PixlBit

This ninja can kick butt and take names, all while donning a nice white uniform

It's another Genesis classic! The full title of the game is Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, and it was develped and published by Sega and released in 1993. The game stars Joe Musashi as he battles ninjas and gunmen in order to defeat the evil Neo Zeed. I have to say this now: I think it's really funny that he wears white. What kind of ninja wears white??? The end of the game says, "He will come as a shadow." Not wearing that uniform! Anyways, he looks cool though. 

The game is comprised of seven stages; each stage has two sections. At the end of the first section, you'll fight a mini boss; and at the end of the second, a real boss. Musashi has all kinds of cool ninja moves at his disposal, including shuriken, a long sword, a flying kick, and ninjitsu powers. Your shuriken will deplete as you use them, so you have to get more ammunition in boxes. Musashi throws shuriken if an enemy is far away; he will only use his sword if they are close enough to slash. The sword is awesome! He whips that thing out so fast, you hardly even see it! The combat in this game is very smooth and very good. 

The level design is very good for the most part. The backgrounds and sets of the levels give you a good variety, from a forest to secret bases to the flying airship at the end. My favorite level was probably the third one, in which Musashi goes into a biological laboratory, fighting off mutants and strange creatures. The setting was really creepy. The surfing level was also tons of fun as Musashi fights and flies on a surf board! This ninja can do anything! 

The bosses were great too. One boss in particular had you fighting a giant mutated pile of waste. He was sincerely disgusting, but a great boss for sure. The bosses were not hard, especially if you used your ninjitsu power to temporarily become invincible. After you beat a boss, it shows a picture of Musashi taking him down. I thought that was a cool addition. 

As with any good ninja, Musashi can grapple onto certain things, perform wall jumps, and even do a double jump in mid-air. He walks very stiff and upright, but if you double tap on the D pad, he will run (he runs kinda funny too). When in mid-air, he can do a downward kick, which is very helpful throughout the game. 

The music of Shinobi III is fantastic! It's classic and catchy tunes. Musashi fights with style, so it's fitting that he should have some stylish music to fight to. The music never becomes boring or repetitive; if anything, I loved hearing it. Check below for a couple of my favorite songs from the game. 

                Eeeew, gross! Beat the snot out of that thing, Musashi!

Now as good as this game is, I have some major gripes. For one thing, Musashi's double jump can be hard to pull off. You have to press the jump button at just the right time while in the air. I guess they thought it would make the game too easy if you could double jump any time you were in the air, so you have to press at just the right time otherwise nothing will happen. Well that's all fine except there are some times when you have to double jump or you will die. Level 6 is called "Traps," and puts Musashi on falling rocks. You must jump from one falling rock to the next; many times you won't make it unless you double jump, but then he won't jump because you didn't time it right and YOU DIE! Suddenly this level is very frustrating. 

But it gets worse. In the next section, you have to go through certain doors in order to make it to the boss. You are tasked with jumping up a long tower of boxes (which can be destroyed) while bad guys fly around and throw shuriken at you. If you can get this far, you will then have to wall jump up and across several rows of walls with spikes at the top; should you fall before you reach the end, you will have to redo the part with the tower of boxes and flying bad guys. And believe me, you will redo this part. Frustration ensues. For me, the controls worked great except for the double jump. This wouldn't be such a problem if not for the fact that the double jump is necessary to make it through the game. 

                               Double jump, you #*@$^ ninja!!!

And we come to the last level, which is insanely difficult. The magazine Complex had this to say concerning Shinobi III: "The only drawback? The last level was freaking impossible!" Very true. Perhaps the programmers thought that because you were playing as a ninja, you should have to perform incredible ninja feats, like jumping from pillar to pillar and dodging electric streams. Seriously, it's insane. And this is inside an airship? Why? You better hope you time all your double jumps just right. 

Final Verdict--3 Stars: It's Okay

I really wanted to give this game four stars, but that stupic double jump ruined the game for me. Level 6 is a chore to beat, but it only gets worse in the final level. Gameplay is great; music is awesome; bosses are fun; and the levels are good (except the last one). I have not played Shinobi 1 or 2, so I can't compare them. Despite its flaws and frustrations, Shinobi III is a classic action game that you might want to check out. Just be prepared for frustrations when you get to level 6. 

Join me every Saturday as we take a look back at all kinds of retro games, good and bad.