Sega & Lizardcube Talk Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance And How To Modernise A Classic

With Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’s launch date now merely 97 days away (not that we’re keeping track), both Sega and Lizardcube have been active, ensuring to fulfill our growing appetite for additional details about their forthcoming side-scrolling journey.

Naturally, this isn’t just any typical adventure and, much like Lizardcube’s earlier endeavors, including Streets of Rage 4 and Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (both outstanding), here we have a reimagining, a comprehensive modernization after a lengthy hiatus, of the one and only Shinobi. The challenge of deconstructing a timeless classic and reconstructing it in a way that satisfies both newcomers and veterans, while also appearing contemporary and ‘good’? These individuals have handled that before.

Speaking to Games Informer (welcome back, guys!), Kagasei Shimomura, head of Sega’s content production unit, disclosed how his team had spent time reviewing 60 years of historic IPs that fall under the Sega umbrella. They settled on the long-forgotten Shinobi series, which hasn’t witnessed any fresh action since 2011’s Shinobi 3D on the 3DS, and the team began to put their plans into motion.

Shimomura recognized that some classic arcade series had been partly maintained through the Sega Ages Collection, but that:

“We didn’t just want to go and create remasters or remakes of all the existing titles…We want individuals to enjoy and feel satisfied by what we release, and discover means to cultivate new Sega enthusiasts.”

At the 2023 Game Awards, with the announcement of a plethora of classic reboots from Sega – featuring Golden Axe (calm down, grandpa) – Shimomura’s complete plans were unveiled, focusing particularly on Shinobi.

Lizardcube was subsequently involved, which isn’t surprising considering they had just transformed two retro IPs into critically acclaimed hits. Fortunately, the Parisian developer’s CEO and creative director, Ben Fiquet, was thrilled by the opportunity, articulating during the interview how his team’s enthusiasm surged as “huge Sega fans” at the thought of developing a fresh Shinobi.

Impressing Sega with a proposal aiming to harmonize old and new, Lizardcube then concurred that a 2D game was the most effective direction, one that specifically drew inspiration from Shinobi 1, 2 and 3, while providing players with something innovative and captivating to immerse themselves in.

Fiquet elaborates:

“We quickly realized that to engage the players in what they would be doing most, which is combat, the fighting needed to be more compelling. That’s why there are a multitude of moves now, and it’s a captivating blend because it resembles a beat-‘em-up in a platforming setting. You have a combo system, an array of moves at your disposal, powers, ultras, and various elements, ensuring that while players are engaging in what they do best, they remain entertained.”

Instead of merely licensing the IP to Lizardcube, as had been done with Wonder Boy and Streets of Rage, Sega is fully committed here, even literally getting involved in suggesting the game’s artistic direction, concepts that Fiquet mentions are typically reserved for animated films. Indeed, 1990s Sega classics, The Lion King and Aladdin, renowned for their exceptional animation, serve as reference points for the aesthetics and style being employed in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance.

Ultimately, such is Sega’s dedication to the project, Toru Ohara, a designer with over 30 years at Sega, got thoroughly involved with a team of his own, working as chief producer on Sega’s side to guarantee the appropriate level of expression, the correct brush strokes, and, of course, the right amount of respect afforded to the original Shinobi games while modernizing for a new audience.

Ohara himself appears enthusiastic and pleased with what has been created thus far, as he states:

“The game begins as a standard action game, but eventually feels much more like a fighting game, where you possess all these different combos to choose from as you learn to perform more and more as you progress.”

It’s hardly surprising that the teams involved seem to be excelling thus far; just a brief play of Streets of Rage 4 quickly reveals the high caliber at which these individuals operate.

The complete interview delves into much more detail regarding how extensively Sega opted to engage, along with plenty more insights on several other classics, so be sure to check it out for additional tidbits on those. Meanwhile, we’re off to practice some backflips and then head to the supermarket for a pack of plastic shuriken. Not that we’re overly excited for the new Shinobi or anything.

Enthusiastic about Shinobi’s comeback? Don’t hesitate to sneak into the comments and share your thoughts!