You spend years waiting for a new 2D action platformer starring ninjas to come along, and then two show up within a month of each other. Both Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Shinobi: Art of Vengeance revitalize their respective, long-dormant franchises by successfully harkening back to their roots. There are obvious similarities between the two games, but they’re also wildly different. While Ragebound is deliberately old-school, Art of Vengeance feels more modern, paying homage to the past while dragging the absent series into the current gaming landscape.
From its luscious hand-drawn art style to its deep, combo-laden action, developer Lizardcube has accomplished with Shinobi what it previously achieved with Wonder Boy and Streets of Rage. The Parisian studio knows how to resurrect Sega’s past hits with remarkable aplomb, and Art of Vengeance is no different.
Equipped with a katana in one hand and a sharpened batch of kunai in the other, Art of Vengeance reintroduces legendary protagonist Joe Musashi after an extended exile. As the game’s title suggests, this is a story about Joe’s quest for vengeance, as the opening moments see his village burned to the ground and his ninja clan turned to stone. ENE Corp, an evil paramilitary organisation led by the antagonistic Lord Ruse and his demonic minions, is behind the attack, setting in motion a straightforward tale that sees you hunt down Lord Ruse while disrupting his various operations.
There’s more of a narrative here than in the original 1987 Shinobi, but that’s not saying much. In fact, it feels more akin to a video game story from the ’90s, providing an impetus for the game’s action but mostly staying out of the way–offering no compelling characters and even fewer surprises.
Despite this, it’s difficult not to be enraptured by Art of Vengeance’s world thanks to a striking aesthetic that looks beautiful in screenshots and dazzles in motion. Creating vibrant hand-drawn art is Lizardcube’s forte, after all. The studio isn’t a one-trick pony, though, impressively adapting its style to fit the needs of each new game. Art of Vengeance still looks distinctly European, but it’s imbued with Japanese flavor in its use of expressive brushstrokes, drawing inspiration from both French and Japanese artists to create a unique style that’s endlessly captivating.
Very few games even attempt to achieve a similar look–instead, comics and movie/TV animation are a more fitting reference point for its gorgeous art style. It does, however, feel like there’s a direct throughline to Sega’s past and the Genesis games of the ’90s, such as Earthworm Jim, Comix Zone, Aladdin, and The Lion King; retro games that aped the style of the movies, TV shows, and comics they were either based on or inspired by. With this, Art of Vengeance manages to evoke a sense of nostalgia while still being unmistakably modern.
You only need to look at the depth and attention to detail in each frame to come to this conclusion. When it calls for it, Lizardcube utilizes the game’s backdrops to create a fantastic sense of scale as additional details trail off into the distance. What would otherwise be a fairly dreary shipyard is elevated by the towering cargo ships and cranes looming in the background, while the extent of a congested fish market ensures that you can almost smell the stench. Elsewhere, a scorching desert stretches for as far as the eye can see, with the bones of long-slain beasts and buried temples protruding from the sand dunes.
Each stage is visually distinct, too, whether you’re dashing through the pummeling rain of a neon-soaked city–the innards of its derelict buildings doused in colorful graffiti–or exploring an underwater military base that darkens the deeper you submerge, with bioluminescent jellyfish providing the only source of light beyond its giant reinforced windows. Art of Vengeance is the definition of eye candy, although there are occasions where it can be tough to see yourself when the screen is filled with enemies.
Some stages keep things simple in terms of level design, adopting the classic left-to-right formula with the occasional branching path for you to explore in search of secrets. Others are more expansive, offering multiple routes with different objectives to complete before returning to a central area. The city I mentioned earlier, for instance, requires you to rescue hostages before moving on–a nod to the original Shinobi–whereas a later level challenges you to fight your way from one end of a moving train to the other. Throw in some intricate platforming, environmental puzzles, and compelling exploration, and variety isn’t just a facet of the game’s visuals.
Navigating these levels is also a joy thanks to Joe’s responsiveness and fluid movement. You initially start with a few basic traversal options, but it doesn’t take too long before you’re chaining together double jumps, wall jumps, and mid-air dashes; climbing up walls with Ninja Claws, using grapple points to propel yourself forward, and blasting through breakable walls with Joe’s Cannon Punch. The gradual unlocking of these abilities also gives you an incentive to revisit previous stages and access areas you couldn’t before. Each level has a checklist of secrets to discover, from chests filled with money you can spend to unlock new attacks and abilities, to elite enemy units that are tough to take down but reward you handsomely when you do so.
There’s a delectable flow to Art of Vengeance’s platforming that directly translates to its combat, allowing you to seamlessly chain together various attacks to create potentially never-ending combos that reward experimentation and creativity. The fluidity and responsiveness of Joe’s movement is something that continues to stand out when engaging in combat, making the act of slicing through enemies with Joe’s katana consistently satisfying.
There’s a fantastic sense of progression, too, as you gradually add to your repertoire of attacks, building combos with a mixture of light and heavy strikes that let you dodge enemies, juggle them in the air, and then finish them off with a dramatic execution that sees their lifeless body explode in a fountain of blood, money, and healing orbs.
Beyond the katana and kunai, Joe also has access to a variety of powerful moves known as Ninpo and Ninjutsu. You can equip up to four of the former and unleash these magic abilities to transform into a giant snake, launch fireballs, and engulf yourself in water to parry incoming attacks. Ninjutsu, on the other hand, are even more potent moves that see Joe power up like he’s turning Super Saiyan before, say, dealing massive damage to every enemy on screen or replenishing a large amount of your health. Each of these abilities operates on a type of gauge that charges when you attack enemies or sustain damage. They’re powerful, but aren’t readily available, and feel appropriately balanced to the point where using them feels strategic.
You can also find and equip different amulets that grant bonuses based on their type. Passive amulets are always active in the background, altering heavy attacks so that they deal more damage to shields or modifying your kunai to pierce through multiple enemies at twice the ammo cost. Combo amulets activate once your combo reaches a specific number, so you might hit harder after your combo reaches 30, earn a gold coin with every hit after 25, or launch a larger, more powerful fireball Ninpo after racking up 20 kills on the bounce. Art of Vengeance completely nails the fundamentals of a 2D action platformer, but there’s also a ton of depth churning away below the surface that elevates its phenomenal combat to new heights.
At around eight hours in length, the campaign wraps up before a slight hint of tedium creeps in. For those who still want more, however, finishing the game also unlocks a boss rush and arcade mode, challenging you with a gauntlet of the game’s most formidable foes or letting you return to previous levels to try and beat them as quickly and efficiently as possible to achieve the highest rank. Continuing beyond the final credits only reaffirms just how enjoyable the game is, that retreading old ground is still so captivating.
Shinobi: Art of Vengeance has few equals when it comes to 2D combat. It’s a thrilling triumph, emblazoned by a striking art style that confirms Lizardcube is at the top of its game. After a prolonged absence, this is the perfect way to reintroduce the world to Shinobi and Joe Musashi, instantly revitalizing one of Sega’s earliest heroes with his best game to date. There’s still a clear reverence for the past here, but Art of Vengeance also pushes the genre forward with an emphasis on deep combat that flows just as smoothly as water and has the looks to back it up. Ninjas are eating well.
