Cyber Shinobi (Sega Master System)
One of the last Shinobi games for the Master System… It looks great but how does it play?
LOCR Producer: Shinobi has always been a really strong performer for Sega but there was a stage when Master System support was waning and Sega tried to take the Shinobi series and the Master System hardware in a few interesting directions.
I often lump Cyber Shinobi and the Master System version of Shadowdancer in the same camp. Both these titles came late in the life of the Mastersystem and were only released in Europe, Australia, (New Zealand?) and Brazil.
Contrary to how Bruiser feels, both these games were less than perfect. Cyber Shinobi is plagued by that annoying stuttering scrolling that ruined so many NES games once. I also found the short range sword attacks were hardly adequate, making combat frustrating. The secondary weapons really improved the game, but the shuriken should have been doubled, they at least made this feel more like a Shinobi game.
It’s not all bad news though, I really enjoyed some of the stages, like the Jungle and the bosses were great, especially the panther(?). But in general, the enemies were largely the same ninjas, they took too long to kill and the whole experience felt bogged down and unpolished. I would say this game is probably only for the die-hard fans, but even they might have a hard time finding anything to appreciate. Cyber Shinobi might look great on the shelf if you don’t plan on playing it.