SEGA’s hack and slash Shinobi series has been around for almost four decades, with the first installment dropping back in 1987. Chances are pretty high you’ve crossed paths with it at some point, since many of the games are available across all major console systems.
In my case though? I somehow completely missed them. Art of Vengeance is my first dive into the series, and it’s a strong first impression! Even if it doesn’t quite shine as bright everywhere.
Presentation and Story
While past games have seen a variety of main protagonists, there is one particular Shinobi with whom everything started in 1987: Joe Musashi. The leader of the Oboro clan takes the driver’s seat once more in Art of Vengeance. Expecting the birth of his child, Oboro Village is suddenly attacked by paramilitary company ENE Corp under the leadership of Lord Ruse.
That’s the basic setup, but the game actually escalates things quite a bit beyond a simple revenge plot.
ENE Corp isn’t just some generic evil army, they’re essentially trying to dominate the world, wiping out any opposition in their way. The Oboro clan happens to be one of the last real threats to them, which is why Ruse goes straight for Musashi’s home and pretty much annihilates the clan in one brutal strike.
From there, it becomes personal very quickly. Musashi sets out for revenge, teaming up with unlikely characters like the “Ankou,” essentially a Grim Reaper figure responsible for maintaining the balance between life and death, and Chiyo, one of Ruse’s top lieutenants, who turns out to have been brainwashed.
The story then leans fully into spectacle: a stage inside a giant kaiju, a full-on assault on Ruse’s stronghold, and eventually a final showdown in Limbo itself.
The ending actually tries to add a bit of thematic weight too, instead of just going full revenge mode. All that said… the presentation does a lot of the heavy lifting.
The story itself is more ambitious than you’d expect, but the game doesn’t always give it room to breathe. It’s delivered in short, stylized vignette cutscenes that look fantastic, and you get the broad strokes (revenge, loss, redemption), but nothing is really explored too deeply. It also doesn’t help that Joe is little more than a silent protagonist, only grunting throughout the entire game.
Still, it works for what the game is going for. It gives you just enough context to care, without ever slowing down the pacing, and in a game this focused on combat, that’s probably alright. Beyond the story, the stylish gameplay visuals are what drew me in in the first place. Shinobi’s 2D environments and characters are hand-drawn by Lizardcube, the team behind Streets of Rage 4, and they absolutely nailed it. The world is colorful in a tasteful way, using contrast and highlights very effectively while maintaining a strong sense of style. These visuals help make chaotic encounter gauntlets feel fun rather than overwhelming, as enemy attacks remain readable even when they overlap. It really can’t be overstated how beautiful the game looks, and this is easily one of its standout strengths.
Gameplay
This is where Art of Vengeance really shines. At least at first.
Combat is smooth, fast, and extremely satisfying. The big highlight is how seamlessly offensive and defensive actions blend together. You’re not just attacking or evading, you’re constantly chaining everything. Roll into a strike, cancel into an evasive maneuver, kick out of that into another combo… it all flows incredibly well. When you’re in the groove, it feels great. When you defeat an enemy, the game slows down to add a dramatic effect, though this is so exaggerated at times that I am not sure if it is intentional, or lag.
Enemy variety is decent for the runtime, but what’s more interesting is how the game handles difficulty scaling as you progress through the stages. Instead of just turning enemies into damage sponges, it gives them new tricks. Later variants introduce unblockable purple attacks, parries, and other mechanics that force you to stay on your toes. It’s a much smarter approach than just inflating health bars.
Unfortunately… bosses are a letdown.
They look great (big, flashy, intimidating) but mechanically, they are all total pushovers. Most go down on the first or second attempt, and their movesets are so limited and readable that they never really feel threatening. It’s a shame, because this is where the game could’ve really capitalized on the fun combat system and test players in new and interesting ways.
Platforming is… fine. It does the job, but it’s clearly not the focus. There are some light Metroidvania-style progression gates, like unlocking Ninja Claws to cling to specific walls, but given that Shinobi is not structured as a continuous map but has stage select instead, these elements are not really utilized to their fullest. It feels more like a way to prevent players from reaching all secrets (elite enemy gauntlets, coins, etc…) on their first run through a stage, rather than a meaningful progression gate.
Then there’s the platforming itself. Most of the time, it works well enough. But there’s one particularly annoying section involving a cube moving through pillars of fire coming from different sides. With the “auto-climb” mechanic, meaning you automatically climb onto the cube if you grab onto it too high, you’ll just get hit by the fire coming from the top. Trying to jump between moving surfaces has the same issue. It’s not a constant problem, but when it shows up, it’s frustrating.
Level design doesn’t help much either. You’ll run into the usual “path blocked, go hit two switches” setups, and it’s implemented in a very uninspired way.
And then there’s the elephant in the room: difficulty.
Even without enabling any of the available accessibility options, the game is just too easy. Platforming offers little challenge, combat encounters are straightforward, and as mentioned, bosses barely put up a fight. The mechanics would be there for creating something more challenging, but the game never really pushes you.
However, this is where Arcade Mode comes in, unlocked after beating the story. This mode lets you replay stages for high scores. In theory, it adds replayability. In practice, the scoring system is kind of a mess. You need 65k points for an S-rank, and points come from everywhere: number of defeated enemies, highest combo streak, collected medals (which replace collectibles from Story Mode), no-hit bonuses, bonus for no-assist usage… but the biggest factor by far is time. Be fast, don’t get hit, achieve a moderately high combo, and that’s an S-rank right there. If you move too slow, you’re basically locked out of a top rank unless you cheese a massive combo. There are three stages in particular that are tough to clear without taking damage while trying not to slow down, but even in those, a fast completion time, the no-assist bonus and a high combo are enough to get that S-rank.
There’s also a Boss Rush mode… but given how underwhelming bosses are, it doesn’t add much.
The Platinum Trophy
If you’re hunting the Platinum, Art of Vengeance is a pretty approachable ride.
The biggest hurdle will be mastering Arcade Mode for those S-ranks. As mentioned, it’s less about raw combat skill and more about optimizing your runs. Some players might not find these enjoyable, since any stage can take somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes to complete, thus repeated runs can feel tedious fast. I personally didn’t have that issue though. Once you understand how heavily time impacts your score, it becomes more about execution than difficulty.
Outside of that, the rest of the list is fairly straightforward. Story completion, collectibles, … nothing overly grindy, nothing brutally punishing.
Arcade Mode – All S-Ranks
Full Playlist
