Development
Overworks, a division of Sega, had been the developer of the Shinobi series throughout its early years. Other projects had prohibited Overworks from developing Shinobi titles for the Sega Saturn or Dreamcast. However, in 2001 Overworks member Noriyoshi Ohba realized that he had time to develop a new Shinobi game, and Sega returned to publish it. Development of Shinobi began around May 2001, with a team of roughly 50 people. Takashi Uriu filled in as producer. The game was originally planned for the Dreamcast until the console was discontinued and Sega began creating games for other companies' consoles. The PlayStation 2 console was chosen over the competing Nintendo GameCube and Xbox because of its familiarity to the team; Uriu had become experienced with the console's software during his past work on the Sakura Wars series. The console's relative popularity was also a decisive factor.
Shinobi marked the jump of the series to 3D, attributed to the changing video game market. The 2D gameplay of past Shinobi games had made consistent use of shuriken-based combat. However, such combat would have been difficult to master in a 3D game. Thus, an auto-targeting system was born, and the gameplay emphasis shifted to swordplay rather than shurikens. Due to the 3D rendering of Shinobi, Overworks decided to grant Hotsuma the ability to run on walls. His usage of ninja magic was a recurring feature in the series, implemented as part of a desire to mix older and newer gameplay elements. However, his "stealth dash" move was a new addition consistent with the overall fast-paced nature of the game.
| “ | The version you see this time is pure action, but in the background, there's a long story, and you have to look for maps and other things. It's still an action game, but you could call it action-adventure. Another is, the games on the market right now classified as 'action-adventure,' we don't feel attracted to those as far as the action goes. You have action, and you have adventure . Usually, action is two and adventure is eight, as far as the ratio. We want to have that ratio, say, six to four, and bring action more to the forefront. | ” |
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—Producer Takashi Uriu, after being asked in an interview with IGN about the design of the game in terms of genre |
Although Overworks had worked mainly on simulation and role-playing video games, experience with the Streets of Rage series helped with the creation of an action-based game. Ohba decided to tailor the game to the needs of the relatively small action market amidst the emergence of stealth-oriented ninja-focused games. Uriu was discontent with the state of contemporary action-adventure games. Hotsuma's character, as well as the game's setting and plot, resulted from a desire to create a "darker hero" for the game. Hotsuma's "stealth dash" move hatched from Uriu's knowledge of real life ninja's ability to "divide themselves into different bodies."
Shinobi was showcased at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2002 together with other prominent Sega titles such as Crazy Taxi 3, ToeJam and Earl III: Mission to Earth, and Panzer Dragoon Orta. The game was later exhibited at Tokyo Game Show 2002. Upon completion of development, the game received a rating of "M" (Mature) from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), which cited "Blood and Gore" and "Violence". It was highly anticipated prior to release, placing eighth on IGN's October 18 "Most Wanted" list compiled by aggregated user votes.
Read more about this topic: Shinobi (2002 Video Game)
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