Shinobido, the Ninja simulator which made me think how could I ever think that Tenchu games were the best on the series.
Have you heard of this game? I hadn´t. And that is what intrigues me the most.
This game is all you would ask for to a Ninja game. It´s not just a linear game with little argument but on the contrary, you select you own path. Maybe that is why it´s called “Way of the Ninja”.
Basically the storyline takes you to feudal Japan, the time where Ninjas were hired to spy, steal, get valuable information from enemies, and eventually kill. And that is what you will be doing on Shinobido.
Storyline
Three different Lords are at war against each other and they all want you, an experienced Ninja, on their side. You are free to choose your missions from the tasks that the Lords need you to do, but there is no bond (at least at first) to any of them. So if you accomplish a “kill all the guards” mission for one of them against the other and you are not spotted, the Lord won’t think that you are betraying him, for the simple reason that he doesn´t know you were there. Of course, you are payed for this tasks, and with the money you can buy ninja stuff to help you on your way.
Goal
Goh, the main Ninja character, has lost his memory. Strange crystals seem to have the information you need inside them. The main goal is for you to get all the crystals and that way, your memory back. As you can´t do this on your own, the Lords will help you find those crystals as long as you are on their good favor, which means accepting their missions and accomplishing them successfully. And of course, never betraying them…
Gameplay
Stealth is the basic idea, but here you have an actually good enough one-on-one fighting system. Special abilities such as fast running and wall walking are good additions. Picking objects is another improvement, upgrading your sneak capacity by distracting enemies by throwing objects nearby. And of course, corpse hiding is essential. Items can be bought to help you on your task, and they add depth to the game as you can set up traps, distract enemies, poison them, etc., things that come up useful when many guards are protecting an entrance.
Overall
This game is the best Ninja simulator I ever run into. And to make my point, compared to this Tenchu games have a linear storyline, slow movements, bad one-on-one combat, lack of realism, pitiful AI, and too easy. Don´t be mistaken, I am a huge Tenchu fan, but with this game out, I don´t think I´ll ever play it again.