Shadow Dancer
| Shadow Dancer | |
|---|---|
Arcade flyer
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| Developer(s) |
Sega Images (computers) |
| Publisher(s) | Sega U.S. Gold (computers) |
| Distributor(s) | Kixx (re-release) |
| Director(s) | Motoshige Hokoyama |
| Series | Shinobi |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Master System, ZX Spectrum |
| Release date(s) | November 1989 (arcade) |
| Genre(s) | Platform, hack and slash |
| Mode(s) | Single-player or two-player (alternating turns) |
| Cabinet | Upright |
| Arcade system | Sega System 18 |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| Crash | (Spectrum) 77% |
| Your Sinclair | (Spectrum) 85% |
| Amiga Action | (Amiga) 84% |
| Commodore Format | (C64) 89% |
| (Master System) 84% | |
| RAZE | (Amiga) 89% |
| The One | (Atari ST) 80% |
| Zzap!64 | (Amiga/C64) 83% |
Shadow Dancer (シャドー・ダンサー?) is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released as an arcade game in 1989. It is the second and the final arcade game in the Shinobi series, following the original Shinobi itself. The player controls a ninja aided by an attack dog, who is fighting to save the city from a terrorist organization.
Shadow Dancer was developed on the Sega System 18 motherboard hardware and its generally well received home versions were released for the Master System console and several home computer systems in 1991. A loose adaptation titled Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi was released exclusively for the Mega Drive/Genesis.
The play mechanics of Shadow Dancer are similar to these of the arcade version of the original Shinobi. The controls and almost all of the player's moves from the original Shinobi are present here as well.
The biggest change is the addition of a canine companion that follows the protagonist around. When the dog barks towards an enemy, the player can sic the dog on the enemy by pressing the attack button while crouching, allowing the player an opportunity to attack the enemy while it is being bitten by the dog. However, if the player takes too long to attack the bitten enemy or the enemy has a strong defense, then the dog will be hurt and turn into a harmless pup. The dog will then remain in pup form until the player acquires the next time bomb or finishes the stage.
The player's weapons consists of an unlimited supply of shuriken and a sword which is used when adjacent to an enemy. When the player collects half of the time bombs in each stage, stronger weapons are granted until the player finishes the stage or loses a life. The player can also use from one of three random ninja magic (ninpo) techniques that will clear the entire screen of enemies. Normally, these techniques can only be used once per stage, but if the player continues the game by inserting more coins and pressing START, the protagonist restarts the stage with two units instead of one. Bonus points are awarded if the player completes the game without using shuriken or ninja magic.
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Wikipedia