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Shinobi or Ninja Gaiden?

You'd think that Hotsuma/Ageha/Moritsune/Hibana would be in DOA5U with the Virtua Fighter characters to be compliments to the ninjas. :P

No, I don't want Ageha/Hibana in cute outfits, how DARE you assume that

;~;

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Is why. That would be brilliant. But nope. None of them or Vanessa.... :(
 
Silky plz

Also the original game had some alt costumes for Hibana

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and how you gonna forget Hisui like that bruh? The Jeanne to Hibana's Bayonetta

Hibana
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Oh yeah, I forgot about Hisui. She was pretty cute too. I wish they released a Nightshade art book like the Shinobi one.
 
The beauty of PS2 shinobi is that it is a one of kind gem. There will never, ever, ever, never be another game like it ever - the way the hotsuma moves, the constantly draining energy and the need to chain kills is really a unique and clever game design. 10 years from now you won't play another game like it.

If you look closely you'll realize it's actually a puzzle game disguised as a hack'n slash.

Anyways love the game and love having it in my collection.
 
With all due respect to Shinobi, which has had some truly classic games, I'm OG with Ryu Hayabusa since the original arcade & NES games, even if things have gotten a bit too bloody these days. One of these days I'll get around to playing Razor's Edge.
 
The beauty of PS2 shinobi is that it is a one of kind gem. There will never, ever, ever, never be another game like it ever - the way the hotsuma moves, the constantly draining energy and the need to chain kills is really a unique and clever game design. 10 years from now you won't play another game like it.

If you look closely you'll realize it's actually a puzzle game disguised as a hack'n slash.

Anyways love the game and love having it in my collection.

Exactly!

What's even more clever is just how much of the game is designed to teach and condition you for the stages ahead. From the first helicopter boss teaching you that connecting an attack after a dash refreshes your ability to dash, to the dogs in stage 3 blocking all attacks from the front, teaching you the value of using your dash after image and attacking enemies from the back.

The game even knows its own flaws. It knows its camera is shit, that's why in stage 6 it has platforms with eye symbols on them that go up and down allowing the player to use them to see the stage layout before leaping off and attempting to clear the room.

Everything about it is just so damn clever and unique and it amazes me how much they got right with it on a first attempt.

Just seems unfair to compare it to Ninja Gaiden, which had a full retail release game, 2 DLC packs and a world tournament to iron out all its issues for Black. It was on a more powerful platform and obviously had a much larger budget. The only thing the games have incommon is that they have words for Ninja in the title.

He's my fave capcom artists too. Makes me mad at who did sf4. It's terrible.

Well like most of Capcom's old school talent he's freelance now.

Last game design work I saw from him was some concept art for Vanquish. I'm not even sure if he came back to work on Sengoku Basara 4. =(
 
As far as 3d goes, it doesn't get much better than Ninja Gaiden (Sigma is my favorite version). No other action game even comes close to the fluidity and combat design of that game.
 
Exactly!

What's even more clever is just how much of the game is designed to teach and condition you for the stages ahead. From the first helicopter boss teaching you that connecting an attack after a dash refreshes your ability to dash, to the dogs in stage 3 blocking all attacks from the front, teaching you the value of using your dash after image and attacking enemies from the back.

The game even knows its own flaws. It knows its camera is shit, that's why in stage 6 it has platforms with eye symbols on them that go up and down allowing the player to use them to see the stage layout before leaping off and attempting to clear the room.

Everything about it is just so damn clever and unique and it amazes me how much they got right with it on a first attempt.

Just seems unfair to compare it to Ninja Gaiden, which had a full retail release game, 2 DLC packs and a world tournament to iron out all its issues for Black. It was on a more powerful platform and obviously had a much larger budget. The only thing the games have incommon is that they have words for Ninja in the title.



Well like most of Capcom's old school talent he's freelance now.

Last game design work I saw from him was some concept art for Vanquish. I'm not even sure if he came back to work on Sengoku Basara 4. =(
It's things like this that make me kinda bitter at Sega they have all that talent and yet all we see is shit from Sonic Team their weakest studio.

I also like how you remember than Ninja Gaiden had 3 revisions before black. And I know how people love black but I find the Hurricane pack the best because of intercept.
 
Although Shinobi is pretty cool I have to go with Ninja Gaiden. I have really enjoyed almost every Ninja Gaiden and so far my favourite is Razor's Edge, that game is just pure awesomness (expect for the story which is pretty basic).

With all due respect to Shinobi, which has had some truly classic games, I'm OG with Ryu Hayabusa since the original arcade & NES games, even if things have gotten a bit too bloody these days. One of these days I'll get around to playing Razor's Edge.

Go for it, mate. You will love it, it does everything right.
 
You can't lump 2D Shinobi games together in the same way as with Ninja Gaiden games as they're all quite different--AC Shinobi doesn't play like Revenge which doesn't play like S3 which doesn't play like Shinobi 3DS. I'm partial to Revenge but most of 'em are at least okay.

I think Ninja Gaiden has had fewer lows than Shinobi, but I'm sure that won't be true for much longer.

I mean, you get to ride a surf board and kill ninjas and mechs from all angles while listening to a Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack on Shinobi 3, how can you beat that?

Koshiro didn't work on Shinobi III.

The 3DS version of Shinobi III is one of the greatest games of all time. As well as the base game already being so great, it has some nice stereoscopic 3D and most importantly it has the option to use 'expert' controls so block has it's own button (I bet most people didn't even know Shinobi III had a blocking feature) and the close range and shuriken attacks both have their own buttons. Takes the game to a whole new level of amazing.

Just so you know, this mode isn't exclusive to the 3DS version, it's something you can unlock in the original game with a cheat code.
 
Ninja Gaiden NES and gameboy are easily the best.

The shinobi games always felt rather clunky and slow to me, with sprites too big for any decent platforming.
 
Ninja Gaiden NES and gameboy are easily the best.

NG GB is a rebranded sorta-port of Natsume's Shadow of the Ninja, so check that game out if you're not already familiar with it. It's on NES and Wii VC and I'm sure it'll show up on 3DS/Wii U VC eventually.
 
NG GB is a rebranded sorta-port of Natsume's Shadow of the Ninja, so check that game out if you're not already familiar with it. It's on NES and Wii VC and I'm sure it'll show up on 3DS/Wii U VC eventually.

Really nice game, any fan of the NES Ninja Gaiden games should dig it. Man, this thread is making me sad. There are barely any cool ninja games anymore.
 
NG GB is a rebranded sorta-port of Natsume's Shadow of the Ninja, so check that game out if you're not already familiar with it. It's on NES and Wii VC and I'm sure it'll show up on 3DS/Wii U VC eventually.

Intereesting, Shadow of the Ninja is great (though I haven't played it that much), but I had no idea of the connection to NG GB, other than the obviously similar moveset
 
Love both, but lean more toward Shinobi overall. I like or love most Shinobi games, and even the portable endeavors surprised me a lot. Ninja Gaiden truly shined in NGB, but it's one of the few NG games I remember loving.

And while Unbreakable Determination was great for Ninja Gaiden, no ninja game soundtrack does it more for me than Shinobi III on Genesis/Megadrive
unless Metal Gear Rising Counts
.
 
Ninja Gaiden I/II NES/SNES and I/II XBOX/XBOX360 is where it at...Shinobi on Playstation is like an Okami styled Ninja game and I love both.
 
Really nice game, any fan of the NES Ninja Gaiden games should dig it. Man, this thread is making me sad. There are barely any cool ninja games anymore.

I feel like there's been a decent number of new 2D ninja games over the last couple years: the new Strider/Shinobi games, plus indie games like Mark of the Ninja, Oniken, Super House of Dead Ninjas, etc.

Anyone try the Shinobi 3DS title? How was it?

Very fun, takes a lot of cues from Shinobi 3 in particular but still feels quite modern. It does have its own problems, mostly in terms of visuals, but it's definitely worth the asking price and doesn't really have any competition on 3DS.

Two of the main guys behind that game went on to make Volgarr the Viking, which a lot of people are playing right now thanks to XB1 Games with Gold.
 
Anyone try the Shinobi 3DS title? How was it?
It's awesome. It obviously tries to be like a sequel to Shinobi 3 and it pulls it off really well. Nice difficulty too. It is 2D action platforming goodness. The graphics may be off-putting but it's a great sidescroller. It bombed unfortunately, but it can be had for pretty cheap so I think everyone should give it a shot, it might be my favorite original 3DS game.

I feel like there's been a decent number of new 2D ninja games over the last couple years: the new Strider/Shinobi games, plus indie games like Mark of the Ninja, Oniken, Super House of Dead Ninjas, etc.
Hmm, I wasn't too interested in the new Strider or Mark of the Ninja, but I might have to check some of these out
 
Although Shinobi is pretty cool I have to go with Ninja Gaiden. I have really enjoyed almost every Ninja Gaiden and so far my favourite is Razor's Edge, that game is just pure awesomness (expect for the story which is pretty basic).



Go for it, mate. You will love it, it does everything right.
Every avoid this mans advice.
Out of all three games how can you like razors edge the best? I know opinions and all
 
Every avoid this mans advice.
Out of all three games how can you like razors edge the best? I know opinions and all

Best graphics, best combos, best performance, best multiplayer, best flow, best characters, highest dificulty and best challenges. I wonder if you could play Ninja Gaiden Black (or 2) then Razor's Edge and then honestly tell me that Black (or 2) is better.

I never went back to the previous games once I played Razor's Edge, there really is no reason.
 
Ninja Gaiden easily, any day of the week, twice on Sunday.

But anyone that knows me would know I'd say that anyways, because no other action game or series comes close in my eyes.

Shinobi didn't do anything special or new to grab me. Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox was ahead of its time. And still is, and always will be as far as I'm concerned.
 
Best graphics, best combos, best performance, best multiplayer, best flow, best characters, highest dificulty and best challenges. I wonder if you could play Ninja Gaiden Black (or 2) then Razor's Edge and then honestly tell me that Black (or 2) is better.

I never went back to the previous games once I played Razor's Edge, there really is no reason.

who's alt is this

Retro_?
 
2D Shinobi beats 2D Ninja Gaiden by a mile imo.

I haven't had the chance to play the PS2 Shinobi, I'd love a HD remake or a new game but sigh... SEGA

NGB is very very good, although the series fell off a cliff with NG2 and is swimming with the fishes with 3
 
The beauty of PS2 shinobi is that it is a one of kind gem. There will never, ever, ever, never be another game like it ever - the way the hotsuma moves, the constantly draining energy and the need to chain kills is really a unique and clever game design. 10 years from now you won't play another game like it.

If you look closely you'll realize it's actually a puzzle game disguised as a hack'n slash.

Anyways love the game and love having it in my collection.

Exactly!

What's even more clever is just how much of the game is designed to teach and condition you for the stages ahead. From the first helicopter boss teaching you that connecting an attack after a dash refreshes your ability to dash, to the dogs in stage 3 blocking all attacks from the front, teaching you the value of using your dash after image and attacking enemies from the back.

The game even knows its own flaws. It knows its camera is shit, that's why in stage 6 it has platforms with eye symbols on them that go up and down allowing the player to use them to see the stage layout before leaping off and attempting to clear the room.

Everything about it is just so damn clever and unique and it amazes me how much they got right with it on a first attempt.



welp, I'm sold. ordering a copy now!

I have tried playing it a few times but I don't think I got it + probably got distracted by other games.
 
all three NES Ninja Gaiden games are still by far my favorites of that entire list, so it's gotta be Ninja Gaiden

the Game Gear Shinobi is pretty great though, and I also enjoyed Shinobi III and PS2 Shinobi more than any of the other Ninja Gaiden games
 
It's a tough call but I'm gonna have to go with Ninja Gaiden overall. The 2nd NES one is one of my favorite action games... though Shinobi 3 and Shadow Dancer Genesis are some of my faves.

Not really much for the 3D games in either series. (though NGB was fun)
 
Best graphics, best combos, best performance, best multiplayer, best flow, best characters, highest dificulty and best challenges. I wonder if you could play Ninja Gaiden Black (or 2) then Razor's Edge and then honestly tell me that Black (or 2) is better.

I never went back to the previous games once I played Razor's Edge, there really is no reason.

Good lord, is this post wrong.
 
Ninja Gaiden Master System is missing from the OP list, although I think it's the same as the Game Gear version
I own both, but haven't played either!

As for quality, weirdly enough for a Sega kid I spent more time with the Ninja Gaiden games than Shinobi. NG 1 and 2 on NES are pretty fantastic, with very developed stories and amazing music. Shinobi arcade is definitely better than NG arcade, which was a bit crap (continue screen aside).

I need to play more of the Shinobi series before coming to a definitive conclusion.
 
Ninja Gaiden Master System is missing from the OP list, although I think it's the same as the Game Gear version
I own both, but haven't played either!

Nah, they're different games by different developers. Neither game is great but the SMS game is a lot better than the GG one.
 
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