Sega Mega Drive The Super Shinobi aka The Revenge of Shinobi (US/UK title)

Platformer Beat em’up for the Sega Megadrive.  RARE Japanese first edition, includes Batman, Spiderman, Rambo, Godzilla sprites removed from later editions!!!

The Revenge of Shinobi, published in Japan as The Super Shinobi (ザ・スーパー忍), is a video game developed and published bySega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Genesis/Mega Drive, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the Mega-Tech.

Alongside Shadow Dancer, the game is a sequel to Shinobi, and features a soundtrack by video game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. The game was included in the compilations: Mega Games 2, Mega Drive 6 Pak, Sega Classics Arcade Collection (for the Sega CD), and Sega Smash Pack (for the PC and Dreamcast). It is a traditional side-scrolling platform game. The player controls Joe Musashi and must complete eight districts before the final confrontation with the head of Neo Zeed. Each district consists of three scenes, two of which are platforming levels and the third being a battle against a unique boss-character.

The directional pad moves Joe around while the A, B, and C buttons are used to perform ninjitsu techniques, attack, and jump respectively. A key move in The Revenge of Shinobi is the somersault, which maximizes Joe’s jumping height and enables him to throw eight shuriken at once in mid-air. Additionally, some stages consist of multiple layers, such as the first scene of the Military Base and the freeway in Area Code 818. Switching between layer (outdoor/indoor, or on-the-highway/next-to-it) is also done with the somersault move.

Although his standard ability of moves and attacks, Joe has the ability to do four special ninjutsu techniques. Only one can be performed in each level, unless a ninjitsu item was picked up, or the ninjutsu of Mijin was used. The four techniques employed by Joe are as follows:

• Jitsu of Ikazuchi (雷の術 Ikazuchi no Jutsu, “Art of Thunder”): Surrounds Joe with a protective shield of lightning energy that sustains damage for four consecutive hits.
• Jitsu of Karyu (火炎の術 Karyū no Jutsu, “Art of the Fire Dragon”): Produces four dragon-shaped columns of flames that move across the screen and damage all enemies in their way.
• Jitsu of Fushin (浮身の術 Fushin no Jutsu, “Art of Self-Levitation”): Improves Joe’s jumping ability.
• Jitsu of Mijin (微塵の術 Mijin no Jutsu, “Art of Particles”): Joe explodes, damaging all enemies on screen at the cost of one life. The suicide has the side effect of restoring health and ninjutsu without restarting the stage. If this ninjutsu is used with no lives remaining, the game is over.

A variety of bonus crates can be found in each level, some hidden in the scenery. These include simple powerups such as extra shuriken or health packs, as well as special items to gain lives or extra ninjutsu attacks. Besides powerups, some crates may contain time bombs: explosives that detonate when their fuse runs out or if Joe comes too close (though he can walk out of the blast radius if the player is quick enough).

The game is divided into four difficulties. As difficulty increases, more enemies appear per stage; on Hardest, Musashi takes twice as much damage and the amount of starting lives decreases from 10 to 1. From the options menu, the player can also choose the amount of starting shuriken from 0 to 90 (though a technique does exist that allows infinite shuriken).

There eight stages:

• Ibaraki Province, Japan: This bamboo forest in the Ibaraki Prefecture is where the game begins. Through these ancient ruins Joe 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: Joe begins this stage near a rocky canyon, assaulted by winged ninja. Once he makes it past the waterfalls, the district moves on to the darkened roof tops of Tokyo, and eventually into a blinding disco where Joe must battle with the Shadow Dancer.
• The U.S. Military Base: This military complex of Neo Zeed is heavily guarded by armed soldiers. Joe will encounter light infantry as well as flame throwers and attack dogs. The second scene takes Joe on board an aircraft carrier; if he touches one of the air locks, he dies. The aircraft is controlled by a powerful supercomputer that houses a human brain.
• Detroit: The Detroit level is one big junkyard, heaps upon heaps of cars, running through conveyor belts and into a melting furnace. A toughTerminator-like android guards this wreckage.
• Area Code 818: Area Code 818 takes Joe 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, Joe hops on board a speeding train. Eventually he finds himself in the clutches of characters resembling Spider-Man and Batman (Devilman for the 1.01 version of the game). In the PAL Mega Drive manual, the boss is described as a single shapeshifting character known as the Web-Bat.
• New York: Ninja and machine gunners guard the breakwater of New York City’s dockside. Leaping from boat to boat, Joe infiltrates Neo Zeed’s container ship and comes face to face with Godzilla (turned into a dinosaur skeleton in version 1.03, referred to as a brontosaurus in the PAL manual).
• Neo Zeed Marine Stronghold: Here is where Joe faces his final enemy, the leader of Neo Zeed. After passing by the Marine, Joe needs to find the right way on a large and well-guarded labyrinth. The beautiful Naoko is trapped somewhere beneath the cellar maze of this stronghold, and Joe must terminate the Boss quickly before the cell trap kills Naoko. There are two endings to the game, depending on whether Joe defeats the Boss in time to save Naoko.

Pictures for illustrative purposes only