Shinobi PS2: Struggle for Style 

To this day, one of the best scarfs in any game of all time.

It's not an especially important thing, but I always liked how Shinobi managed to have a darker visual style while still being really colorful. I know that's a bit of a weird thing to note, but I always thought it was cool. ...You leanr to appreciate the visuals of each level because you're gonna be seeing them a lot after dying and retrying, that's for sure.

30 years old and I still remember the "Shinobi is back" tag line from the trailer

This was an admirable attempt at breaking into the genre, its just a shame it never got successfully iterated on.

This is an extremely underappreciated game that deserves its place in character action game history. People who meme about Souls games being hard need to play this.

The OST for this game fucking slaps. I'm still listening to Henbou, Moritsune, Enjo 20 years later.

Dude, I always loved Shinobi, and Kunoichi, and miss seeing the dude’s scarf all over the place, leaving illusions around, slicing up so many enemies within a minute.

I never in my life, suffered so much to beat an end boss like Shinobi and I was able to have a 9+ string combo and killed him in style...toke me so long too. Man It almost cathartic reading comments and seeing that I'm not the only one who suffered from this boss

This, along with Tenchu: Wrath Of Heaven, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy X were my first PS2 games. And after all these years, Shinobi remains my favorite.

This was my VERY first game along with Ratchet & Clank. I played them both as demos at first when I was barely 5 years old and they stand as my foundation for my gaming understandings, skills, patience, and appreciation to this day

My first and favorite PS2 game I ever owned. This and Nightshade/Kunoichi will forever hold a place in my heart. The entire soundtrack goes hard too.

My friend was a serious gamer that worked at Gaestop. He sold several copies of this game under the challenge "if you can beat the last boss on the hardest mode he would give the person his car." Nobody won the car

I love this game, it's super simple but it's all about execution. The dash mechanic is still one of the best implemented yet, it feels perfect and with that scarf...

One of my favorite games of all time. I remember getting the 112 Issue of Gameinformer in the mail and reading the Feature on upcoming ninja games and Shinobi was featured there. I was so entranced by the teased red scarf aesthetic i started saving all the money i could as a 12 year old from chores and birthdays etc so i could buy it as soon as it came out. The day it came out i got my mom to drive me to the game store to buy it for me, getting home booting it up being entranced by the music and the at the time awesome graphics. The difficulty of the game soon became apparent but i didn't care i buckled down and made myself Git Gud because dang it i was a Ninja! Truly one of the most Nostalgic games for me.

Character designs in this game were so badass. There is also always a monster boss fight in one level followed by a humanoid boss fight in the next (Stage 1-A > 1-B, 2-A > 2-B etc.) Rarely it's double humanoid fight. The final boss of this game is like a prototype, rom-hack version of metal gear revengeance bosses. You start with no music and when the first phase is done it starts slapping.

In 8th grade I play this game so much the timer on the total play time read 99hours 99mintues and 99 seconds. Wouldn't go past that. Long live Hostuma and the Orboro Clan!

I got this game back when Gamestop still had bargain bins for about 5 bucks and fell in love with it. I also totally agree on the final boss fight being an absolute chore, but the rest of the game before was enjoyable. Also, the soundtrack for me is the biggest highlight, as I still find myself humming tunes to this day.

One of the most underrated ps2 games on the console. Hotsuma and his scarf is one of my favorite ninja character designs along with strider and ryu hayabusa

You are the god of nostalgia (please never stop uploading or private this channel)

One of my all time favorites. Even with the aneurysm inducing final boss. Tip for the hardest difficulty with the boss. Get to him with all the scrolls(easier said than done) and use the invincibility power to kill the annoying talisman monsters with the wonky hit boxes. It makes u fasterI think, and you don't have to worry about their fireballs and accidental hits messing up tour tate attempt or even killing you. Start the powerup on the later batches only when six or eight enemies have appeared on screen, though, so you can make sure the tate or hit does enough damage. Also, if you die reset the run before the game over screen so you keep the scrolls and can try again. I managed to do it in roughly an hour that way after DAYS of trying with no success. That's as close as you'll get to an "easy" way to beat him. It's still pretty hard,though. If I can spare someone the days and hours of frustration I had before figuring that out, I'm glad. Have fun

i love it that now we can have channels like yours to finally review the thousands of PS2 gems that went kinda unnoticed all this time with such high quality production, the PS2 is without a doubt the greatest console to ever grace this earth

DAMN haven't thought about this game in a looong time ... I remember losing my mind after finally beating that fuxking final boss. Me and 6 other friends were stuck on ot forever, I finally killed him at a Lan party one night 🤣🤘

14:00 Honestly Nightshade makes a lot of quality of life updates which would have made the first game feel even better like the ‘air kick’. I would argue even the camera was done better in Nightshade. Hibana as a character in dialogue gets annoying outside of a few awesome moments and the subplot with her, Jimushi, and Hisui is so pre-teen. ALSO, you should mention the charge blade and kick mechanic for Shinobi. THAT and stealth dashing behind bosses are key as well. All enemies(iirc) take the least damage in their front, more on their sides and the most from behind and this is how bosses with bodies were meant to be one-shotted(namely Hiruko who you can kill in this way/from behind even if he’s floating in mid-air) and how tough enemies like the ogres or those staff-wielding goblin/bird looking dudes were meant to be taken out. All in all, I love most of your stuff but I’m not really impressed by this video and wish you could’ve spent more time extrapolating on this game or splitting it into parts if it seems like a lot but hey I get it. This game was great to me but for you it’s stand-out but not enough to warrant more time spent than many other titles on your roster and that’s all good. I appreciate the content regardless

this was my jam back in highschool.. good times

The PS2 Shinobi, is an underrated hack and slash Sega games ever made. No one ever talks about this gem that much. It looks good,it plays good and the long red scarf is one of the best things about this game. Glad that you made this video. People need to know this game and I think Sega should remaster this or make a modern reboot of the franchise.

It’d be cool if Shinobi returned today, imagine what they could do

And unpopular opinion: the sequel to this PS2's game was awesome af. They fixed up a lot of things including the aim system.

I played it this year alongside the sequel and it was great. Good to know I'm not the only one who thought of Vergil.

One move that I don't think you mentioned is the charged dash attack. If you hold the attack button down, Hotsuma will go into a pose while charging energy. If you charge to the maximum, you can dash to the nearest target on the ground to get that final kill you need in case an enemy is too far away. This attack also seems to negate enemy blocks, so useful to kill annoying blocking enemies easily. I noticed people who play this usually don't know about it.

This was such a revolutionary game back in the day. Really loved chaining multiple kills and getting the little cutscene seeing all of them die at once. Would love to see that mechanic come back in a samurai game.

I'm honestly suprised at how it's been over 22 years, and I'm not aware of any other game that incorporates the 'enemies stay in place and fall apart only when you kill them all, and manage to not get hit'. That shit went fucking HARD.

So glad someone actually covered this game. I just beat it for the first time about a month ago and I agree the game has it's fair share of jank but it has that challenge to it that truly is intrinsic that keeps bringing you back.

Remember playing this as a kid, was to hard but didnt stop me, its art was insane the scarf to, ive always wanted a scarf like that

The tate system is so goddamn stylish, and I think it'd be a fun mode in other character action games too, similar to a "Dante Must Die" mode.

I had night shade back in the day had a demo of this too. Started playing it on my Steam Deck, brings back memories

Yep, that last boss was a ball buster, Glad you stuck it through. It took me longer than the rest of the game as well!

As soon as I heard Hotsuma speak, I had to pause the video and look up the voice cast for this game to make sure it wasn't actually Daniel Southworth voicing him because you could not have been more right with the Devil May Cry 3 Vergil comparison. DMC 3 is a masterclass action game but Vergil's localized voice was one of my few gripes with it lol. I'm glad I found your channel by the way. Kbash (another content creator on this platform who I follow and watch avidly) often retweets your uploads and I figured if he's into you, you must be good. I was right. I've been really enjoying what I've seen so far and I love how unabashedly you flaunt your love for Berserk.

YOOOO, I never though somebody would ever make a video on this childhood game of mine this is sick

11:16: THIS. I played this game all the way to this point when it came out, and memory aside, i never finished it. I remember going through all the frustrating issues/points you've raised. Thanks for doing this review. It really took me back the nostalgia lane. Subscribed

This game had the most beautiful teleports I've seen a ninja do in a game. The silhouettes he leaves behind are awesome.

Wow I remember renting this from blockbuster way back in the day when I was a kid. I don't think I ever even made it to a single boss but I remember the scarf, now I want to play this again

This game was ahead of its time. The cut scenes were so smooth and crisp. One of the best (and more difficult) PS2 single player games of that era...and I still own a physical copy. 🎮

0:57 reminds me of Raikoh's hair physics in Otogi for the Xbox. Edit; honestly a lot of this is similar to Otogi. I checked and they were made around the same time, crazy.

I remember getting so mad at this game I bit my controller and threw it at a wall. Weeks later my friend was playing PS2 with me and was like, "Did you bight your controller!?" it left a tooth mark that forever remained

My child hood experience of having to restart this game from the start every time i turned my playstation off because i had no memory card will forever be etched into my soul.

This had one of the best combat elements ever in a hack and slash with the Tate system.

One of my favorite PS2 games and so looked-over for bigger AAA titles. The later stages, I agree suck, because they start relying upon walk-cling while doing the cinematic kill. There's just a ton of dying because you got the kill but then you're placed back into the game in mid-air with little time to dash back to safety. Also, how did you not mention the soundtrack to this game?! It's so damn good! I honestly wish they remade this game.

I need all these games again. Tenchu, Shinobido, Onimusha, Shinobi...

I personally love love love this game the music the style the action the arcade-ness is just perfect

To date, since starting games from the Sega Genesis era, this is the one final boss I was never able to beat and gave up on. The first phase killed my willpower after awhile.

Looking back at it.. I can't believe I actually finished this game back in Highschool. I don't think I can muster the same amount of patience anymore. The game was so frustrating beyond words but the sarisfaction you get as you power up your swords through chain-kills was damn sweet

Literally never even heard about this game before this video, but I’m gonna try this out. Good review as always Cvit

Love this game. I remember the last boss being very difficult. But even still, this is a masterpiece.

The final boss, you need to: 1. Boot him 2. Spin around to his back 3. Slash

Thank you for covering this game! This was a great video! I remember wanting this game when it first came out. I grew up playing the older version on sega as a kid so when my father got it for my Christmas of 02 it was my dream. Man was this game hard and even till this day it will give you a run for your money. I remember that last boss battle being a pain in the ass on super mode. I gave the game a break and came back and beat it. I got the ex missions and beat those too. I loved how you could get extra characters and Joe Musashi as an unlockable character was epic. This is one game till this day I wish got some sort of remake or some spark of life for consoles.

Never played this game but looking at it made me think of tenchu ps2/xbox games

There are kick moves and kunai moves that the game doesnt really explain along with how specials work but other then that its great also bonus characters are a thing in this too

This where my love for ninja/assassin games came in

I beat the ending wizard boss on Super with Joe musashi. Joe has infinite projectiles but they don't stun. However what they do is they allow you to hit the wizzard in his intro phase so you dont have to run to him Everytime until you hear the broken glass.instead you can stay in the middle,lock on and throw.

Shinobi and Nighstshade / Kunoichi have such incredible soundtracks. It was such a good era music wise, pure adrenaline and a somewhat futuristic atmosphere. I sucked major ass at Shinobi but that scarf, execution style and levels had me hooked.

I remember beating this game was one helluva an achievement. I have shivers of the idea of regoing through it again. Yes, that final boss was an absolute nightmare from what I remember.

Always wanted to try this game out, glad to hear that (aside from the final boss) it still holds up pretty well!

One of my favorite PS2 games of ALL TIME

I looooooved this game. It was amazing to see the enemies slice into pieces...the ninpo and soundtrack. Sick wall runs and amazing scarf. Holy eff

Shinobi and Nightshade are my two favourite PS2 games. They simply don’t get the recognition they deserve. It always felt like they came out at a time when it was cool to pretend that Sega games weren’t good enough, but with Shinobi, that’s far from the case. It takes practice, but once you learn the mechanics with Akujiki, the combat is amazing. I desperately wish we’d get a new installment, of Shinobi generally to be fair, but particularly of the 3D games.

I never heard anyone say that if a boss has minions it's not interesting enough to fight on it's own. That's a good point.

It took me almost 3 hours to beat the final boss it was brutal; I still tell people it was harder than Dark Souls lol

God I love your action game coverage. I heard about this game before on some website and have been considering picking it up from the PS3 store (like God Hand. It's one of those PS2 classics you can buy) but I've been short on money so I don't really wanna spend the 15 bucks lol Hope I eventually get around to it

One of my favorite PS2 games of all time. So glad to see it finally getting some love!

didnt know what i was doing when i played this as a kid but he looked so cool it became my favorite.

Like 20yrs ago, as a young kid this game had me damn near in tears i swear 😅 Beat it eventually as a teen tho 🙃 lost my sanity a bit in the process if i remember right

Just by looking at the scarf gives off Strider Hiryu vibes.

I put this right up there with FFX, GTA San Andreas and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 as one of my favorite PS2 games of all time. Also, after 30 years of gaming, Hotsuma is still one of the coolest looking characters ever.

I once had a prequel tie-in comic for this game. Art was pretty cool.

You have no worldly clue just how long I have been trying to remember the name of the "ninja game with the flame pips around the health bar". THANK YOU.

It's a good thing I loved the music in this game because I remember hearing the game over music quite often :P

The music for the final stage. The stuff of nightmares. Truly beautiful nightmares. I can listen to it on repeat for a while.

Definitely one of my fav childhood games. I looked everywhere for my old console just to reminisce the fun/nostalgia. ❤️

Great video! Shinobi PS2 is one of my favorite games of all time and I think you really showed off why it's so fun. While I definitely agree with some of the complaints about jank, there's always ways around them. I think being able to cancel your lock on in order to grab the right target is an important skill. Another thing that I didn't see you talk about is Hotsuma's kick that you're able to perform, this will guard break enemies and leave them vulnerable. There's also the hidden mechanic of enemies taking more damage from behind. You have to utilize all of these in the final fight against Hiruko or else it just becomes RNG on if you can hit him or not. I'm not trying to write this off as "skill issue" but I think when you truly master everything that you can do in this game you will minimize the jank, there's still some random bs camera angles and Hotsuma not grabbing onto walls though.

Now you gotta cover the Onimusha games if you haven’t already. Specifically, Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, and Dawn of Dreams.

This game and Nightshade were absolutely fantastic. So brutal and rewarding. Truly felt like a ninja.

Shinobi and nightshade were so unique and perfect i dont care what anyone says game took pure skill

Only success i had when younger was accidentally learning they equip the ninjas with a stun kick. That helped me defeat the boss with less gimmicky tactics like feeling i could only use the magic

an oldie you took me back to. Adam Sessler did a review which hasn't left me.

I think Shinobis was what got me into ninja's. It was that sword and scarf and them poses.

From software did not dream of creating the souls genre and this game had amazing boss fights and level traversal

2 games that I always wanted a remake of. Shinobi 🥷 and Soul Reaver.

This game and it's sequels just really hit homw for me aesthetically, i absolutely love the vision and direction of it all from the visuals to the music. Just literally everything about the ps2 shinobi games is pure vibes.

Beating this game is still til this day my greatest gaming acheivement.

I mastered this game when I was a kid. One of my favorite games of all time. I was super addicted to this game.

No wonder he's so *MOTIVATED*

I loved this game as a kid it was too cool and the music was top tier. I didn’t beat it until I was like 18 when I bought it on my ps3 when it was put on the PS Store. My best friend watched me play through the game and we were both disappointed by the ending after all that hard work and the years it took to finally beat it. I still love this game and always will

Is this era nostalgic enough for developers to draw from yet?

I some what remember this. My brother had it and i watched him play

Also whoever is playing the game in most of this footage is not playing it well. You should never double jump before going after an enemy. You should jump then dash towards the event, then slash him, then do your double jump and dash back to a platform or towards a new enemy. Every time you slash an enemy your double jump is reset so you can use that to platform your way out of a pitfall. The simplified game loop is this: on the ground you dash towards an enemy, then dash around them to prevent them blocking your attack, then you slash them and your dash to the next enemy. In the air enemies don't block your attacks, so you jump towards them, then you dash at them, then you slash, then you jump towards the next one and dash and repeat. That way you always have a extra double jump to get out of danger.. You can also throw your shuriken at flying enemies to make them fall to the ground, or at ground enemies to simply stun them and prevent them from blocking all together. Even though this video praises the awesome gameplay that this game has it simply is not able to showcase it properly due to lack of competence of the player I'm afraid.. I don't think this game is unforgiving at all.. I think it's a matter of learning the correct way of playing. It is definitely not a unfair game such as dark souls. You just got to get familiar with the patterns and you can play from beginning to end. Though I must say that the final boss is on a different level from the rest of the game. The final boss uses every single thing that the game uses against you all at once and in new combinations. But, the final boss aside, the game isn't unfair at all in my opinion

Shinobi 3 was my first Sega Genesis game as a kid, and Shinobi was also one of the first PS2 games that I purchased with my own money, so the series has a special nostalgic place in my heart.

I used to play this game out as a kid on my little silver skinny ps2. This was my childhood.

I love this game so much. I think I got it when I was 10 or 11 after playing it on this demo disc I had a few years prior. The scarf. Iconic. The agility was so fun. Learning to build up power by chaining kills while being quick and accurate and actually learn to counter certain enemies was great. When I got to the mall the guy with the dogs was a hard boss fight and I had to learn to chain kills better for that one. I would have liked the game to have been longer. I would like to see more games like it.

In the later lvls the perfect kill becomes essential. Especially in hard and and playing as his brother.

Shinobi and Zone of Enders was a great time go play !!