Shinobi (2002 Video Game) - Reception

Reception

Shinobi's initial release fell on November 10, 2002 in North America; December 5 in Japan; and May 15, 2003 in Europe. It was generally well received by critics, with respective scores of 71% and 71.64% from review aggregators Metacritic and Game Rankings.

Shinobi's basic gameplay was largely praised. GamePro's Mike Weigand highlighted the TATE attack as "cool" and "hyper-violent", and praised the game's overall emphasis on "head-on deception" rather than stealth. GameZone staff writer Steven Hopper stated that "hile some would want a bit more depth from a ninja game, I think the arcade-style gameplay keeps the game close to its roots." IGN's David Smith and GameSpy's Benjamin Turner criticized the poor artificial intelligence and repetitiveness of the basic enemies while praising the bosses.

Critics consistently mentioned the game's high difficulty. The game was described as "hellaciously hard" by Electronic Gaming Monthly staff writer Che Chou and as "ninja tough" in a review from 1UP.com. Weigand cautioned: "Casual gamers beware", noting that earlier Shinobi titles had not been as demanding. Hopper called it "the toughest game I’ve played in a long time."

Level design was received generally poorly. 1UP.com highlighted repetitive environmental textures as contributing to the difficulty of finding one's way through the levels, comparing them to textures that might be found in PlayStation games. Smith echoed this opinion, additionally noting occasionally problematic default camera angles. Hopper stated that "ost of the environments look very nice and detailed, while some are a little plain." Turner called the environments overall "samey" and "uninspired".

The newly introduced Hotsuma was singled out for strong praise. Smith called Hotsuma "a great design, a sort of post-modern evolution of the ninja in comparison to the thoroughly traditional Joe Musashi ", additionally commending the coordination of his moves with his appearance. 1UP.com stated that he is "the supermodel of video-game action heroes—lean, stylish and mean—and he fights as good as he looks." Turner and Allgame's Brett Alan Weiss described him as "sleek". Weiss offered strong praise for Akujiki, as did Weigand for Hotsuma's scarf.

In 2003, Shinobi was re-released in North America as part of Sony's Greatest Hits budget line, signifying a sales total of at least 400,000 in that region. This edition includes a DVD containing a trailer for Nightshade and gameplay footage played by experienced players. On September 25 of the same year, the game was re-released as part of Japan's similar The Best budget line.