Shadow Dancer

The player goes about this by using ninjutsu abilities and their dog to defeat enemies, as well as collecting bombs that must be obtained to clear a level. Upon release, Shadow Dancer received a positive reception from critics, who praised the game's soundtrack, graphics, and gameplay but noted that it was derivative of previous titles starring ninja protagonists. The game later received ports for home computers and the Master System. A loose adaptation, titled Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, was released for the Sega Genesis in 1990.

• Developer — Sega • Publisher — Sega • Director — Motoshige Hokoyama • Series — Shinobi • Genre — Platform, hack and slash • Modes — Single-player, multiplayer • Platforms — Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Master System, ZX Spectrum • Arcade System — Sega System 18

The play mechanics of Shadow Dancer are similar to those 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 consist 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 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 stage without using shuriken or ninja magic. There are four different missions, consisting of three stages for the first mission and four stages each for the remaining three. In the first few stages of each mission, the player must collect a certain number of time bombs scattered throughout the stage to proceed to the goal. The final stage in each mission is a confrontation between him and one of four bosses: an armoured giant throwing energy balls, a weaponized tank engine, a woman hurling metal plates collected from a rack, and a female ninja using magic and a naginata (the dog does not appear during boss battles). Between each mission, there is a bonus stage minigame seen from the character's perspective as he tosses shuriken at enemy ninjas dropping down from a building. The player is awarded an extra life after completing the minigame.

The young ninja battles together with his faithful pet dog. In the center of the city, a group of terrorists is committing every imaginable atrocity known to man, including the planting of time bombs throughout the metropolis. Our youthful hero and his canine companion courageously set out to gather all the explosives placed by the evil gang and annihilate the syndicate that manipulates them. The protagonist is never actually named in the original arcade version, although the various home versions give him differing identities. The manual and packaging description for the Master System version identifies him as Takashi, although the attract sequence in this same version contradicts this by naming him Fuma. The manual for the home computer versions produced by U.S. Gold, claims that he is Joe Musashi himself, with one print ad for the game referencing Kato and Sauros (who were characters from the Genesis version).

Following its debut as an arcade game in 1989, Shadow Dancer was released on various home computer formats in Europe in 1991. Versions released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum were published by U.S. Gold and developed by Images. Some of these versions were re-released as budget titles by Kixx in 1993. The Master System port was released in 1991 and 1992, exclusively, in Brazil and Europe. Although this version bears the title Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi on the packaging (like the Mega Drive version released in the same year as those aforementioned regions), it is actually based on the arcade version and is simply titled Shadow Dancer in-game. Most of the content from the arcade version was cut, and the play mechanics were modified a bit. Missions now consist of a single side-scrolling stage and a boss encounter. The player's canine companion no longer follows them around, but can still be summoned to kill certain enemies from a distance. Collecting time bombs is now an optional task that the player can conduct while on their way to the goal. When the player gathers all five time bombs in each mission, they will gain an attack power-up for the next boss battle. This version also features bonus stage minigames after completing each mission. While the minigame played after the first and third missions is the same as in the arcade version, the one after the second mission is new: it requires the player to throw shurikens at enemies while both them and the protagonist are in free fall between skyscrapers, and, unlike the other minigame, is played in a third-person perspective.