’s armor, I rarely used others. Additionally, the variety of enemies isn’t particularly extensive. Each level introduces one or two new enemy types, but these usually don’t require drastically different strategies; you just need to learn a few new attack patterns and continue with your current tactics.
While the system isn’t flawed per se, I must admit that I found myself enjoying most of my interactions. Yet, I can’t shake off a sense that there might have been room for something additional or deeper.
As you advance in the game, additional platforming skills become accessible, contributing to a level design that resembles mini-Metroidvania – meaning there are numerous hidden gems scattered throughout the levels. To uncover all these secrets, you’ll often need to go back to earlier stages where new paths will open up as your abilities expand. This element is appealing because although completing the main story takes around 7-8 hours, this system adds considerable replay value to the game.
You’re welcome to revisit levels for a taste of tougher combat scenarios that call for all your skills, offering exciting platforming experiences as well. However, I found the game could have pushed its platforming elements a bit more. As you advance, you’ll uncover abilities such as wall-climbs, grappling hooks, and gliders, which are delightful to employ. The instances where the game effectively utilizes these features for difficult platforming sections were enjoyable, but they weren’t frequent, often hidden within optional challenges that a player focused on the main story might miss.
It seems like the game is holding back on the difficulty level, not pushing me hard enough. I’m not asking for a 2D soulslike game, but if it were a bit tougher, I wouldn’t find myself grumbling about the combat complexity as much. The combat would be more enjoyable if it demanded better use of the skills and tools provided. The boss fights highlight this most clearly, since they usually didn’t require more than two tries – the attack patterns are mostly predictable and don’t offer many surprises.
Reaching a definitive opinion about Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is tricky due to its mixed qualities. While I found the game enjoyable overall, there seems to be an equal balance between positive aspects and drawbacks. The combat feels smooth and engaging, yet it’s not exceptionally difficult and the depth doesn’t grow much as the game progresses. The platforming elements offer exciting challenges that feel rewarding, but they aren’t consistently utilized effectively throughout the game. If you’re seeking a classic side-scrolling action platformer, Shinobi will undoubtedly fulfill that desire, but it’s not likely to revolutionize the genre.
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2025-08-25 15:17