Game Review: 'Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance'
Joe Musashi returns to fight evil once again in SEGA's newest 2D side-scrolling action-platformer Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. It is the twelfth Shinobi title in the series since the original arcade games in 1987. The game is developed by LizardCube, the same team that worked on Streets of Rage 4 back in 2020, for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.
Oboro village, home of Joe Musashi's clan, was attacked and destroyed by ENE Corporation. Among the casualties were most of Musashi's students in the village, but Joe's wife, Naoko, and his loyal student Tomoe were the only ones who survived ENE Corporation's onslaught. Devastated by the attack and the fall of his clan, Joe, along with his trusty spirit dog Yamato, set out on a quest for revenge against ENE.
Visuals and Gameplay
SEGA decided to go back to the game's roots with its 2D action platformer gameplay, which longtime Shinobi fans know and love. With the success of Streets of Rage 4, due to its colorful, hand-drawn styled visuals, SEGA tapped LizardCube once again to develop Shinobi: Art of Vengeance for modern consoles.
Everything is well-animated, from the character sprites to the game's backgrounds. The visuals are gorgeous and breathtaking. Each stage feels like playing a Metroidvania game due to its vastness. Lots of callbacks from previous Shinobi games, most notably from Shinobi III (1993), which was one of the most highly acclaimed games for the SEGA Genesis/Megadrive.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance retains most, if not all, of the gameplay mechanics from its previous games. Joe Musashi now has a new array of ninja moves, combos, and he can cast Ninjutsu and Ninpo spells to unleash powerful attacks on enemies. Additionally, Joe can now do double jumps, glide, and cling/climb onto walls, just to name a few, to navigate and explore each stage.
Speaking of vast stages, players can find hidden rooms and secret paths along the way. Plus, the game has well-placed checkpoints and "shops" to upgrade Joe's ninja moves and spells.
Game Optimization and Soundtrack
LizardCube did an incredible job with the optimization of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance for the PlayStation 4. The game runs smoothly on the console, and the controls are excellent. Again, hats off to SEGA for still supporting the PlayStation 4, with incredible games such as Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and hopefully, continue to do so in 2026.
Not to be outdone is the killer soundtrack from Tee Lopes and the legendary Yuzo Koshiro, which made Shinobi: Art of Vengeance even more special. The game's immersive soundtrack will keep gamers playing for hours.
Verdict
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is one of the best 2D side-scrolling action platformers ever made for modern consoles, especially for the PlayStation 4. SEGA made the right decision to get LizardCube back to develop Shinobi: Art of Vengeance and introduce it to a new generation of gamers.
Incredible job by LizardCube to use 2D hand-drawn animations and backgrounds for the game. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is just so visually beautiful and stunning, along with incredible gameplay, retaining some of the mechanics from past games, and new moves for Joe Musashi to boot. Great optimization on the PlayStation 4 as well. Excellent level design as well.
The cherry on top is the amazing soundtrack crafted by the musical minds of Tee Lopes and Yuzo Koshiro.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance will definitely keep gamers playing for hours.
Whether everybody agrees or not, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is definitely Game of the Year material.
Noob Geek rating: 9.5/10
(Note: Review code provided by SEGA Asia)
