Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Sega – Genesis – 1993)
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master was released in 1993 for the Sega Genesis and was the second and last Shinobi game released for that system. It was the direct sequel to Revenge of Shinobi. Game Play is similar to the other Shinboi games in that it is a 2D platform action adventure game. Shinobi III was originally scheduled to come out in 1992 and reviews had even appeared in various magazines showing levels and features that wouldn’t be in the final version. Apparently, Sega wasn’t happy with it and went back to rework some of it. Some features and levels may have disappeared but others were added and the end result was one of the better games of its type on the Genesis.
Reviews as a whole are very positive for this game. The graphics and sound are excellent and most importantly the game play is well done. The most common complaint seems to be that the game was too easy. However, if you found its predecessor to be difficult, then you may be much happier with this one. Improvements over Revenge of Shinobi include a lower difficulty level (if you consider that an improvement), smoother animation, faster game play and a variety of new moves and abilities.
Shinobi III was successful enough to see a number of re-releases. It was released for Nintendo’s Virtual Console in 2007, the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, and an iOS version is available as well. However, the iOS version isn’t quite as good as the others. A beta version of the original (before being reworked) can be found out on the web if you want to give that one a try on an emulator for comparison purposes. It’s interesting to see how the game changed but the final release is definitely better
