The Cyber Shinobi
Encyclopedia
The Cyber Shinobi is a side-scrolling action game
produced by Sega
that was released for the Master System in . It was the third Shinobi game for the console (following Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
) and served as a futuristic-themed sequel to the original Shinobi
. The game was released exclusively in Europe
, Australia
, and Brazil
, as it was released at a time the Master System was discontinued in other markets.
The player attacks primarily with his sword and a crouching kick. The height of the player's jumps can increased as well by holding the d-pad upwards while pressing the jump button. The player has a total of four gauges on the top screen. In addition to his "life" gauge that shows the amount of damage the player can sustain before losing life, there's also a "power" gauge that determines the strength of his basic attacks, a "shot" gauge that shows the remaining ammunition of his current sub-weapon, and a "Ninjutsu" gauge that determines which spells the player can use. By destroying item containers located throughout each stage, the player can pick up power-ups marked by the letters "L", "P", "S" and "N" to fill out each individual gauge by one unit.
When the player first picks up "Shot" power-up, he will wield a shuriken
launcher, which can be replaced with an automatic "Vulcan" gun, and then a supply of grenades, by picking up subsequent "shot" power-ups. Each sub-weapon can only hold up to eight shots each and when the player's current sub-weapon runs out of ammo, he will revert back to the previous one and so-on until his last sub-weapon runs out as well.
"Ninjutsu" spells are performed by pressing buttons 1 and 2 simultaneous. There are a total of four Ninjutsu spells and although, each one requires a different amount of units to perform, only two units are actually consumed when one is performed. As a result, the player can max-out his Ninjutsu gauge, use the powerful spell, and then work his way down to the weaker ones. The Ninjutsu spells available are "Fire" (requires one or two units), "Tornado" (four units), "Lightning" (six units) and "Earth Element" (eight units).
magazine, which criticized it for its lack of content and easy difficulty. Richard Leadbetter on the May 1991 issue of Computer + Video Games gave the game a score of 46% and compared it unfavorably to the Master System version of original Shinobi.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
produced by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
that was released for the Master System in . It was the third Shinobi game for the console (following Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Alex Kidd in Shinobi World is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega that was originally released for the Master System in and later re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in . Although developed in Japan, it was released exclusively for the overseas market , with the American version...
) and served as a futuristic-themed sequel to the original Shinobi
Shinobi (arcade game)
is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released for the arcades in . In Shinobi, the player controls a modern day ninja named Joe Musashi who goes on a mission to rescue his kidnapped students from a group of terrorists...
. The game was released exclusively in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, as it was released at a time the Master System was discontinued in other markets.
Plot
Set sometime during the 21st century, the player controls the grandson of Joe Musashi, also named Joe, who is on a mission to defeat the minions of Cyber-Zeed, a terrorist organization founded by the remnants of the Zeed organization that the original Joe Musashi destroyed. Joe must fight his way through a series of six stages in order to prevent Cyber-Zeed from launching its stolen stockpiles of plutonium around the world. The stages consists of a construction site, a harbor, a heliport, a jungle, a waterfall, and the hideout of the enemy.Game System
The controls and rules of the game are completely different from the original Shinobi. While the objective of the game is to reach the end of stage and then fight a boss, unlike the original, the player is prevented from proceeding when reaching certain points of each stage until a certain enemies are eliminated (much like a side-scrolling beat-'em-up).The player attacks primarily with his sword and a crouching kick. The height of the player's jumps can increased as well by holding the d-pad upwards while pressing the jump button. The player has a total of four gauges on the top screen. In addition to his "life" gauge that shows the amount of damage the player can sustain before losing life, there's also a "power" gauge that determines the strength of his basic attacks, a "shot" gauge that shows the remaining ammunition of his current sub-weapon, and a "Ninjutsu" gauge that determines which spells the player can use. By destroying item containers located throughout each stage, the player can pick up power-ups marked by the letters "L", "P", "S" and "N" to fill out each individual gauge by one unit.
When the player first picks up "Shot" power-up, he will wield a shuriken
Shuriken
A shuriken is a traditional Japanese concealed weapon that was generally used for throwing, and sometimes stabbing or slashing...
launcher, which can be replaced with an automatic "Vulcan" gun, and then a supply of grenades, by picking up subsequent "shot" power-ups. Each sub-weapon can only hold up to eight shots each and when the player's current sub-weapon runs out of ammo, he will revert back to the previous one and so-on until his last sub-weapon runs out as well.
"Ninjutsu" spells are performed by pressing buttons 1 and 2 simultaneous. There are a total of four Ninjutsu spells and although, each one requires a different amount of units to perform, only two units are actually consumed when one is performed. As a result, the player can max-out his Ninjutsu gauge, use the powerful spell, and then work his way down to the weaker ones. The Ninjutsu spells available are "Fire" (requires one or two units), "Tornado" (four units), "Lightning" (six units) and "Earth Element" (eight units).
Reception
The game was rated 58 out of a 100 by Sega ProSega Pro
Sega Pro was the first publication from Paragon Publishing and catered for the Sega consoles: the Master System, Game Gear and the Mega Drive...
magazine, which criticized it for its lack of content and easy difficulty. Richard Leadbetter on the May 1991 issue of Computer + Video Games gave the game a score of 46% and compared it unfavorably to the Master System version of original Shinobi.