3D Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master

Shinobi III, Mega-Drive conversion by M2 and published by Sega in 2013.

Longplay Information

Author(s): MadMattyMadMatty
System: 3DS
Region:
Language:
Subtitle Language:
Additional Info: No information available
Publication Date: 29/05/2023
YouTube Release: 31/12/2029
Duration: 01:57:26
File Size: 1503.27 MB (1539348.00 KB)
Downloads: 75 downloads
File Links:

Archived Submission Thread

Screenshot

Player's Review

"Joe Musashi's sworn enemies, the Neo Zeed, have returned! Controlled by Shadow Master, a formidable ninja cloned from Joe's own bloodline, the syndicate holds the city captive with its vicious crime ring. Utilise deadly weapons and lethal ninja arts in order to stand against the hordes of bio-ninja and save your city! In addition to its all-new 3D presentation, 3D Shinobi III features a Round Select Mode and customisable input setting which allows you to assign each action to specific buttons."

This is the Standalone eShop release of the game on Nintendo 3DS. The game was also part of the Japanese exclusive Sega 3D Reprint Archives (セガ3D復刻アーカイブス, Sega 3D Fukkoku Ākaibusu) collection with the game defaulting to the JP region 'The Super Shinobi II' A minor bug in the emulation is a loss of sounds in the M2 wrapper at the start of the video as you move through the menu. The game it self is fine.

One of the best looking Mega Drive games gets a conversion to the 3DS. Although only a 2D video is presented here, the game looks great in 3D on the 3DS. There is a developer interview here that describes some of the pains to making the conversion and how they made it look so good. https://www.siliconera.com/ninja-developers-explain-how-they-remade-shinobi-iii-in-3d/

I wasn't sure how I wanted to present the game, changing my mind on what to show and after loosing all video after an emu crash and having to start over, I do get a little lazy near the end of the game. Initially I wanted to show scores when not using knives or ninjutsu but that makes things boring and who cares about scoring anyway as the game has no high score table and doesn't even tally your score after completing the final level.

I have recorded two runs mainly to show the 3DS features. The first run is the International Return of the Ninja Master played on Normal Difficulty. The second run is the Japanese 'The Super Shinobi II' with Mega Drive 2 sound and crt effect applied played on Hardest difficulty. The only notable difference is the smaller health bar. I probably do better the second time round knowing where things are and show more of the more secret pickups. I do manage to show each Ninjutsu ability at least once in the second run. 3DS 'Expert Ninja' mode is enabled which seems to be the equivalent of the 6-Button pad cheat which spreads out the various functions over more buttons.

Not much else to comment on really. The game is pretty much the same as the original Mega-Drive game which is to say it's just as good with great gfx and sound as the original. A very minor emulation bug causes no sound in the 3ds wrapper app but that has no effect on the main game at all. A few more of these 3D classics have the same issue.

I find the game is enjoyable up to Level 6 where it gets a bit silly with it's trap rooms and the various doors loop you around the house until you enter the correct doors with so much to damage you if you get it wrong. Level 7 is just damned annoying with its wall jumping and electric traps as I find the level of control precision required is way too much and can lead to frustration.

00:00:00 Return of the Ninja Master (US/EU) Intro
00:01:30 Level 1 - Zeed's Resurrection
00:05:05 Level 2 - Secret Entry
00:10:40 Level 3 - Body Weapon
00:16:37 Level 4 - Destruction
00:24:00 Level 5 - Electric Demon
00:34:15 Level 6 - Traps
00:41:45 Level 7 - The Final Confrontation

00:57:05 The Super Shinobi II (JP) Intro
00:58:05 Level 1
01:01:50 Level 2
01:06:50 Level 3
01:12:28 Level 4
01:20:43 Level 5
01:30:35 Level 6
01:40:42 Level 7

01:55:20 Credits