Shinobi X

STORY / GAMEPLAY
A Ninjitsu Master chooses three children to follow and continue the ninja traditions for the next generations to come. The two brothers Kazuma and Sho and the Master's only daughter Aya are the chosen ones. Years of civil war have brought the Ninjitsu code and Ninja warriors to the brink of extinction. As the years passed, Kazuma (the older of the two brothers) rejects all the Ninjitsu teachings since he's obsessed and "hungry" for power, demanding his Master to teach him the Ultimate Technique so that he can be unbeatable. But the wise Master refuses and Kazuma is forced to leave the family promising to come back. After some time, Kazuma returns with an army and the resources to build a fortress. He sets up a trap to lure Sho into his hideout and kidnaps Aya and now Sho is the only one to protect the family and rescue Aya. Along the way, Sho will come across various foes and obstacles, including end-level boss encounters while he must also avoid bombs before they explode. The gameplay itself is largely the same as in Shinobi III (released in 1992). Sho is hurling shurikens or slices up the enemies that get in his way. The young Ninja gains some special abilities by picking up items scattered across each level. The power-ups vary from yellow and red orbs that restore his hit points to some temporary Ninjitsu abilities (the Great Sword or the Bunshin clone shield).
The gameplay is rather simple and reminds us of most 2D side-scrolling action games. You may jump onto platforms (roofs etc) or even across tree branches (at Level 2) taking-out hordes of enemies. The controls, though, are sometimes "sloppy" since jumping is imprecise, especially when trying to perform a double jump maneuver. Other than that, Shinobi X is fun to play as it offers actual arcade-style, side-scrolling action.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
Technically the game has great visuals and sound. The sprites are digitized much like those in the popular Mortal Kombat series, with fast animation. The backgrounds are colorful and reasonably interesting and they include animated scenes. Note that the game has a few nice, digitized cut-scenes that introduce each level and use real actors.
The game's sound is equally great with outstanding in-game tunes along with sampled sound effects that really add to the experience. Note that, all in-game tracks found of the Japanese version (the original release) were replaced by the British video game music composer Richard Jacques.