Both the NES and SNES are some of my favorite retro video game platforms of all time. “Shadow of the Ninja” or “KAGE” was released in 1989 on the NES platform and soon became one of the most beloved games of all time.
Fast forward to 2024, we finally have a full, proper remake of the game reimagined for modern platforms. The remake, known as “Shadow of the Ninja Reborn,” not only kept the true essence of the original game but also added modern techniques and elements, making it an even better game.
Usually, modern remakes do not do justice to the original 8-bit or 16-bit games in terms of depth and essence, but this remake has proved everyone wrong, which makes me very happy.
The game starts by giving players the choice to play as one of the two main characters for solo players. Co-op is present as well. The game begins with the legendary opening sequence of the ship level, but you may notice many changes throughout your playthrough, including level design, graphics, and background score.
The backgrounds in each level are heavily inspired by the original game, hence keeping the old essence intact while providing a proper livable 2.5D-like environment, which helps in providing depth to the level design.
Our characters can now carry more weapons and items instead of just having a single one to use and throw. Both weapons and health packs can be carried and used whenever needed, and they carry over to the next stage if unused, which is neat.
There are lots of temporary weapons to choose from, ranging from short-burst shotguns to shuriken. There are also a few heavy damage weapons like bats and others, which do a lot of damage when used but are balanced by having less usage/ammo.
You can get these weapons and health packs as you go along and collect loot from destroyed boxes, which can be accumulated to provide a versatile playing experience.
You have your usual swords and also a power-up slasher just like the last game, but this time you also get to keep your anchor with you at all times, which helps to deal with enemies at longer distances.
You can also sacrifice a part of your life bar and use your powerful attack, which destroys almost all enemies on the screen or damages bosses to a good extent. This is very good for clearing multiple waves of enemies as well.
Traversal is very smooth, and you can hop onto platforms with ease. You can also jump and rotate mid-air to reach longer distance platforms at any point in the game.
Movement and controls are tight, providing a very good gameplay experience where I haven’t noticed a single mis click on attacks or jumps, which is super neat.
“Shadow of the Ninja Reborn” retains the same bosses and level design elements from the original game but has improved them significantly. Bosses have been modernized to match the look and feel of the stages and have been given new sets of attacks, providing more depth to them.
Performance-wise, the game has no issues, and I have not encountered a single bug during my two weeks of playing it, even before release, which is a huge plus these days.
There are also multiple phases of the bosses. Initially, they are not so challenging to defeat, but later on, the last two levels provide quite a challenging experience, which may take you multiple tries to overcome.
The soundtrack has been modernized with a semi-remix tune of the original, providing a metallic tone to the entire game. All the levels keep their original soundtrack, which is neat.
Each level and boss fight start off with a certain timer, but it hasn’t impacted my playthrough since the time allotted has been more than enough for me to finish the levels.
At the end of every stage, you get points that can be used to buy weapons at the very beginning of your playthrough, like having health packs or your favorite weapons at hand from the start, which is an added bonus.
It’s also good to see that the developers have not sacrificed the difficulty of the game, which can be seen later in the final two stages.
P.S – Thanks to Pr Hound for providing us a game code for the review
Buy: Here
Conclusion
All in all, “Shadow of the Ninja Reborn” improves upon its predecessor by providing a fantastic gaming experience to both veterans and newcomers. It mixes traditional levels and game design with a modern look and feel, and also introduces new gameplay elements that add depth to its already fantastic gameplay experience. It is a must-buy from our side.
