Whenever I think about “Shinobi”, my mind takes me back to my youth, dying endlessly in “Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master” for the Mega Drive (or Genesis, like you folks in the US call it). It was a mix of high intensity levels with precision platforming that it took me years to find anything quite like it. When “SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance” was announced, my immediate reaction was “Wait, this isn’t Shinobi, Shinobi isn’t about mixing up combos”. In many ways, I was both right and wrong.
As a franchise, “Shinobi” isn’t about mixing up combos. In fact, a small part of “Shinobi” – mainly the PlayStation 2 game – has something that resembles a mechanic remotely similar to a combo system. Like many franchises that evolved over the course of decades, there isn’t a single defining factor of what makes a game being a part of “Shinobi” except for, well, having a ninja.
You have the slow pace of the original “Shinobi”, the heavy attacks of “Shadow Dancer”, more elements of platforming in “Shinobi III”, execution attacks were a big part of Nightshade — yes, that one which nobody played and it’s awesome —, and so on and so forth. That’s what Lizardcube used as a framework for their own interpretation of the series as a whole.
Much like other games in the series, it starts with a catastrophe. Joe Musashi’s village and the birthplace of the Oboro Clan is attacked by an unknown entity. The only clue is that they can control Yokais, have a strong military presence and aren’t afraid to deploy highly advanced or experimental technologies to destroy or take control of whatever they want.
The story, for the most part, takes a backseat in “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance”. Lizardcube attempts to create an overreaching narrative and higher stakes with Musashi having a pregnant wife, Naoko — which really feels tacked on —, and adds some extra flavor with more cutscenes and characters. Sadly, although their design is mostly exceptional, they all feel one note. And, with Musashi again taking the role of the silent protagonist, just grunting whenever spoken to, it makes things even worse.
Imagine having this massive Yokai talking to you, just to answer with “Grrr”. That’s Musashi for you, a Chihuahua in the body of a ninja. His bites hurt as heck. The enemies I mean, not me.
If “Streets of Rage 4” showcased what Lizardcube could do with a Beat’ Em Up, “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance” cements the developer’s understanding of what makes great combat flow. Musashi’s arsenal is filled with various amulets that give you an edge in battle such as perforating kunais, Ninpo skills, devastating combos and powerful dive kicks.
What really surprised me the most is how easy it is to grasp most of its core mechanics while still having a very high skill ceiling. Sure, you can finish the game using the most basic “quick, quick, strong attack”, but when you start to grasp – and unlock –, more advanced moves the game really opens up.
As a massive fan of games with very lengthy combos, managing to juggle multiple enemies with a knee attack then rolling on the floor throwing multiple kunais, just to finish them off with a deadly attack that recharged my health and Ninpo skill meter was simply heaven.
Don’t even get me started on the Ninpo skills that the game offers you. Do you enjoy conjuring bombs out of thin air, throwing at an enemy and then following up with a quick strike that would completely eviscerate them? You’re going to have a field day with “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance”. And, if you do plan on tackling the biggest challenges, trust me, you’ll need everything that you can get your hands on.
The new evil villain / corporation from “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance” has a massive army ready to throw against you. That means a massive amount of enemy variety; ranging from the already aforementioned yokai, to soldiers manning all sorts of guns, turrets, planes and of course, ninjas with shurikens ready to throw at you and make you fall from a platform or get hit mid jump.
The levels themselves are probably the biggest departure from the traditional “Shinobi” formula. Although mostly linear, each level contains multiple secrets that can be unlocked, many of which are inaccessible during an initial playthrough due to the need for special tools.
Such secrets include elite enemy challenges that grant buffs to specific abilities, tokens that unlock new moves and skills from a shop that can be found throughout the level, Ankou rifts featuring the game’s most difficult platforming segments, and relics that unlock additional abilities.
And if it is a challenge that you’re looking for, the main path has plenty of. Lizardcube really flexed their artistic muscle by making every level very distinct in both enemy placement and progression. It might sound obvious — even expected of this genre — but “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance” really nails the feeling of you going on a journey of vengeance and getting stronger at every step of the way.
The bosses themselves are one of the major highlights. Between beautifully animated — and the same can be said about the whole game, really — every single one of them has a very impressive moveset that can either mow you down in just a couple of hits or can be interrupted with a strong attack, making the fight itself much shorter. I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed fighting them.
As a completionist myself, I went back and forth the game’s 16 levels and at points it almost felt like I was playing a “metroidvania” version of “Shinobi” but very straight to the point. Lizardcube’s masterful use of a good map, the option to warp to the overworld alongside fast travel makes searching for relics — that can be in the most unusual place ever — and suffering through the enemy challenges a breeze. Except for my hands, that ache after dying over 50 times to either a mercenary with a sniper or some spike that got in the way between me and my reward.
My only real criticism of the levels themselves is constricted to the final act, in which Lizardcube, for some odd reason, decided that every area should be twice as long and three times as hard. I don’t mind having big levels that I can get lost in, I am a “Hollow Knight” fan after all, but I do mind when you chain together multiple platforming sections and then a boss fight that’s just a cheap fake out. It feels padded for all the wrong reasons.
The final level itself is such a difficulty spike in its platforming sections that, for a brief moment, I thought I was playing “Celeste” with a “Shinobi” skin to the point where everything before felt like a big tutorial. I like to have this picture in my head of someone from Maddy Makes Games showing up at Lizardcube’s office and going “Ok, I cooked up this absolute banger of a level”, and then replacing it at the very last minute for giggles.
But even after many attempts and frustration, I reached the final boss and blasted him to another dimension. At that point “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance” gave me the same feeling as my young self in “Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master”, the huge grin on my face of getting over a major difficulty spike and finally watching the credits roll.
One of the things I said to Scott after wrapping the first act of “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance” was: “I am so going to become obsessed with this game”. Lo and behold, I am. I still have to snag all the secrets and special enemy encounters, S rank every level on arcade mode and finally tackle Boss Rush mode. And honestly, once you sit down to write a critique like this one, knowing that you still have the fire to go play more? That’s a massive glowing recommendation from me.
Is this the “Shinobi” I grew up with? Absolutely not. It’s a facet of “Shinobi” nobody knew it existed — that could exist — until now. Lizardcube showcases, once again, that can take a familiar framework and turn into something completely new and reinvigorating. It is just as good as “Streets of Rage 4” and, by far, my favorite action platformer game of 2025.
A Steam code was provided by the publisher for review purposes
