By Joseph Walter
Gorgeous graphics and art direction, an excellent soundtrack and tight gameplay that, once you get a hang of, makes you feel like a true, untouchable ninja warrior, goes a long way to putting this near the top of anyone's "best of" list for the Genesis.
A deft mix of historic Japanese concepts mixed with a majorly-science-fiction edge gives the game a unique artistic status, and it's no apparent in the bonkers "Round 4" where your white-clad ninja hijacks (maybe?) a jet-powered surfboard and engages hostile hover bikes, power suits, and even mechs.
And to accompany this we're given the excellent track called "Whirlwind."
The cool-as-ice intro sets the scene while you try to grapple with the fact that a ninja is now riding a jet-surfboard-thing (and that if you dash, he pulls a wheelie, a fucking wheelie, on the surfboard. A surfboard!) and by the time the funky bass line and emotional main synth kick in, you're knee-deep in enemy forces and mechanized attackers. And still doing surf-wheelies.
Part Top Gun "Mighty Wings," part Sega Genesis soundchip, all ultra-cool ninja bad ass mixed with sci-fi, and you've got a stand-out piece for one hell of a game.
Come to think of it, Shinobi 3 has a pretty God damn great intro, so I guess that's on the list for An Introduction To Remember!