 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Nightshade
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Playstation 2 - Sega - Action - M - 1 Player
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Finally, the sequel to one of the greatest action games of this generation is here. I always fathomed a sequel to 2002’s Shinobi would be a near flawless game. I mean, Shinobi itself was nothing short of brilliant. The Tate system was amazing. It required skill and mastery, and rewarded the player vividly for their expertise. Sure, it had some minor flaws that kept it from being as great as it could have been, but all those problems would surely be resolved in the sequel, right? Well, that depends. In actuality, it depends on whether or not Nightshade is really a sequel to Shinobi. It is, in fact, more of a side story; Shinobi 1.5 if you will. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most of the game remains unchanged. The great gameplay is here, in full force, even better than before, with some great tweaks and enhancements. Unfortunately, nearly all the flaws of the original are here as well. Said flaws are actually even more noticeable now, as the enemy count and levels are much larger than before. This gives the flaws more opportunity to rear their ugly heads. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My biggest complaint lies in the targeting system. Since Nightshade provides the opportunity to rack up more massive Tate counts (sometimes even up to the triple digits), the targeting system’s faults become more apparent as its inconsistencies are more frequent. Although it succeeds more often than it fails, the auto targeting tends to be unpredictable. In order to set up a proper Tate, the ideal initial target should be the closest, weakest enemy. I’d settle for the auto-target to aim me in the direction of the closet enemy, or even the weakest, but it doesn’t do either. Sometimes you get an ideal target, sometimes you’re locked onto an enemy clear across the room, with four or five enemies between it and you, thus making it very difficult to set up your Tate. Cycling through to the enemy you do want to target can be difficult at times as well, as it follows the same problems as the initial targeting. Sometimes it’s just best to follow the layout they give you, instead of going at it your own way. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I’ve found myself in situations where four enemies are onscreen at once; two small enemies (that can be killed in one or two strikes), and two stronger enemies requiring five or six hits to bring down. Obviously I want to take out the two weaker enemies first, so by the time I make it to the two stronger foes, I can kill them in one hit. In this exact situation, I was unable to target the two weaker enemies completely. When I hit the target cycle button, it would only cycle through the two strong enemies. The only way I was able to target my desired foe was to dash up to it, so it was the only enemy on screen. The problems here lie in consistency. The flaws would be tolerable if you could predict them, and adapt your playing style accordingly, but you can’t. They don't always happen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| There is an option to change your lock-on style to where you simply auto-target anything in your path without the need to manually hold a targeting button. This can actually remedy some of the consistency issues as it usually just sets your aim on the first enemy that pops up. Unfortunately, a whole new set of problems takes the place of the original as the auto target takes precedent over your movement. Example: I’ve just finished a Tate string, hovering over a bottomless pit. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, as I can always double jump and dash my way back to solid ground. In the middle of dashing my way back to safety, however, a new wave of enemies pop up in the distance and my dash to safe ground instead sends me back to the pit where the newly targeted enemy hovers, and I ultimately drop to my demise. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Towards the end of the game, the platforming seems to take priority over the combat. The significance of the Tate takes a backseat to constantly trying to land on solid ground, which eventually becomes far more difficult as the game progresses. This series is about combat. It has one of the most unique and impressive combat systems of this generation. It’s a shame when this feature seems to be less important than just trying to prevent a cheap death. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Although purely an aesthetic issue, enemies no longer split in half at the end of a Tate, as they did in Shinobi. This makes the impact of finishing off twenty plus enemies in a massive Tate far less dramatic. It doesn’t seem like it was a censorship decision, as the game still sports the M rating and plenty of spurting blood. In fact, there seems to be more blood in Nightshade than in its predecessor, and some cut scenes feature some pretty gruesome death scenes. Another minor feature missing in Nightshade that was present in its predecessor is the option for Japanese dialog. We’re stuck with the predictably mediocre and slightly out of place English voice acting. Definitely a step back. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| With all the negative aspects out of the way, let’s focus on what is so great about Nightshade. The gameplay is just as brilliant as it was in Shinobi. Hibana, the default female lead, has some new moves that Hotsuma didn’t, including an armor breaking homing kick that can greatly extend the length of her airtime. Hibana doesn’t wield Akujiki, so her health doesn’t dwindle away as Hotsuma’s did. This takes the pressure off you if you choose to explore the sizable levels, searching for the many hidden items, Oboro coins, and art cards. The stages themselves are also more numerous this time around. There’s thirteen now, as opposed to Shinobi's eight. With some levels taking around thirty minutes to traverse, they are also much longer than before. The level design itself is a huge step up as well. Gone are the bland, linear hallways. Nightade includes battles atop moving vehicles, towering skyscrapers, and even the ruined remains of the Golden Temple from Shinobi (very cool). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The cut scenes have improved as well. Gone are the low polygon counts and the stilted animation. Nightshade's characters move fluidly and look great, something I felt was lacking in Shinobi's cut scenes. While the in-game graphics have been slightly upgraded, they still look sub-par compared other recent titles. The designers got what they wanted, though: a solid 60 frames per second. The game runs smooth, that’s for sure. Nightshade also includes checkpoints now, so the crybabies can’t whine about having to start over from the beginning after dieing (you know who you are). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Underneath the flaws, Sega has an unbelievably exceptional series on their hands. A sequel to the already classic Shinobi, arguably one of the PS2’s greatest, could have been the most amazing action game we’ve ever seen on the system yet…But it wasn’t. Then again, this isn’t technically a true sequel. This just means my expectations for Shinobi 2 will be very high. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
All content © World Zero and may not be reproduced in any manner without expressed written consent.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
