A Retry Counter....that should tell you right there how difficult this game can be....
In Shinobi for the PS2, you played as Hotsuma, one of the most badass ninjas ever to come into creation. Your goal was to seal the soul-sucking sword, Akujiki. The sword was shattered, and to lots of people, it's pretty much up for grabs whether or not Hotsuma is dead or alive. Now, in Nightshade, you play as Hibana, a member of Hotsuma's Oboro clan, and her mission is to acquire the shards of Akujiki.
Now, to get into the actual review.
Gameplay: The game plays exactly like Shinobi, for the most part, except for the fact that there have been tweaks made to the combat system that makes it much more dynamic. Hibana can slash and kick, fire off shuriken and ninja magic, stick to and run along walls, double jump, do a dash that leaves a silhouette behind that can distract enemies, dash in the air, and execute Tate maneuvers (attacking multiple enemies one after the other until four or more are destoryed before a timer runs down, alolowing you to see them all die at once, falling apart at the seams), just like Hotsuma could. Now, here's the twisted part about all of it. So long as there are enemies in the vicinity, Hibana never has to touch the ground. Each time she connects with an attack on an enemy while in midair, she's allowed another double jump and another air dash...and boy...does that ever come into play. There are times that you will find yourself faced with a normally impossible to cross gap, only to have hordes of enemies appear. As you've probably guessed, they're there to be your personal stepping stones from point A to point B. The aerial battles are quite impressive to watch, and even easier to do, with solid controls making things near effortless to do....but notice I said "near"....the camera in this game is quite a nuisance....sure, you can control it, but you truly don't have much control over the camera, and it makes some of the battles and gaps you must cross much more than a chore to deal with. If it's any consolation, though, the controls are customizable, and since the game feels much like playing under Devil May Cry 3's Trickster style, if that's what you're used to, perhaps it will help if your controls are set as such. You'll need it, because the pitfalls and such are what makes this game as difficult as it is. NOT the enemies. They're just there, in all truthfulness, to build up your meter for your special attacks and to help you traverse the level, which will take quite some time on most accounts.
Graphics: Considering when this game was released, it could have done better in this department in my opinion, but for what they've done, they've done well enough. The stages are very well designed, and the characters are all interestingly designed, with the exception of the creatures you'll encounter, which almost all look more like robots then the demonic hellspawn that they're supposed to be. The spells and attacks have excellent effects to go along with them, as does the characters' movements (the blur that occurs with the dash is kickass). Also like Hotsuma, Hibana has a scarf that flows behind her every movement, though the effect that goes with it looks more like the weapon blur effect from the Soul Calibur series.
Sound: This will be short. I'll start by stating that the music is great in this game. Now, onto the bad. Most of the sound effects, while good, seemed somewhat dimmed, so they're hard to hear clearly. (Hibana's voice is almost non-existant outside of cutscenes.) The voice acting is rather dismal, and what's worse is that there is no Japanese dialogue option as there was in Shinobi, so no choice there but to grin and bear it.
Value: This is a great game, though it has its flaws. If you don't own Devil May Cry 3 already, give this one a whirl. It's doubtful you'll be disappointed, but it can be frustrating. Rent it first, or Shinobi, to see what you'd be up against.
-Kei