Ninja Gaiden is a beloved franchise. So much, in fact, that there was a time when Ryu Hayabusa stood shoulder to shoulder with other famous franchise leaders like Mario, Link, Busby, and Master Chief. And now with the latest release, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Ryu, and a new addition to the franchise, Kinji Monzu, find themselves making their way back to their old status, but I don’t care about that because there’s a niche fanboy battle so specific you’ll fall out of your chair laughing. Growing up, I had a SEGA Genesis cartridge that had 6 games on it, and one of those games featured a ninja dressed in white, Shinobi. From that point on, Ninja Gaiden was lame and Shinobi was awesome. That turned out to be a terrible decision because Shinobi basically disappeared after 2002. For anyone not aware, it’s 2025.

But my time has finally come. Shinobi is back! Is the game good? Is Shinobi actually back? When it comes to Review Round Up, I’m usually impartial. Yes, I want every game to be good, but when it comes to Shinobi, maybe I’d like this game to be great. Maybe I’d like this game to be so good that it puts that nerd Ryu Hayabusa IN THE DIRT! The question still remains. Is Shinobi: Art of Vengeance a game about a Ninja or a… Non-ja.

Review Round-Up:

Each time I sat down to play, I met each obstacle with an eagerness to see what it would throw at me next, and I was rarely disappointed. This is Lizardcube’s finest work to date, and it further excites me for the rest of the dormant-franchise revivals Sega has planned. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance should serve as a blueprint for delivering a retro-facing experience of an absentee franchise while still leveraging modern technology and game design conventions. – Brian Shea, Game Informer

Last but certainly not least, if you liked what you’ve read and watched, then, by all means, head on over to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace, Nintendo eShop, or Steam to pick up Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. All you need to do is click the image below, and you will be taken to the store of your choosing. Also, I lied. One final, final thing, thank you for checking out the site. If you like this type of content, the Thinks of a Thoughter Games Release Radar will be doing this for every interesting game released this year.