This Week in Defunct Games - January 19, 2010

What Is It? Talk about screwing up the chronology. Back in 2007 we got the great Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master uploaded to the Virtual Console. Then, two years later, Nintendo uploaded both The Revenge of Shinobi and the arcade version of the original Shinobi. At long last, we finally have the fourth piece of Sega's classic ninja franchise, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of the Shinobi. Released in 1991 (on the Genesis), Shadow Dancer is actually the third game in the series, the true sequel to the arcade game. So what is the Secret of the Shinobi? Apparently it's the fact that he's a huge dog lover. In this unique action game we find our hero teamed up with a dog, allowing for advanced dog/ninja tag-team action. For the most part the gameplay mimics the arcade original, it's still a Rolling Thunder rip-off, where you can jump between levels simply by holding up and down and pushing the jump button. Despite the game's slow pacing and extreme difficulty, the game holds up reasonably well. Plus, I'm a sucker for any game that starts with an entire megalopolis up in flames. Not sure what that says about my personality.

Does It Still Hold Up? This game definitely feels like a classic arcade game. Let's face it, this Genesis port is based on a 1989 game whose sole intent was to get you to put more quarters in the slot. It works. This game is tough and often unforgiving. You get a few continues and a bunch of lives, but even that won't be enough to get you through the first couple of levels. Like a lot of classic 2D shoot-em-ups, Shadow Dancer is going to require you to memorize your enemy's locations and their patterns. Oh, and you're going to need to teach your dog a few new tricks.

Is It Worth The Money? Shadow Dancer is an incredible game that all Shinobi fans should already own, but $8 seems a bit steep when you're talking about a game that has been featured on plenty of cheap compilation discs. If you have access to a PlayStation 2/3, Xbox 360 or even a PSP, then you should probably spring for one of the Genesis collections (Sega Genesis Collection or Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. Assuming you get those games for less than twenty dollars, Shadow Dancer will run you around fifty cents ... maybe even loss. If you're one of those gamers who only owns a Wii, then hold your nose and purchase the Nintendo Points, because Shadow Dancer is definitely worth your time.