-KAGE- Shadow of The Ninja: SUPER REALISTIC NINJA ACTION

[NYN]

With the worldwide release coming closer, I was surprised to learn that SEEEGAAH is releasing the game in the East.

Own topic required. My teapot is ready...

[velo]

With the worldwide release coming closer, I was surprised to learn that SEEEGAAH is releasing the game in the East.

Own topic required. My teapot is ready...

I never finished the first one. Will I need to clear it to understand the story?

[Immryr]

story? it's an action game

[cfx]

.

[it290]

God damn I am so hyped for this game.

[Air Master Burst]

Just go ahead and inject this straight into my veins please.

[EmperorIng]

Probably one of the games I am looking forward to the most. I can't really get into 8bit action games, even ones with stellar reputations like the original Kage. Clearly it was just before my time
But the new suped-up remake is ticking all my boxes.

[velo]

If by first one you mean the Famicom/NES game, this is a remake, not a sequel.

story? it's an action game

Was mostly kidding but I took the time to run through SNES Pocky & Rocky before trying Reshrined and I think it made it a better experience. Recognized a few bosses, anyway! I never got too far into the NES Kage, but I'm a bit inclined to have another go at it, with this one coming.

[NYN]

I never finished the first one. Will I need to clear it to understand the story?

Was mostly kidding

You know, I could tell. I do set-ups similar like this one. If I catch someone with it, I am not often told...

But the new suped-up remake is ticking all my boxes.

YEAH! I only just realized in the SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT clip and thumbnail, that The Ninja materialize as the 0THER Natsume-related ninja, once once-again. Too stunned to take it all in.
And the teapot, y'all have seen the use of the teapot, right?

I have a strong feeling that this is going to be the grandest of gifts. More sweet for being a parting-gift. The greatest gesture, always giving.

[copy-paster]

Demo has been out after the Steam NextFest months ago but only available in Asia region. Grabbed it and played until I got a R2RKMF style No Damage Run with Hayate and Kaede respectively. I'll write what I think about the game so far but I'd put it in a spoiler just in case

Spoiler

Pros:
- You can use katana and chain/kusarigama at the same time, and powerups will applies to both
- Varied subweapon mechanics from the ol' shuriken and usual ninja weapons until the machinegun/shotgun, you can carry up to 7 subweapons.
- Katana/kusarigama attacks can parry/deflect some of enemy blows, like the saws from the grinder-like zako.
- Jumping feels smooth and dead-on with Hayate, platforming is fun with him.
- No instant death when falling to the pits, you'll respawn at the nearest platform with only one bar depleted (I'm sure it will be instakill on Hard mode, which doesn't exist in the demo)
- There's incentives for no subweapon/item and no prep mission usage as they'll double your currency points and score, not for no damage run btw.

Cons:
- Kaede is really hard to use especially for platforming stuff. Her jump ability is nerfed but she got the running speed boost, most of my runs failed because of her tanky jumps really.
- Front dash seems useless, why they didn't go with back dash instead? Kaede's speed makes it not usable at all and would've been better if she got the backdash. There's also no i-frames on this either so yeah.... maybe it's there to please speedrunners and there's also timer bonus for score.
- Most subweapons also feels like a filler and not very useful, many of them have extra animation and you'll get hit by the zakos first before you even let it out. You can only change your main weapon and sub from the last pickup, you either have to emptied them or find another subweapon to change with the ones you liked ala Rondo of Blood.
- Wallrunning mechanic is kindof confusing and not a fan, you can run on the walls for the short amount of time before the player automatically jumps to the opposite side. I was kinda worried during my Kaede run at 3:45 because I feared that I might didn't make it due to her jump physics, half of the run also failed on that section too ezmoney with Hayate tho!

To summary how unfortunate Kaede's nerfed jump is, this GIF speaks it all.... she didn't grab the platform for whatever reason! unless you really wanna see her jiggly thighs and boobas in action I see no reason to use her as first pick to play.

Final verdict: Fantastic one and this is probably the one modern retro ninja game I've had the most fun with after I dropped Cyber Shadow because the later stages gets annoying fast, excellent stage design and the feel of slashing MFs feels so satisfying. Definitely a Day 1 purchase for me, and I think I should get Kiki Kaikai Reshrined too as a warm-up mayhaps.

[BIL]

Very promising to hear! Thank you for your service.

[Sima Tuna]

Never surprising to hear that a Tengo Project remaster is a winner. But good to know all the same. I'm waiting to preorder/purchase the physical until it's a little closer to release. Always run the risk of them being out of stock, but none of these Tengo games has suffered long-term supply shortages for hard copies. So I'm not worried. I'll pick this one up in either the first or second batch of stock.

[Arino]

Never surprising to hear that a Tengo Project remaster is a winner. But good to know all the same. I'm waiting to preorder/purchase the physical until it's a little closer to release. Always run the risk of them being out of stock, but none of these Tengo games has suffered long-term supply shortages for hard copies. So I'm not worried. I'll pick this one up in either the first or second batch of stock.

Are you talking about one of those "Strictly Limited Games" (or similar brand) kind of releases?

[Sima Tuna]

Never surprising to hear that a Tengo Project remaster is a winner. But good to know all the same. I'm waiting to preorder/purchase the physical until it's a little closer to release. Always run the risk of them being out of stock, but none of these Tengo games has suffered long-term supply shortages for hard copies. So I'm not worried. I'll pick this one up in either the first or second batch of stock.

Are you talking about one of those "Strictly Limited Games" (or similar brand) kind of releases?

I'm pretty sure that tengo project games are not LRG releases. They have a standard physical release and usually it stays in stock at vendors (after maybe an initial back order during the release window.)

[ExitPlanetDust]

My observation has been that Tengo Project physical release availability seems to come in waves. The initial stock usually sells through and they’ll print another run like 6 months to a year later. I preordered the Japanese PS4 release since the west is going to be PS5 and Switch only. I also noticed that Amazon pushed the release date back a bit into September.

[Arino]

Never surprising to hear that a Tengo Project remaster is a winner. But good to know all the same. I'm waiting to preorder/purchase the physical until it's a little closer to release. Always run the risk of them being out of stock, but none of these Tengo games has suffered long-term supply shortages for hard copies. So I'm not worried. I'll pick this one up in either the first or second batch of stock.

Are you talking about one of those "Strictly Limited Games" (or similar brand) kind of releases?

I'm pretty sure that tengo project games are not LRG releases. They have a standard physical release and usually it stays in stock at vendors (after maybe an initial back order during the release window.)

OK I was just wondering why you seemed concerned about availability, I get it now.

[ExitPlanetDust]

Yeah, it will come back in stock, but you might be waiting awhile for a 2nd run if you don’t preorder or buy the physical on release day.

[Arino]

Yeah, it will come back in stock, but you might be waiting awhile for a 2nd run if you don’t preorder or buy the physical on release day.

Good to know! I don't refuse to buy digital versions of games (actually I find it convenient if I don't have to change discs), but sometimes I also enjoy buying physical games just because it's fun to go through your pile of cases and to look at the front and back I pre-ordered the PS4 version from CDjapan: https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/PLJM-17373

[Sima Tuna]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JanAQjvHDv8

New trailer. Looks sick.

[Sumez]

The initial physical run is being sold incredibly cheap at retailers, so I see no reason to wait for a second print. Preordered the game months ago just in case the low price was a mistake or something.

[Sima Tuna]

$30 was the list price for previous Tengo Project physicals. I preordered Pocky and Rocky Reshrined iirc, but they got backordered anyway and the game is still cheap to this day. So is Wild Guns Reloaded. So is Ninja Saviors.

I'm not sure if that makes my point that it's unnecessary to rush out and purchase a copy, or that people reading this thread who don't own Tengo Project physical versions should go purchase them all right now!

[Sumez]

They've always been cheap, but not as cheap as this one. not in Europe. It's retailing for the equivalent of $34, and the others were at least $45 going by current exchange rate.

I'm not worried about availability either, but usually I'm not in a hurry to play new games, and can wait for prices to drop. But Pocky Reshrined has been out for two years and is selling for what Shadow of the Ninja is launching at, so I see no reason to wait.
This release is my most anticipated new video game release since, well, since Pocky & Rocky Reshrined.

[Sima Tuna]

Completely understandable. The game looks great, Tengo have an amazing reputation with these remasters/remakes (they're a bit of both, typically,) and this one has Go Nagai's art layered on top.

[Arino]

Demo is out now in the west.

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm still trying to get a handle on the controls. They're not as precise as the original.
The graphics are amazing.

I wonder if we'll get Shatterhand next? I'm trying to think what other Natsume properties there are to work on?

[copy-paster]

The controls are precise and better than the original, even with runahead lag reduction from emulators I sometimes feel like I'm fighting with the input response.

[evil_ash_xero]

The controls are precise and better than the original, even with runahead lag reduction from emulators I sometimes feel like I'm fighting with the input response.

Interesting. I feel this one is laggier. I was playing the original on my pc, and it felt more tight. It obviously feels very tight on my NES/CRT.
In terms of the game not feeling as "precise" to me, I think it's that little step you do forward. That's always annoying to me. Where you don't stop exactly when you stop pushing the d pad.
You kinda take one step further.
Also, the wall jumping and whatnot still feels a bit off.
Cyber Shadow feels a lot tighter, for comparison.

It's good. There's just a few issues I have with it.

[Sumez]

I agree the controls initially felt a big laggy to me, but I think it's something about the feedback from the more fluid animations, which becomes a little off-putting. After a few runs through the demo I became accustomed to it.
I agree with CPS on the character differences. Although Kaede's heavier jump is obviously by design, it feels more like a bothersome handicap than an enjoyable challenge. I see no reason to play as her.

The ninja tools are very prominent and they confused and annoyed me at first. There are so many, and their individual advantages isn't really clear. Nevermind having to try and juggle all of them if you want to use (or replace) a specific one.
But the game seems to be almost entirely designed around the player *not* using them, which is a little amusing. You get score bonuses for keeping them until the end (seems to vary from 100 to 500 - hopefully there's a way to figure out which are worth more outside trial and error), which also unlocks them as a sort of metaprogression. I haven't used the "preparation" feature at all, but they work as a nice medal unlock to entice replaying stages.
It's also the only way to heal during a stage, which again highlights them as a training wheel that expert players want to avoid - very reminiscent of Mega Man's e-tanks, but with a higher risk value due to the game not having any lives. One death and you're Game Over, akin to both TNWA and Steel Assault!

I couldn't stop playing the demo, and ended up replaying it over and over on Hard Mode. The game felt a little off-putting to me at first due to the somewhat open-ended stage design enticing going back and forth looking for items to find. But since you can only carry 7 items total, even score hunters don't need to scavenge stages - just go for the high scoring items, and leg it to the goal. Once you know the stage, the pace is exactly as brisk as you'd hope from a great action game and get some practice down.
Hard Mode doesn't seem too different from Normal, at least on stage 1, but the boss fights actually put up a fight compared to the pushovers on Normal Mode. I think I'll end up feeling similar to Reshrined, where Hard Mode is the default, and the game kind of lacks a notch above that, for people wanting to challenge themself.


I know I'm far from the only person looking forward to this game - but man, I've rarely felt so strongly that a developer exist solely to create video games that cater exactly to my tastes alone. It really feels like Tengo Project are making games not just for 2D action game lovers, but for me specifically. I don't want them to ever stop!

[Sumez]

In terms of how the game compares to the original NES game, I think this is shaping up to be even more of a deviation than Reshrined was. Although it appears based on the same game, I think actually playing it feels almost nothing like it, and pretty much exclusively to its advantage.
As with Reshrined, the powerdown has become a lot milder, even moreso this time around. As far as I can tell, there's only one level of powering up, but the improvement is so significant you want to never lose it. Picking up additional powerups only increases the number of hits you can take before losing it again, but unless you're aiming for a no damage run that's pretty useful, and honestly a pretty good idea IMO.

Btw - on my first playthrough I found (I think) two instances of an item which looks like a can of energy drink or something. I'm not sure what it does, but I think it increased my damage output (or maybe it's similar to just picking up a powerup?). But I haven't been able to find it since. Does anyone have any idea where I found them? I figured it had something to do with me using continues on the first run, which I haven't done since. But I tried experimenting with that, and it didn't seem to affect anyhing.

[NYN]

Tried the free demo. It's ACES! The stylistic way of the first stage alone is as artistic as all of Re-Shrined.

My favorite bit so far is how the -gama passes through a closed door, damaging, yet not instantly breaking it. The very idea! Assassin!