Shadow Dancer

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Shadow Dancer

Developer(s)	Sega
Publisher(s)	Sega
Series	Shinobi series
Release date(s)	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
Platform(s)	Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, ZX Spectrum
Input	Joystick
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade system(s)	Sega System 18

Shadow Dancer is an arcade game, developed and published by Sega in 1989. After its initial release, it ported to numerous home video game and home computer systems. It is the direct sequel to the very first arcade Shinobi. The Japanese set 2 version of the game binary was referred to as "Shadow Dancer: Kage no Mai".

1 Storyline
2 Gameplay
3 Ports
4 Controversy
5 External links

[edit] Storyline

In Shadow Dancer, players play as Hayate, Joe Musashi's American-raised son. He is accompanied by his husky canine, Yamato, who will team up against the terrorist group known as the "Asian Dawn". The terrorist group have planted a number of explosives throughout the metropolis. Hayate and Yamato would set out to gather and disarm them. In the end Hayate would annihilate the criminal mastermind behind the Asian Dawn. Shadow Dancer is set twenty years after the original Shinobi game.

[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.

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.

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.

[edit] Ports

This version of the game has been ported to other systems, including the Sega Master System console, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST home computers. The Sega Master System version comes the closest to the arcade version despite its colors. The Sega Genesis version of Shadow Dancer is fairly different, to the point that it is sometimes considered more of a sequel. The game was also ported as one of the games in the Sega Genesis Collection, released on both the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 2 in November, 2006.

[edit] Controversy

Controversy surrounding the game comes from its Mega Drive/Genesis counterpart, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, which was very different despite both versions being released just a year apart and The Secret of Shinobi being clearly intended as the game's port for that system. Sega not only changed the backgrounds but also the plot, characters and timeline; most notably — in the Western translation — the replacing of Hayate with Joe Mushashi, though he and Hayate look identical. The objective of the game was also changed from stopping bombs to rescuing hostages. Some fans were unhappy with the changes and this subject will come up almost every time the game is discussed. The English version is not generally considered canonical.