Shadow of the Ninja Reborn Review
Release date: August 29th, 2024
Developer: NatsumeAtari, Edigger, ININ
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Switch, Xbox, PSN
Price: $20
Now this is a classic with a modern twist. Bringing back a fantastic game with a remaster on modern platforms. Shadow of the Ninja Reborn is a challenging but fun platformer which deserves gamers respect.
Natsume Atari had some help with this from a few other developers on this fun remaster. The original Shadow of the Ninja was a 2d side scrolling action platformer where players could pick from different characters to battle to challenging boss fights. Natsume has shown gamers what it can do with remakes of classic games such as Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors (a game I enjoyed) so it's no surprise that Ninja Reborn is very good
This game has great couch co-op, I was hoping for online play but I had to play most of it single player. Let's start with the great. The game looks fantastic and the gameplay is similar to the original. I feel like I am playing something as fast paced as Metal Slug with a Ninja twist. The music pops and sounds great in each stage and I found myself smiling. The controls are tight and precise and can be remapped if players need. Both characters are fun to play as. I do wish they maybe had different starting weapons or some sort of special attack to mix it up
The characters look good, and the stages have a ton of details in the background and foreground. Scanlines can be enabled if gamers want them. I enjoyed the branching platforms in the levels, it feels like players have options.
Here are the few things that I was a little concerned with, the game is challenging. I died a lot and the boss fights took me a bit to work on. They are a little more manageable with a co-op buddy. I also wish there were midpoint checkpoints or something similar to help with the challenge.
Overall I enjoyed the challenge this remaster brought and I really enjoyed the presentation. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the original and is looking for something that is challenging possibly with a couch co-op friend. There is even a physical edition from Strictly Limited coming.
Thanks to Publisher and PR company for the review code.
Final Score 4/5
Pros:
Looks good
Challenging to the end
Has co-op
Cons:
Hard
Doesnt have online co-op