I can't describe how MAGICAL this was to see in the arcades in 1987... unreal LARGE sprites... the different color ninjas... the gun... SO cool.. so epic... pure magic.... this is all missing in todays games.. magic
I think you are right, this game was special. There is something about it that 30 years later we are still talking about it.Today's games are just missing it
Your episodes just get better and better Pat. I hope your managing to keep your sanity during all this madness. Your videos are my only bright spot these days. They bring me back to my happy times. ;-) Stay well Pat.
One of my old arcade favorites, and I had the excellent Sega Master System port, as well, and it's one of my all-time SMS favorites. They REALLY did a great job on the port.
I always love seeing your videos since they cover ports I was never even aware of. I didn't have a computer in my home until around 1990 and it wasn't really equipped for gaming. The Sega Master System version was iconic and one of my favorite games on the system. Just to add to this.- the two major changes to the game when it releases on PS3 and Xbox 360 were the removal of the Marilyn Monroe posters, and the Spider-Man sprite's color palette being changed to green and yellow. The Marilyn image was trademarked and used without permission, and the Spider-man enemy was Sega under the assumption they had free reign to use Spider-Man in whatever they wanted when they acquired the license from Marvel to produce a Spider-Man game, so even though the sprite wasn't an exact match, it had to be changed since they never had license to use Spidey in Shinobi in the first place
Just watched both parts Patman, and it has been just what I needed after two weeks of sheer Hell on Earth. The moments of comedy you throw in are so deadpan and unexpected, I often find myself spitting tea over the tablet (or the poor unsuspecting dog!) Thanks for the laughs and such an interesting documentary, buddy. You obviously put a hell of a lot of time and effort into this one. Stay distanced. Stay at home. Stay safe. Stay Alive. Blessings to you and yours 🇺🇲🇬🇧
Don't kill yourself out there my friend. One person can only do so much. Thanks for the nice words, glad that I can provide a few moments of laughter. Stay safe and well
I like that you put in my favorite fight of all time from Drunken master 2 , the pic of pinhead was nice as well. That spectrum version is impressive. Also, I think there's some confusion at the end when you're talking about "The Revenge of Shinobi" and not shinobi. I only mention it because anyone who watches my stuff knows it's my favorite game of all time. Great video man.
While that was a faux pas because the notes at the end of the video was back when it was one extremely long one instead of splitting it up into two. Sorry for the confusion
Around the same time when Shinobi was released in arcades, the 80's action movie genre was centered around Ninjas and lots of different movie titles. The main character Joe Musashi in the animation indeed looks like Sho Kosugi who happens to be in a lot of 80's Ninja films. Last but not least my favorite 80's Ninja movie is Prey For Death featuring Sho Kosugi.
Thank you for this excellent and honest review; I REALLY appreciate you telling it like it is. What I mean is that you aren't afraid to say that certain versions of games are better than others, and that's what I really like. Health and happiness to you, Patman~!
That's a good arcade game. The music is good in this game as you start from the first level. The first boss looks like the shredder from TMNT cartoons in the 80's!
TRIVIA: The Stage 1 boss of Shinobi, Ken Oh, is a reference to the legendary fight anime/manga franchise Hokuto No Ken (literally "Fist of the Big Dipper," "Fist of the Great Bear," and/or "Fist of Ursa Major"), better known by its mistranslated English title (which is also used in Japan), Fist of the North Star. Coincidentally, Sega has had an on-and-off licensing relationship with the HNK/FOTNS franchise for many years. In the HNK/FOTNS franchise, Ken-Oh is the name the lead antagonist of the series, Raoh, gives himself as he restores "peace" to post-apocalyptic Earth with his armies and lethal martial-arts superpowers. The name Ken-Oh is literal Japanese for "Fist King."
@Michael H I thought he said "Queen" so had to rewind to double check! I was thinking to myself "what has poor old Liz Regina done to piss Patman off?! 🤣 Upon a second listen "Queef" made far more sense!!
Thanks for keeping up with the videos during this crazy time. I have been in isolation by myself for going on 10 days now and about to lose my mind. Watching your videos have helped me so much, you will never know. I really appreciate all the work and dedication!
Absolutely, aside from three days a week in dialysis I am in isolation as well. Even if I wasn't, I would still be making these videos :-) thanks for the nice words
This video is excellent. It feels like the amount of information and how it's communicated throughout the entire video is just right without never feeling overwhelming. I think it nails the retro vibe a documentary such as this should aim for. I really thank you, i couldn't tell if i was watching or playing the games, i was completely absorbed by the detailed descriptions of each console.
Thank you very much. There's a fine line between not giving enough information and like you said overwhelming the viewer with too much. I have erred from both sides the comments of my previous videos so I've been trying to find the right balance. I appreciate the nice words, glad you enjoyed the content so much :-)
I love the 3DS port of this game. I somehow missed it, back in its day. Revenge of Shinobi was my favorite Genesis game. I never really got into Shadow Dancer in arcades or on Genesis. The PS2 game was meh.
Patman, love all your videos , but this one is my favourite, I loved shinobi but could never beat the masked ninja! Thanks to the switch conversion I did it last night 30 years later!!!!! Keep up the good work
My friend has a Shinobi arcade cabinet. It actually has Altered Beast as the game in it but has the Shinobi artwork on the outside. He hopes to find Shinobi for it one day. Altered Beast has some crazy hard settings on it. Pretty fun.
Excellent video. I have the Xbox Live version of this game and I play it every few months, even though I've never beaten the final boss. This is one of my favorite games of all time. I hope SEGA will do us all a favor and give the series a modern 2D update similar to Sonic Mania or Streets of Rage 4.
Pat! Once again I'm way late to the party (and I'm one of your Patreons too!). I was a Shinobi freak back in the mid-80s and always bugged my dad for a quarter anytime we'd go to our local Walmart. Naturally when Sega announced their Master System using Shinobi in the adverts I desperately had to get one. Christmas that year was definitely filled with the sounds of 8-bit Shinobi! I'm glad to still see you chime in over at the PC Engine forums. That does not go unnoticed. God bless, my friend.
Excellent video as always! I wish Sega would release an old arcade compilation. Think abhow great that would be! All those Super Scaller games with a side order of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer!
SMS and TG16/PC-Engine are the best ports imo. Sad how the Genesis/MegaDrive never saw an actual port of the original Arcade game - only the sequels. The game left a bit of a lasting impression on me. Great history! Look fwd to Pt 2!
Thank you, I wish the actual arcade version was released on the Genesis as well. The same thing happened with shadow dancer a few years later on the Genesis
Yesss! Here's the video i've been waiting for. (Love all of em) I used to walk to a local corner store with my 2 older brothers & friends to play this game. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old! :)
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries I did very much thank you as i do enjoy all the uploads on your channel :) I made sure to share it around in a couple fb video game groups as well to help support!! Keep up the great work.
Great video, thanks pat. When i got an arcade a few years back this was the first game i had to get.. Nothing beats playing shinobi on an arcade original board. I love this game.
Another good video that takes me back! There is one arcade game that I recall in the UK when I was around 8 years old - It was called "The Driver" - No idea who made it, but you sat in a cockpit with a pedal and steering wheel. It was like FMV and you were chasing a red car! This might be something to look into Sir :)
a true Sega masterpiece, classic among classics, ahead of its time i'm not very fond of arcade/action games, but this one is historical too bad the different ports are so disappointing
My favourite channel does a 2 parter! Yes!! This sole game is the reason I failed in school as I used to sneak off at break time and head to the local computer games store that had this arcade game.The flip side is I am now living in a cardboard box but I can play a mean game of Shinobi 😂
I remember playing this back in the arcades early 88 when I was 11 years old, always remember a mate who was really good at the game using the magic to get his way to the back of the rotating statue boss!
I still remember going to our local Pizza Hut on Friday and Saturday nights and eating pizza and hearing shonobi playing in the distance. After eating I would always go play. And the joystick and buttons were greasy with pizza grease from other players. Such a wonderful time to be alive!!! Oh how I miss the late 80s, early 90s!!!
Yes! Now this is one of my all time favorites. They had this at the pizza parlor a few blocks from where I lived, and I biked down there a lot to play this (as well as Double Dragon and Gunsmoke - they always had a great selection of games there!). That would’ve been circa 1988, when I was about ten. I can actually beat this game in the arcade on one quarter, though I don’t want to think about how much money I probably spent to get that good. This is also one of my all-time favorite arcade soundtracks. Sometimes I still go and pull up the music tracks here on UA-cam just to listen to them again. Another fun fact: you mentioned the 5000 point stage bonus for not using ninja magic, but did you know you can also get a 20,000 point bonus for not using projectiles? It actually adds a ton of replayability once you can beat the game the normal way, since you have to learn a whole new set of patterns and timing to beat it without using stars. I can’t beat the whole game that way (if I could I’d be up in world record score territory), but I can clear most of the first two levels shuriken-free, at least in the MAME version.
Great videos.Love your history lessons,history revisits for me as well,I remember when these were all new games and experiencing that evolution was absolutely amazing and games are still evolving and blowing my mind today.I would love to see Ninja Gaiden history sometime down the line
Thank you. You and I must be near the same age. I started going to the arcades in the late 70s and really never stopped. I'm sure I will do ninja gaiden at some point
I love your videos. We do a very similar thing on our channel but more console oriented. I always loved this game and I recently introduced my two oldest kids (7, and 11) to the game thanks to M2s excellent port to the Nintendo Switch. They loved it. We played it over and over and over.....maybe too much actually. Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much. I love reading about how people are passing their love of retro gaming onto their kids. I agree, The switch version is excellent. Thanks again
This game was my jam. I played it to death in the arcade -- spending all my paper route money. I was able to finish it on one credit when I finally mastered it. I played it on XBox 360, but couldn't finish the final mission.
One of my beloved arcade games from my childhood. One more thing, if you manage to finish a level only using your punch and kick, you'll get a bonus point.
Love this game. I beat the arcade version on fbalpha about a month ago. You can't credit feed through it because the last level is a one coin afair. I can tell whoever did the gameplay footage knows how to play this game. There is a lot of memorization and skill involved.
I think I'm gonna have join your Patreon. I'm always anxiously waiting for the next video. I love seeing videos on the games I grew up on in the 80's and 90's. Very nostalgic.
U do realize at 14:40 when u talk about shinobi arcade for the xbox live and playstation network and how all the pop culture references of big famous bosses like spider-man, terminator, godzilla, and batman, youre suddenly talking about the REVENGE OF SHINOBI, and not the original Shinobi you covered in this video, right? U didnt say that those famous bosses are from the sega genesis/mega drive versions of "The Revenge of Shinobi" from this video's very thumbnail. It's strange how u didnt mention that.
Okay here's the deal, that is a leftover note when the video was one long video. Yes I know I used the title screen from revenge of shinobi on this one but that's just because it's it's an iconic picture of the series.
A future suggestion maybe in the future or whenever is to review each of the consoles you feature in these videos. I think that could be very interesting. Anyways keep up the good work!
I remember playing it for the music. For some reason I loved the theme. Update: Thank you. I found the theme. One is called, Psychic Stewardess. There are some beautiful remixes of it and I'm glad I have UA-cam music now.
For 20+ years I had dreamt of a decent home version of the arcade version of Shinobi. Sadly, during that time the only version on any home console was the SMS (excluding the Tengen knock-off). The port itself wasn't terrible, but as seen in the video, it didn't do justice to the arcade version at all. I was so enamoured with the arcade version that at one point I bought a full stand-up EPROM board online with dreams of rebuilding it into a fully-functioning cabinet. Interesting side note...the SMS version also included a variety of weapons power-ups for CQC like nunchukas and sword. However, as I recall they all funtioned exactly the same.
Shinobi definitely is a cool game I remember playing this one in the arcade and having it for my home console so thanks for the Memories of this awesome ninja game Shinobi 👍
This one was in the local bowling lanes.. only place ive ever seen it...it was so hard but I loved it, esp the ninja star throwing for extra guy after each level
I grew up with Shinobi back in the 80's playing the first arcade game and still, I own the Master System game and believe me, the Ninja craze was off the wall during that time period with movies such as the American Ninja, Sho Kosugi and many more had a tremendous influence in U.S. pop culture. BTW, the intro for Revenge of Shinobi for the Genesis/Mega Drive was Sonny Chiba as the ninja.
Was watching SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS season 1 on Roku TV, and I noticed that there is a cabinet of SHINOBI in THE MAX, the hangout spot that the students often film in. Dunno if you would ever want to catalog all the different arcade games that are shown in THE MAX on the many SAVED BY THE BELL franchises.
I remember sneaking away on my Grade 10 highschool trip to go to the arcade and play this game! Was way more fun than taking a tour of the Ottawa Parliament Buildings! Lately I've been playing it on my Pi4 Arcade 1up build! So much fun! Especially when you have unlimited quarters now! Might try out the Sega Master System port!
I definitely bout this as soon as it came out on the Switch. I like the Aegis mode, as it is a bit forgiving and you always have the powered up ninja stars.
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries nec? nintendo?!?! and nothing for their 16-bit, Sega is so dumb sometimes, they confirmed that trend with the Saturn mess
So glad you did this. One of my fave coinops of all time. None of the home versions really get close to the original unfortunately. I recommend playing the original on MAME
This was probably my all-time favourite arcade game. It was the first game I looked for in my emulator collection. I often try to complete it without using my special magic for the giggles. I wonder, would you consider doing a video on Vulcan Venture (and it's prequels, R-Type and Salamander)?
Just wanted to add a little nugget of info for you. If you died and continued, your score would receive a number as the last integer to signify how many continues. So a legit high-score was only considered if it was a "0-end" score.
Super Mario Bros. was the first game I played and fell in love with. Shinobi was the 2nd. The difference is that I couldn’t beat Shinobi, so it was much more memorable. Shinobi is one of the best games I ever played.
Revenge of Shinobi on the Sega Genesis was the shiznit. The sound track and game play was awesome. I liked it a lot better than the first shinobi that came out in the arcades and Sega Master System.
I enjoyed this video and can't wait to see the next, this is a great channel and I'm proud to be a subscriber. But, and I mean this in no way to be critical of this excellent review or this excellent reviewer; but I have an issue with this popular criticism of "muddy" color schemes (when more adult color schemes are employed) in favor of what gets called "excellent bright color" (when comparatively less subtle primary color schemes are on display in a title.) Primary colors are used in animation, Video games, artwork in advertising, and toys aimed at *small children* because they respond to less subtle primary colors, especially tastelessly paired, clashing colors like red, blue, and yellow together. This is not a sign of quality in and of itself to say the least. Developers very much wanted to make more "adult" atmospheres in certain kinds of games and this wasn't some kind of cheap mistake, it was intentional and in some cases _preferred._ Unless we are talking about mixed complex hues or a large *number* of color shades this is not a _quality_ issue. Garish ugly loud colors certainly have their place in this world, and I'm not out right knocking any or every use of such aesthetics, but if the Mona Lisa's (original) color pallette was the same as a McDonald's happy meal I doubt many people over the age of 4 would find much interest in it. Also, that said, not every design or video game or anything else is somehow "adult" or more serious merely for the fact of using brown and grey spectrum tones, but to discount a thing for that reason is folly at best. Once again, it seems like a kind of "trope" to explain these things that way, so I'm not singling anyone out. I Just thought I'd put that out there and make a comment to help this guy's channel at the same time. Speaking of the PC Engine (which did do a very good *and* very colorful port of Shinobi) Ninja Spirit, which to my mind is one of the best games for that console and maybe even more enjoyable in some ways than the arcade game; is a great example of an atmosphere that would be impossible without its more natural, earthy color scheme. I sure wouldn't want to see big cheap looking spots of "VCR screen" blue in large patches of the background there. I say this with respect and love and do not intend to admonish or insult anyone for their preference. Just a voice not heard in the deep dark wood of the world's cacophony speaking up. Thanks.
Thank you for the technical information, I loved my Commodore 64 but always thought the colors seemed a bit off. Perhaps it's the inner child in me that wants to see those bright hues :-)
You also get extra onus if you finish a stage without shooting at all, just using melee attacks (especially easy on the first stage for those who want to try).
Ahh Christmas 1989 I got The original Sega Master System with the pause button on the console itself 😂🤣😂 I remember getting Shinobi, some Asterix game I can't quite remember the title of, it was brilliant tho, Castle of Illusion, Golden Axe, My Hero (Wow that game was Bad) and Alex kidd in Miracle World. What a Christmas present that was when I was a boy. Watching this video brings it all back especially seeing the Shinobi Home port on The Master System (Pure Nostalgia)
Loved this game. It was the only coin-op I could complete on one quarter (and there weren't any "limitless" games I could last much over 5 minutes). It may have been set much easier than normal (I didn't last long when I saw one elsewhere).
My favorite arcade game, not only due to the gameplay, but also the music... oh, the first-level music! Never got too far and spent a lot of money on it, though... ={
Question: On the Commodore 64 & Amiga version with only one button how did you do a ninja magic attack? Did they just not have ninja magic on those versions?
There's an additional way to get bonus points, provided you can do melee attacks. If you clear a level using only melee attacks you will claim the bonus.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but the Amstrad cpc version only had sound on 128k machines. On the 464 i had and the 664 there was no sound or music at all! Apparently they ran out of memory, makes you wonder how they managed to fit sound on the 48k speccy! Still i loved it when i was in my teens regardless of no sound LOL
PCE and SMS ports are the only ones that matter from bitd You can take more than 3 hits on SMS, the lifebar is upgraded as you progress and rescue hostages, and simply touching an enemy only deals 1 damage IIRC
I can't describe how MAGICAL this was to see in the arcades in 1987... unreal LARGE sprites... the different color ninjas... the gun... SO cool.. so epic... pure magic.... this is all missing in todays games.. magic
I think you are right, this game was special. There is something about it that 30 years later we are still talking about it.Today's games are just missing it
Definetely one my favorite arcades from the 80s 😊 thank you. Thanks for keeping the dream alive. Greetings from Guatemala! 🇬🇹
Greetings from the USA, thanks for watching my video :-)
Your episodes just get better and better Pat. I hope your managing to keep your sanity during all this madness. Your videos are my only bright spot these days. They bring me back to my happy times. ;-) Stay well Pat.
Thanks for the nice words. I'm glad I could bring a smile to your face in these difficult times. Stay well my friend
One of my old arcade favorites, and I had the excellent Sega Master System port, as well, and it's one of my all-time SMS favorites. They REALLY did a great job on the port.
I always love seeing your videos since they cover ports I was never even aware of. I didn't have a computer in my home until around 1990 and it wasn't really equipped for gaming. The Sega Master System version was iconic and one of my favorite games on the system.
Just to add to this.- the two major changes to the game when it releases on PS3 and Xbox 360 were the removal of the Marilyn Monroe posters, and the Spider-Man sprite's color palette being changed to green and yellow.
The Marilyn image was trademarked and used without permission, and the Spider-man enemy was Sega under the assumption they had free reign to use Spider-Man in whatever they wanted when they acquired the license from Marvel to produce a Spider-Man game, so even though the sprite wasn't an exact match, it had to be changed since they never had license to use Spidey in Shinobi in the first place
Thank you. I mentioned the Monroe posters as well as Spider-Man being changed at the end of the video.
Just watched both parts Patman, and it has been just what I needed after two weeks of sheer Hell on Earth.
The moments of comedy you throw in are so deadpan and unexpected, I often find myself spitting tea over the tablet (or the poor unsuspecting dog!)
Thanks for the laughs and such an interesting documentary, buddy. You obviously put a hell of a lot of time and effort into this one.
Stay distanced. Stay at home. Stay safe. Stay Alive.
Blessings to you and yours 🇺🇲🇬🇧
Don't kill yourself out there my friend. One person can only do so much. Thanks for the nice words, glad that I can provide a few moments of laughter. Stay safe and well
I like that you put in my favorite fight of all time from Drunken master 2 , the pic of pinhead was nice as well. That spectrum version is impressive. Also, I think there's some confusion at the end when you're talking about "The Revenge of Shinobi" and not shinobi. I only mention it because anyone who watches my stuff knows it's my favorite game of all time. Great video man.
While that was a faux pas because the notes at the end of the video was back when it was one extremely long one instead of splitting it up into two. Sorry for the confusion
Around the same time when Shinobi was released in arcades, the 80's action movie genre was centered around Ninjas and lots of different movie titles.
The main character Joe Musashi in the animation indeed looks like Sho Kosugi who happens to be in a lot of 80's Ninja films.
Last but not least my favorite 80's Ninja movie is Prey For Death featuring Sho Kosugi.
Yes, I mentioned how crazy the North American market was for ninjas in the mid-80s.
This game absolutely made us think of "9 deaths of the ninja" with Sho Kosugi.
@@tehf00n Ninja III: The Domination was another great gem, another great Ninja movie back from the 80's.
@bryoneill11 I'd say that was favorite Kosugi movie too. Although Pray for Death was really good also.
Thank you for this excellent and honest review; I REALLY appreciate you telling it like it is. What I mean is that you aren't afraid to say that certain versions of games are better than others, and that's what I really like. Health and happiness to you, Patman~!
Thank you for the kind words, you always seem to enjoy my videos. Be safe :-)
That's a good arcade game. The music is good in this game as you start from the first level. The first boss looks like the shredder from TMNT cartoons in the 80's!
He does, and I thought mentioning it
TRIVIA: The Stage 1 boss of Shinobi, Ken Oh, is a reference to the legendary fight anime/manga franchise Hokuto No Ken (literally "Fist of the Big Dipper," "Fist of the Great Bear," and/or "Fist of Ursa Major"), better known by its mistranslated English title (which is also used in Japan), Fist of the North Star. Coincidentally, Sega has had an on-and-off licensing relationship with the HNK/FOTNS franchise for many years. In the HNK/FOTNS franchise, Ken-Oh is the name the lead antagonist of the series, Raoh, gives himself as he restores "peace" to post-apocalyptic Earth with his armies and lethal martial-arts superpowers. The name Ken-Oh is literal Japanese for "Fist King."
I never thought about it but you're right
One word I never thought I'd hear Patman say: "Queef."
Specifically on on a Sunday
LOL :-)
The only reason I went to the comment section
@Michael H
I thought he said "Queen" so had to rewind to double check!
I was thinking to myself "what has poor old Liz Regina done to piss Patman off?! 🤣
Upon a second listen "Queef" made far more sense!!
Totally hadda triple check that myself ha!
Thanks for keeping up with the videos during this crazy time. I have been in isolation by myself for going on 10 days now and about to lose my mind. Watching your videos have helped me so much, you will never know. I really appreciate all the work and dedication!
Absolutely, aside from three days a week in dialysis I am in isolation as well. Even if I wasn't, I would still be making these videos :-) thanks for the nice words
This video is excellent. It feels like the amount of information and how it's communicated throughout the entire video is just right without never feeling overwhelming. I think it nails the retro vibe a documentary such as this should aim for. I really thank you, i couldn't tell if i was watching or playing the games, i was completely absorbed by the detailed descriptions of each console.
Thank you very much. There's a fine line between not giving enough information and like you said overwhelming the viewer with too much. I have erred from both sides the comments of my previous videos so I've been trying to find the right balance. I appreciate the nice words, glad you enjoyed the content so much :-)
Looking forward to part 2, as as always, lots of memories of this game on various platforms.
Should be out in a couple of days
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master was one of my favorite megadrive games. Looked great and was really fun
I love the 3DS port of this game. I somehow missed it, back in its day. Revenge of Shinobi was my favorite Genesis game. I never really got into Shadow Dancer in arcades or on Genesis. The PS2 game was meh.
I talk about it in part two
Shinobi III was hands down my favorite game for the Genesis/Megadrive!
Thanks for making this. I think Shinobi is still one of the best arcade games of all time. I'm hoping you'll do a History of Kid Niki someday
Oh man I forgot about that one.
If I can find something interesting to talk about it than I will. Thanks for watching
Ur vids are awesome. Especially right now during this boring quarantine. Thanx
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed my content
Patman, love all your videos , but this one is my favourite, I loved shinobi but could never beat the masked ninja! Thanks to the switch conversion I did it last night 30 years later!!!!!
Keep up the good work
That's awesome, congratulations. Thanks for the nice words
Respect gamer
Love your work. Its become a bit of a ritual for me now to que up one of your videos to watch when I eat dinner. Keep up the good work Patman!
That is excellent, thank you very much. I appreciate the nice words :-)
My friend has a Shinobi arcade cabinet. It actually has Altered Beast as the game in it but has the Shinobi artwork on the outside. He hopes to find Shinobi for it one day. Altered Beast has some crazy hard settings on it. Pretty fun.
Very cool, I would love to own an original
This quickly became one of my favorite channels. Awesome stuff, man!
Thank you so much for the nice words. I'm glad you enjoyed my content
This gameplay was godly. Man I kept being transfixed by all the cool action going on screen. You were definitely beasting through the levels
Thank you, it is definitely one of my favorites ninja games
Excellent video. I have the Xbox Live version of this game and I play it every few months, even though I've never beaten the final boss. This is one of my favorite games of all time. I hope SEGA will do us all a favor and give the series a modern 2D update similar to Sonic Mania or Streets of Rage 4.
Thank you, that would be fantastic. I would love to see what they could do with modern technology
Pat!
Once again I'm way late to the party (and I'm one of your Patreons too!). I was a Shinobi freak back in the mid-80s and always bugged my dad for a quarter anytime we'd go to our local Walmart. Naturally when Sega announced their Master System using Shinobi in the adverts I desperately had to get one. Christmas that year was definitely filled with the sounds of 8-bit Shinobi!
I'm glad to still see you chime in over at the PC Engine forums. That does not go unnoticed. God bless, my friend.
I still post over there every so often but not every game has a turbo graphic 16 port. Hope you're safe and well
A blast from the past. This video brought me so many memories. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great job my friend as usual
Thank you very much :-)
Excellent video as always! I wish Sega would release an old arcade compilation. Think abhow great that would be! All those Super Scaller games with a side order of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer!
Good idea, they should call it the super scaler collection
just want to say your channel is the true gem on youtube i am hooked on your content ^_^
Thank you very much, that is very kind of you say :-)
"Old" video but still, Patman is my favorite game historian by far!
That is very kind of you to say, thank you
SMS and TG16/PC-Engine are the best ports imo. Sad how the Genesis/MegaDrive never saw an actual port of the original Arcade game - only the sequels. The game left a bit of a lasting impression on me. Great history! Look fwd to Pt 2!
Thank you, I wish the actual arcade version was released on the Genesis as well. The same thing happened with shadow dancer a few years later on the Genesis
Great video, again keep uploading content under lockdown, bringing great memories of my gamer youth
Thank you very much
Now I have to buy this game on Switch. The eshop should be giving Pat a commission. Great video
LOL, I'm all for that. Thanks :-)
Great video as always👍👍
You forgot to mention that if you dont use stars & clear the stage you get i think a 10k bonus points if i remember...
Thank you, I was not aware off that trick so thanks for the info
Yesss! Here's the video i've been waiting for. (Love all of em) I used to walk to a local corner store with my 2 older brothers & friends to play this game. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old! :)
Thank you very much, hope you like it
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries I did very much thank you as i do enjoy all the uploads on your channel :) I made sure to share it around in a couple fb video game groups as well to help support!! Keep up the great work.
@@flintose927 Thank you for sharing around, it helps my channel growth so I really appreciate It :-)
Great video, thanks pat. When i got an arcade a few years back this was the first game i had to get.. Nothing beats playing shinobi on an arcade original board. I love this game.
Thank you. I agree, I would love to own an original arcade cabinet
Another good video that takes me back! There is one arcade game that I recall in the UK when I was around 8 years old - It was called "The Driver" - No idea who made it, but you sat in a cockpit with a pedal and steering wheel. It was like FMV and you were chasing a red car! This might be something to look into Sir :)
Don't think I've ever seen that one but I will check it out
a true Sega masterpiece, classic among classics, ahead of its time
i'm not very fond of arcade/action games, but this one is historical
too bad the different ports are so disappointing
I agree, classic game though
My favourite channel does a 2 parter! Yes!! This sole game is the reason I failed in school as I used to sneak off at break time and head to the local computer games store that had this arcade game.The flip side is I am now living in a cardboard box but I can play a mean game of Shinobi 😂
LOL, that's hilarious. Thank you my friend be safe
Played this all the time at the local 7-11. I can still taste the cherry slurpees I would drink while getting my butt kicked by this game.
Oh man same here.
I remember playing this back in the arcades early 88 when I was 11 years old, always remember a mate who was really good at the game using the magic to get his way to the back of the rotating statue boss!
The good old days :-)
I was horrible at Shinobi, much better at Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja
I still remember going to our local Pizza Hut on Friday and Saturday nights and eating pizza and hearing shonobi playing in the distance. After eating I would always go play. And the joystick and buttons were greasy with pizza grease from other players. Such a wonderful time to be alive!!! Oh how I miss the late 80s, early 90s!!!
Lots of good memories of playing arcade games at Pizza Hut including outrun and double Dragon
Yes! Now this is one of my all time favorites. They had this at the pizza parlor a few blocks from where I lived, and I biked down there a lot to play this (as well as Double Dragon and Gunsmoke - they always had a great selection of games there!). That would’ve been circa 1988, when I was about ten. I can actually beat this game in the arcade on one quarter, though I don’t want to think about how much money I probably spent to get that good. This is also one of my all-time favorite arcade soundtracks. Sometimes I still go and pull up the music tracks here on UA-cam just to listen to them again.
Another fun fact: you mentioned the 5000 point stage bonus for not using ninja magic, but did you know you can also get a 20,000 point bonus for not using projectiles? It actually adds a ton of replayability once you can beat the game the normal way, since you have to learn a whole new set of patterns and timing to beat it without using stars. I can’t beat the whole game that way (if I could I’d be up in world record score territory), but I can clear most of the first two levels shuriken-free, at least in the MAME version.
I did not know that about the projectile bonus. That is awesome, thanks for the info
another fantastic glimpse into arcade history! looking forward to the second video!
Thank you so much
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries you're welcome as ever!
Great videos.Love your history lessons,history revisits for me as well,I remember when these were all new games and experiencing that evolution was absolutely amazing and games are still evolving and blowing my mind today.I would love to see Ninja Gaiden history sometime down the line
Thank you. You and I must be near the same age. I started going to the arcades in the late 70s and really never stopped. I'm sure I will do ninja gaiden at some point
I love your videos. We do a very similar thing on our channel but more console oriented. I always loved this game and I recently introduced my two oldest kids (7, and 11) to the game thanks to M2s excellent port to the Nintendo Switch. They loved it. We played it over and over and over.....maybe too much actually. Keep up the great work!
Thank you very much. I love reading about how people are passing their love of retro gaming onto their kids. I agree, The switch version is excellent. Thanks again
This game was my jam. I played it to death in the arcade -- spending all my paper route money. I was able to finish it on one credit when I finally mastered it. I played it on XBox 360, but couldn't finish the final mission.
So did I, I loved it
One of my beloved arcade games from my childhood. One more thing, if you manage to finish a level only using your punch and kick, you'll get a bonus point.
Thanks
Love this game. I beat the arcade version on fbalpha about a month ago. You can't credit feed through it because the last level is a one coin afair. I can tell whoever did the gameplay footage knows how to play this game. There is a lot of memorization and skill involved.
It is definitely a classic
I think I'm gonna have join your Patreon. I'm always anxiously waiting for the next video. I love seeing videos on the games I grew up on in the 80's and 90's. Very nostalgic.
That's very nice of you to say, thank you
I completely forgot about this once...ninja guiden was the one that took the prize back then among my gamer friends
That is a classic as well
U do realize at 14:40 when u talk about shinobi arcade for the xbox live and playstation network and how all the pop culture references of big famous bosses like spider-man, terminator, godzilla, and batman, youre suddenly talking about the REVENGE OF SHINOBI, and not the original Shinobi you covered in this video, right? U didnt say that those famous bosses are from the sega genesis/mega drive versions of "The Revenge of Shinobi" from this video's very thumbnail. It's strange how u didnt mention that.
I'm sure he's going to address it in part 2.
@@PutItOutThereTV he'll have to address it if he reads this.
@@kevinlomax7845 yup he has to and i'm sure he will.
Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking those aren’t in the game.
Okay here's the deal, that is a leftover note when the video was one long video. Yes I know I used the title screen from revenge of shinobi on this one but that's just because it's it's an iconic picture of the series.
Thanks for the video! Looking forward to part two
Thank you for watching
A future suggestion maybe in the future or whenever is to review each of the consoles you feature in these videos. I think that could be very interesting. Anyways keep up the good work!
That could be a possibility, thank you
I used to help little old ladies cross the street for a quarter just so I could play "Shinobi". Thanks for the video!
Absolutely, thanks for watching
Wow one of my game suggestions got picked. This game is awesome. Even today I love to play it. Smooth controls and fast paced.
It's a classic that's for sure
Loved the original Shinobi arcade game. I would play it countlessly. The Master System version was a perfect port and was fantastic to play.
It was really good I agree
I remember playing it for the music. For some reason I loved the theme.
Update: Thank you. I found the theme. One is called, Psychic Stewardess. There are some beautiful remixes of it and I'm glad I have UA-cam music now.
Thank you for watching :-)
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Thank you for the memories.
For 20+ years I had dreamt of a decent home version of the arcade version of Shinobi. Sadly, during that time the only version on any home console was the SMS (excluding the Tengen knock-off). The port itself wasn't terrible, but as seen in the video, it didn't do justice to the arcade version at all. I was so enamoured with the arcade version that at one point I bought a full stand-up EPROM board online with dreams of rebuilding it into a fully-functioning cabinet.
Interesting side note...the SMS version also included a variety of weapons power-ups for CQC like nunchukas and sword. However, as I recall they all funtioned exactly the same.
I owned the Commodore 64 home port. The space bar on the keyboard activated ninja magic, so even with the jumps, I had no problem.
When you are used to three buttons from the arcade game than having to go to one fire button and one it's a bit of a challenge
Shinobi definitely is a cool game I remember playing this one in the arcade and having it for my home console so thanks for the Memories of this awesome ninja game Shinobi 👍
No problem! Thank you
This one was in the local bowling lanes.. only place ive ever seen it...it was so hard but I loved it, esp the ninja star throwing for extra guy after each level
I love the bonus stages as well
I grew up with Shinobi back in the 80's playing the first arcade game and still, I own the Master System game and believe me, the Ninja craze was off the wall during that time period with movies such as the American Ninja, Sho Kosugi and many more had a tremendous influence in U.S. pop culture. BTW, the intro for Revenge of Shinobi for the Genesis/Mega Drive was Sonny Chiba as the ninja.
Yes, I think I mentioned him in the second video which comes out in a couple days
Was watching SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS season 1 on Roku TV, and I noticed that there is a cabinet of SHINOBI in THE MAX, the hangout spot that the students often film in. Dunno if you would ever want to catalog all the different arcade games that are shown in THE MAX on the many SAVED BY THE BELL franchises.
Very cool, thanks for the info
i only got to play this on an arcade years back.. really kind of miss this
I always enjoyed it
I remember sneaking away on my Grade 10 highschool trip to go to the arcade and play this game! Was way more fun than taking a tour of the Ottawa Parliament Buildings!
Lately I've been playing it on my Pi4 Arcade 1up build! So much fun! Especially when you have unlimited quarters now! Might try out the Sega Master System port!
That's the good thing about emulators :-)
Definitely. Also get to try all kinds of other games you missed out on as a kid!
I was playing shinobi 3 after 25 years now - out of nowhere. And then I found this video from last month, cool :)
Awesome, hope you enjoyed it
I definitely bout this as soon as it came out on the Switch. I like the Aegis mode, as it is a bit forgiving and you always have the powered up ninja stars.
My son has it on the switch but I haven't played around with it too much
I still don't understand how Sega didn't make a Genesis version of their famous classic, closer to the arcade hit
I agree, the Genesis would have done it justice as well
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries nec? nintendo?!?! and nothing for their 16-bit, Sega is so dumb sometimes, they confirmed that trend with the Saturn mess
@@norevarmoonstar8070 Him it was definitely a missed opportunity
Well... Sega Fans are making a Genesis version of OG Shinobi!
ua-cam.com/video/5_AVYy9yicc/v-deo.html
So glad you did this. One of my fave coinops of all time. None of the home versions really get close to the original unfortunately. I recommend playing the original on MAME
I agree, nothing will beat the original. Back then though, he wanted to play it at home you had to pick one of these versions
This was probably my all-time favourite arcade game. It was the first game I looked for in my emulator collection. I often try to complete it without using my special magic for the giggles.
I wonder, would you consider doing a video on Vulcan Venture (and it's prequels, R-Type and Salamander)?
Just wanted to add a little nugget of info for you. If you died and continued, your score would receive a number as the last integer to signify how many continues. So a legit high-score was only considered if it was a "0-end" score.
If I can find something interesting to talk about with those games then yes
All time favorite side scrollers , awesome video thanks
Thank you very much
Ninjas are awesome, especially Joe Musashi! Can't wait for part 2.
Thank you, should be a couple days
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries I'll be looking forward to it, especially with later games, including the PS2 version with Hotsuma.
Super Mario Bros. was the first game I played and fell in love with. Shinobi was the 2nd. The difference is that I couldn’t beat Shinobi, so it was much more memorable. Shinobi is one of the best games I ever played.
It is definitely a classic
I love this channel.
Thank you :-)
Holy!! My favorite game thanks for the video!
Absolutely, thanks for watching
I had this game on the sega master system was great played it many times at the arcades!
It was a really good conversion
Revenge of Shinobi, Shinobi 3 Return of The Ninja Master, Shadow Dancer were some of my favourite Megadrive games to ever be made. 👍
They were classics
Loved playing this game in the arcades even though it was hard as balls.
How old are you? I think we must be around the same.
So did I and it was extremely hard. I'm 47
Awesome video Pat keep up the amazing work
Thank you :-) I appreciate it
Revenge of Shinobi on the Sega Genesis was the shiznit. The sound track and game play was awesome. I liked it a lot better than the first shinobi that came out in the arcades and Sega Master System.
A lot of people preferred revenge over the arcade original.
1:48 Same here in the Netherlands. We rented a sh!tload of martial arts movies, along with vietnam movies which were also very popular then.
I enjoyed this video and can't wait to see the next, this is a great channel and I'm proud to be a subscriber.
But, and I mean this in no way to be critical of this excellent review or this excellent reviewer; but I have an issue with this popular criticism of "muddy" color schemes (when more adult color schemes are employed) in favor of what gets called "excellent bright color" (when comparatively less subtle primary color schemes are on display in a title.)
Primary colors are used in animation, Video games, artwork in advertising, and toys aimed at *small children* because they respond to less subtle primary colors, especially tastelessly paired, clashing colors like red, blue, and yellow together.
This is not a sign of quality in and of itself to say the least.
Developers very much wanted to make more "adult" atmospheres in certain kinds of games and this wasn't some kind of cheap mistake, it was intentional and in some cases _preferred._
Unless we are talking about mixed complex hues or a large *number* of color shades this is not a _quality_ issue.
Garish ugly loud colors certainly have their place in this world, and I'm not out right knocking any or every use of such aesthetics, but if the Mona Lisa's (original) color pallette was the same as a McDonald's happy meal I doubt many people over the age of 4 would find much interest in it.
Also, that said, not every design or video game or anything else is somehow "adult" or more serious merely for the fact of using brown and grey spectrum tones, but to discount a thing for that reason is folly at best.
Once again, it seems like a kind of "trope" to explain these things that way, so I'm not singling anyone out.
I Just thought I'd put that out there and make a comment to help this guy's channel at the same time.
Speaking of the PC Engine (which did do a very good *and* very colorful port of Shinobi) Ninja Spirit, which to my mind is one of the best games for that console and maybe even more enjoyable in some ways than the arcade game; is a great example of an atmosphere that would be impossible without its more natural, earthy color scheme.
I sure wouldn't want to see big cheap looking spots of "VCR screen" blue in large patches of the background there.
I say this with respect and love and do not intend to admonish or insult anyone for their preference.
Just a voice not heard in the deep dark wood of the world's cacophony speaking up.
Thanks.
Thank you for the technical information, I loved my Commodore 64 but always thought the colors seemed a bit off. Perhaps it's the inner child in me that wants to see those bright hues :-)
Ahh man thanks for taking me back down memory lane..👍🏾😊
New sub btw 👌🏿😉
Thank you so much, hope you enjoy the rest the content
The 3rd boss Mandara used to make me rage when I was a kid. 😂
LOL, that was so irritating
Sorry, but did you say "Slower than a queef on Sunday"?! If you did, that's not an expression I've come across before, but I sure like it! :D
@Actively Avoiding Monetization It's at 14:10
Yes, you've never heard the expression? ;-)
@@PatmanQC-Arcade-Documentaries Oh I know what a queef is, I've just never heard it used like that :D
Haha...pure gold.
Sweet 👍 Joe Higashi I loved it. The Lost Boys was in theaters that same year wasn't near my teens then.
I was 15 when it came out so of course I was all over it :-)
Ah martial arts and video games, probably the best things ever
LOL, I agree
omg this game back in the 90s was my world
It's definitely a classic
Awesome history of Shinobi.
Thank you very much:-)
You also get extra onus if you finish a stage without shooting at all, just using melee attacks (especially easy on the first stage for those who want to try).
Thanks for the info
Ahh Christmas 1989 I got The original Sega Master System with the pause button on the console itself 😂🤣😂
I remember getting Shinobi, some Asterix game I can't quite remember the title of, it was brilliant tho, Castle of Illusion, Golden Axe, My Hero (Wow that game was Bad) and Alex kidd in Miracle World. What a Christmas present that was when I was a boy. Watching this video brings it all back especially seeing the Shinobi Home port on The Master System (Pure Nostalgia)
Thank you, glad I could scratch that nostalgic edge. Thanks for sharing
Loved this game. It was the only coin-op I could complete on one quarter (and there weren't any "limitless" games I could last much over 5 minutes). It may have been set much easier than normal (I didn't last long when I saw one elsewhere).
That's excellent, I can only make it to the third stage on one credit
My favorite arcade game, not only due to the gameplay, but also the music... oh, the first-level music! Never got too far and spent a lot of money on it, though... ={
I agree, that music is stuck in my brain forever. :-)
Question: On the Commodore 64 & Amiga version with only one button how did you do a ninja magic attack? Did they just not have ninja magic on those versions?
Usually it was The space bar
Since 1987 now 2024 still plying it. You can find this original game on Google play
There's an additional way to get bonus points, provided you can do melee attacks. If you clear a level using only melee attacks you will claim the bonus.
Cool, thanks for the info
Not sure if anyone mentioned this but the Amstrad cpc version only had sound on 128k machines. On the 464 i had and the 664 there was no sound or music at all! Apparently they ran out of memory, makes you wonder how they managed to fit sound on the 48k speccy! Still i loved it when i was in my teens regardless of no sound LOL
I was not aware of that, thanks for the info
PCE and SMS ports are the only ones that matter from bitd
You can take more than 3 hits on SMS, the lifebar is upgraded as you progress and rescue hostages, and simply touching an enemy only deals 1 damage IIRC
Thanks for the tip
I've got the original PCB. I love this game very much =)
It is definitely a classic
Your thumbnail for this video is an awesome TV show I wish they would release more than just one season in the United States
I agree 100%
why is there a crying jordan in the karate kid poster at 1:50?