SEGA Talk Podcast #58: Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (1993)

On this episode of SEGA Talk, George and Barry return to the Shinobi series with Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, the third title in the franchise… or is it the fifth? Man, SEGA really dropped the ball on keeping the Shinobi games in any order. We discuss this, the development and the gameplay on this new episode!

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Arcade1up’s Golden Axe cabinet up to order featuring Golden Axe, The Revenge of Death Adder, Shinobi, Altered Beast, and Wrestle War

If you guys always wanted a almost full size arcade of SEGA games including some never released in home classics like Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder, you can now get it via Arcade1up’s Golden Axe themed arcade which will set you back a cool $399.99 (who needs a next gen console, when you can play Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder at home?).

This arcade will feature the following titles:

  • Golden Axe™
  • Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder™
  • Shinobi™
  • Altered Beast™
  • Wrestle War™

You can order via 1up Arcade’s website which also contains more pictures of the cabinet that are using Golden Axe 1 cabinet style.

More SEGA Astro City Mini Games Revealed – Plus Accessory Kit Announced

When we first shared the news about SEGA’s Astro City Mini, it was revealed that the plug and play would include 36 arcade classics. At the time, 10 were revealed, and today we learned of an additional 13 games! The newly announced titles include:

  • Cotton
  • Shinobi
  • Shadow Dancer
  • E-SWAT
  • Crack Down
  • Gain Ground
  • Puyo Puyo
  • Columns
  • Bonanza Bros.
  • Puzzle & Action: Ichidant-R
  • Wonder Boy
  • Wonder Boy in Monster Land
  • Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair

SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone and Shinobi releasing in western territories on January 23rd

Two SEGA arcade classics are coming soon to the Nintendo Switch eShop in North American and European territories, Fantasy Zone and Shinobi! Both will be available on January 23rd simultaneously.

SEGA AGES Fantasy Zone is based on the 3DS iteration, Fantasy Zone Opa-Opa Bros. In this game, you take on the role of Opa-Opa, as you must blast down all of the the bases and the residential boss of each stage, with a large assortment of weapons and engines to help you on your mission, for a price of course. Like the 3DS version, you have the option of hoarding money and using it in repeated playthroughs, the return of the Upa-Upa Mode where you play as Upa-Upa with weapons readily being available at the cost of them consuming money like ammunition, and extras unlocked once you earn enough money in the bank.

SEGA AGES Shinobi puts you in the role of Joe Musashi, as you must rescue kids held hostage in each stage. Armed with throwing weapons, a melee weapon, and special attacks, you must fight your way through each stage. Occasionally there will also be a bonus stage, where you much kill every ninja trying to approach you in a gallery-shooter fashion. This version of Shinobi will also include a special “SEGA AGES” version, that mixes up the gameplay with Joe being powered up and wearing white suit similar to Revenge on Shinobi on the SEGA Genesis, along with the inclusion of a stage select allowing you to pick any stage you want.

[Source: Nintendo UK Website Fantasy Zone and Shinobi]

Arcade 1Up SEGA arcade cabinet in the works, to feature Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder

CES 2020 is happening now in Las Vegas, and while the trade show is no longer the top dog when it comes to video game reveals there was a bit of BIG SEGA news that hit late yesterday. Arcade 1Up, the company behind smaller sized home arcade cabinets, have inked a deal to release SEGA games and their first release is a doozy. If you watch our SEGA News Bits videos, you’ll know that one of our most often requested rereleases is the 1992 classic Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder which never saw a home port.

Now, Arcade 1Up will be offering fans a chance to bring the game home in arcade cabinet form as the SEGA lineup features Golden Axe: The Revenge of Death Adder, Shinobi, Altered Beast, Wrestle Wars, and Golden Axe. If the emulation is perfected, this could prove to be a must own for SEGA fans! We will share more news as we hear it.

SEGA Talk Podcast #31: The Revenge of Shinobi (1989)

The SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive action classic The Revenge of Shinobi is the focus of this SEGA Talk episode. Barry and George discuss the game’s development, the difficulty, the various revisions and the impact the game made on the Shinobi series as a whole. While not available on the SEGA Genesis Mini, the game was included on the Japanese and Asian models and is available in the west via the SEGA Genesis Classics collection for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.

Note: Due to a setup error, George is speaking through his computer mic. Please forgive us for his audio quality.

Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories read at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGA AGES Shinobi releasing on October 31st in Japan

SEGA AGES Shinobi finally has a proper release date. For those that live in Japan or have a Japanese account, SEGA AGES Shinobi will release on October 31st on the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop for ¥999. In addition to the original arcade game, players will have several quality-of-life options available, such as the option to change the difficulty and select any of the stages within the game. It will also come packed with a new SEGA AGES version, which overhauls the game to play more similarly to The Revenge of Shinobi, complete with Joe Musashi now wearing white attire.

[Source: Official Website]

SEGA AGES Shinobi coming soon, more information revealed


SEGA AGES continues along, now entering the mysterious world of ninja with the SEGA arcade classic Shinobi. In this game, you play as the ninja Joe Musashi, as you’re tasked with rescuing kids held hostage scattered throughout the stage, with an emphasis on jumping between foreground and background. Of course, it won’t be easy, as you must also fight your way through swarms of enemies, armed with your melee attacks, throwing weapons like shurikens, and special attacks that clear out the screen. All tied together by the occasional Bonus Stage, where you have to clear out every ninja with either your shurikens or sword.

SEGA AGES Shinobi adds several new features, as usual with these SEGA AGES releases. For those that want to improve themselves or want to skip stages, both a new stage select and difficulty options are now available. A special border will also be provided that emulates an arcade setting, similar to SEGA AGES Space Harrier. But the biggest addition is the SEGA AGES mode, which causes Joe to dress up in white garments, be fully powered up, and have a life system. For those that have played The Super Shinobi (aka The Revenge of Shinobi), this brand new SEGA AGES mode will be very familiar.

SEGA AGES Shinobi is priced at ¥999 (roughly $9.20), though with no definitive release date yet.

[Source: Official Website]

SEGA Talk #23: Shinobi (1987)

On this SEGA Talk, George and Barry knuckle up and kick back to the 80s to discuss SEGA’s ninja arcade classic Shinobi! We discuss the game’s development, the fascination with ninjas and the many ports the game received.

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Support us on Patreon! Get early access, tell us what games to cover, and have your SEGA memories played at the end and more!

[iTunes – Stitcher – YouTube – Play Music – RSS – Download]

If you want to give us feedback, suggest a topic for the next podcast or want to ask a question for us to answer on the next episode you can add  them as a comment below or send theme directly to our email. Make sure you use subject line ‘SEGA Talk’ and as always, thanks for listening!

SEGA AGES Shinobi coming to Nintendo Switch

SEGA of Japan recently made an announcement that the classic arcade version of Shinobi will be coming soon to the SEGA AGES line up for the Nintendo Switch in Japan with a release date undecided at the moment.

Debuting on the SEGA System 16 arcade hardware, Shinobi is a side scrolling action and platforming game featuring Joe Musashi as he uses ninja martial arts and weapons to attack enemies of the Zeed Organization while saving the children of the Oboro Clan. In addition, you can use the killing Ninjutsu technique to wipe out the enemies in the screen and encounter bosses appears at the end of each mission with extraordinary battles such as a helicopter carrying a ninja army and a huge computer protected by a Buddha statue.

We will keep you posted on more information for SEGA AGES Shinobi once a release date and price has been announced for both regions.

[Source: Official Website]

More titles announced for the Mega Drive Mini and SEGA Genesis Mini, including World of Illusion, Earthworm Jim, Super Fantasy Zone, and more!

SEGA has announced more titles coming to the SEGA Genesis Mini and the Mega Drive Mini. A total of 10 more games have been announced separately between the North America/Europe lineup and the Japanese lineup; 6 shared between the two lineups, 3 exclusive to the western consoles, 4 exclusives for the Japanese console, and the previously announced Sonic the Hedgehog 2 being confirmed to appear on the western consoles. Arguably the most notable titles to note here are the Disney titles Castle of Illusion and World of Illusion, as it confirms some licensed titles will also appear in the SEGA Genesis Mini selection.

[Source: SEGA of America website, Famitsu]

Click below for a full list of confirmed titles.

SEGA FES 2019: Six new titles announced for the SEGA AGES series

More news has dropped regarding to the SEGA AGES series, this time a lot of announced titles coming to the series sometime in the future. These titles are Puzzle & Action Ichidant-R, Shinobi, G-loc Air Battle, Fantasy Zone, Herzog Zwei, and Wonder Boy in Monster Land. Each title will be based on their original arcade version, with the exception being Herzog Zwei instead being based on the Mega Drive version. No other information such as pricing, release date, or any other additional features have been revealed.

This announcement notably means that G-loc Air Battle will have the original arcade version ported to a home console for the first time, while this will be the first time SEGA used the Herzog IP after the acquirement of Technosoft’s library. What is your thoughts on these titles coming to the SEGA AGES series?

[Source: Twitter]

SEGA Slots mobile released worldwide featuring classic SEGA IPs

SEGASlotsImages

SEGA has now launched their mobile app SEGA Slots world wide. This lets you play ‘some of the fastest, most addictive slots machines around!’ according to their product description. These addictive slots machines just happen to have some of our favorite SEGA IPs attached to them. While its cool to see our favorite characters being represented, its a tad sad that they are stuck in a casino style mobile gambling game.

Product Pages: Play Store iTunes 

Regardless SEGA Slots, as of launch, has the following Classic SEGA IPs represented: 

SEGA Shop is open for business!

Screen Shot 2017-10-17 at 11.48.41 AM

The SEGA Shop is open for business at shop.sega.com! As we reported last week, the SEGA Shop is a new online retail destination for the Americas (and in the future additional territories) serving the various SEGA brands. At launch, the shop features Sonic, Shinobi, Golden Axe and SEGA Genesis brands with plans to expand. Currently, the shop primarily has wearables like shirts and hoodies, but there are plans to add exclusive items like pins and other items.

Currently, the store has a cool exclusive Sonic Forces shirt, SEGA Genesis blankets, and an Eggman and Metal Sonic mug.

Check the SEGA Shop out for yourself, and in the comments below tell us what you think of their selection!

SEGA adds more gaming soundtracks to Spotify

SEGASoundtracksSEGA adds more gaming soundtracks to Spotify for your listening pleasure. It seems that SEGA is going to continue to add more in the upcoming months? I sure hope so. But as of right now, there are a ton of new SEGA soundtracks to feast your teeth into. Here are some of the franchises that got soundtracks added to the music streaming service:

  • Fantasy Zone
  • NiGHTS 
  • Out Run
  • Virtua Fighter
  • Skies of Arcadia
  • Chain Chronicle
  • Shinobi/Nightshade
  • Space Harrier
  • Rhythm Thief 
  • Gunblade NY & L.A. Machineguns
  • Power Drift
  • Alex Kidd

There are more here and there. Want to have a gander yourself? Check out SEGA’s artist page on Spotify. It does seem that this was done by SEGA Japan, only because there are some very Japanese focused soundtracks like Chain Chronicle (never published outside of Japan by SEGA) and Nightshade is using its Japanese name of Kunoichi. SEGA adds more gaming soundtracks to Spotify, does this mean you will be less likely to get a physical version of these soundtracks? Personally I think people that stream, where going to stream it regardless. What soundtrack is missing that you want? Sound off in the comments.