Shadow Dancer

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Shadow Dancer
Shadow Dancer arcade flyer
Developer(s) Sega
Publisher(s) Sega
Series Shinobi series
Platform(s) Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, ZX Spectrum, Virtual Console
Release date Arcade on December 31, 1989, Master System on June 1, 1991, other ports in 1991
Genre(s) Platform game
Mode(s) Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Input methods Joystick
Cabinet Upright
Arcade system Sega System 18

Shadow Dancer (シャドー・ダンサー Shadō Dansā?), also known as Kage no Mai (影の舞? "Dance of the Shadow"), is an arcade game, developed and published by Sega in 1989. It is the arcade sequel to the original Shinobi. A heavily altered Genesis version of the game was released, titled Shadow Dancer: The Secret of the Shinobi (シャドー・ダンサー ザ・シークレット・オブ・シノビ Shadō Dansā: Za Shīkuretto obu Shinobi?).

Contents

[edit] Plot

The plot, and even the main character's identity, varies between versions of the game, although the actual game has no in-game storyline. In the original Japanese plot of the Mega Drive version, the main character is Joe Musashi's son, Hayate (疾風?), who was brought over to America raised by a Japanese-American named "Dick C. Kato", along with his pet dog Yamato (大和?). Hayate and Yamato sets out to avenge Kato's death after he is killed by a mysterious organization called the Union Lizard.[1] In the English localization of Mega Drive/Genesis game, the main character is actually Musashi himself (instead of his son) and Kato is made into one of Musashi's students, who is also killed in this version of the plot. Yamato is made into Kato's pet dog, which Musashi adopts after his original owner's death.

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to previous Shinobi games except the dog would add to the ninja weapon arsenal. When given the right opportunity, the dog would automatically attack the enemies. Essentially the dog ties up the enemy, buying Hayate time to get closer for the kill. In this version of Shadow Dancer, you can press down and attack to manually summon the dog out. When the dog is hurt, it would shrink into a puppy sized dog incapable of attacking until the next powerup. It was not possible to summon the dog while standing up. In the Sega Genesis version The dog can actually commit "suicide". On the bridge level jump up and down repeatedly having the dog follow you and he will eventually jump off the bridge and respawn moments later.

Bombs are scattered across the stage waiting to be disarmed. The goal of each stage is to disarm a certain number of bombs before facing the boss. In the Genesis/Mega Drive version, players rescue hostages instead of disarming bombs.

Hayate's standard weapons are an unlimited supply of throwing stars, along with punches and kicks when attacking at close range. He can also perform "ninja magic," which may be used only once per stage and kills (or damages, in the case of bosses) all enemies on the screen.

The game contains 4 rounds divided into sub sections totaling 15 stages. Sega Master System port is the shortest game among all versions. Every round has only one regular and one boss stage.

This version of Shadow Dancer featured bonus stages where Hayate will go up against a group of ninjas climbing down a building in the style of a first person shooter. The bonus stage is the same on all the ports except for the Sega Genesis. In the genesis version, Hayate/Joe Musashi jump down from a building and try to shot all ninjas that bounce to him from buildings. Sega Master System version has both bonus rounds.

[edit] Home version

[edit] References

  1. ^ シャドー・ダンサー ザ・シークレット・オブ・シノビ (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-08-06.

[edit] External links

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