For quite some time now, the Sega Ages line of video games continued to bring arcade titles on current-generation platforms, to re-introduce classic video games to both the new and old generation of gamers. The current Sega Ages line has been resurrecting some of Sega's old arcade titles to the Nintendo Switch, and so far, 12 games have already been released worldwide including Sonic the Hedgehog, which is getting a movie adaptation soon. Today, Sega released another arcade title to the Switch called Shinobi, which is a side-scrolling action game, originally launched in 1987.

As a standard on re-releases of old Sega arcade games, the developer introduced some modern-day features that weren't included in the original game to make gameplay smoother on new consoles. Just like most games in past generations, the premise of the popular ninja arcade game Shinobi is simple, players take the role of a young ninja named Joe Musashi, who is on a mission to rescue young children from his clan who were kidnapped by the terrorist organization known as ZEED.

Piecing together Shinobi's story is somewhat challenging especially to new players, given that apart from title cards at the beginning of each stage that briefly tells players their main objective, it doesn't really explain in detail what's going on story-wise. Instead, the game just throws players in a level where they would immediately encounter enemies to fight and hostages to free, and that's not necessarily a bad thing given that Shinobi is originally an arcade game that players play for the gameplay and not the story.

Shinobi contains five-stages in total, where each stage is comprised of 3-4 levels. In each level, players will face an army of heavily armed militia and a handful of bosses that are more difficult to kill. Combat-wise the game is full of fast-paced action-packed moments that continue endlessly until the player clears a level. In its true side-scrolling form, enemies will come from both sides, and while most of their moves are predictable, some could take the player by surprise. There are a few methods available to combat the game's swarm of enemies such as unlimited shurikens for long-range attacks, and melee for close-combat. The player is also given a special move that wipes out all visible enemies, apart from bosses of course, but players should keep in mind that the special move is limited to one per level.

There are a couple of modes available in Shinobi for the Switch, which gives players the option to play both the classic and modern versions of the game. Arcade Mode is mostly the 1987 version of Shinobi, which is perfect for players who just want the original experience. In Arcade Mode, players are killed in one hit and have only limited lives before the game restarts from the beginning. However, just like in a traditional arcade, players can simply insert another coin to continue, which is simulated in the Switch version with a press of a button.

Shinobi's gameplay is extremely challenging, but in a classic way that perfectly simulates the original arcade experience. Although the controls are optimized for the Switch, there is a slight learning curve to overcome, which is challenging at first because once the player starts a level, enemies would immediately swarm in to attack. However, once the player master the controls, the gameplay is smooth and immersive that makes for a heart-pumping, adrenaline-filled experience. That being said, players looking for the original and challenging Shinobi experience will truly enjoy Arcade Mode.

On the other hand, Ages mode is where most new features of the re-release reside in. This mode gives players extra health and damage, making the experience somewhat easier. In Ages mode, players will start with Joe wearing a white ninja outfit, which will change into red after sustaining a hit from an enemy. The change in outfit color indicates the health of the player and sustaining another hit while wearing the red ninja outfit will result in death. Ages mode is a welcome addition to Shinobi for the Switch, making it more accessible for new players or those who find Arcade Mode too challenging.

Another new feature that is introduced in Shinobi is rewind, which is becoming a standard in most ports of older games. The rewind feature is available in both Arcade and Ages modes and can be triggered by holding either the ZL or ZR button on the console. This feature allows players to turn back time for a maximum of ten seconds, which players can take advantage of by resurrecting the character upon death or to redo a specific action like accidentally hitting the button that triggers the special move. Players should also be mindful when using the rewind button because it won't go past the part of the game that is beyond the ten-second limit.

The Switch release of Shinobi also introduced tons of customization options that allow players to switch between the Japanese and International versions, change the game's difficulty, and the speed of the enemy's bullet. The game also looks amazing on the Switch, and although its graphics are obviously dated, the action-packed gameplay makes up for it, keeping players fully-immersed in gameplay. Moreover, players can also choose between a plethora of display options depending on their preference. By default, the game itself doesn't fit the screen to avoid stretching, but there are plenty of background options to choose from to fill in the gap, such as Cabinet mode that simulates what the players see when playing from an arcade machine. While this display mode looks cool, it significantly shrinks the game itself, making it a tad bit difficult to see. Of course, a full-screen mode is also available but it stretches the game a little bit, making the default display mode the perfect choice for pristine visuals.

Overall, the latest version of Shinobi for the Switch encapsulated the original experience and challenging gameplay of the 1987 classic title that makes for a fun nostalgic alternative to modern ninja games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Shinobi's abundance of customization options is also a welcome addition to the arcade title, making every gameplay tailored fit to the playstyle of each player. To put it simply, Shinobi for the Nintendo Switch is a perfect re-release of the classic arcade title, given the perfect combination of the challenging gameplay of the original game, with the conveniences of modern-day features, making it accessible to both newcomers and veteran players.

Sega Ages: Shinobi is available now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. Game Rant was provided with a Switch code for the purposes of this review.