I would be lying if I told I had grown up playing the original Shadow of the Ninja, or if I had ever played it in the past. My knowledge of ninja-based action platformers on the NES started and ended with Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden, or at least prior to the announcement and subsequent release of Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn, a full-fledged remake/sequel of this apparently beloved NES classic to modern platforms, featuring all kinds of bells and whistles to bring this franchise to a new era, and to a brand new audience.

Considering the fact that the previous Natsume-branded remake I’ve played, Pocky & Rocky Reshrined, wasn’t half bad, I decided to give Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn a shot and see what the fuss was all about. After all, you gotta be incredibly incompetent to make a game about ninja warriors suck, so expectations were already somewhat high.

Y’know, I keep saying that Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn is tough and all, but at the very least, this big fella is a pushover.

The original Shadow of the Ninja is a sidescroller where you can choose between two different ninja warriors, fighting against mercenaries, robots, and other common enemy tropes, with either a katana or a kunai with a chain. Climbing on walls and hanging from platforms is something you’d do often. Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn follows the same premise. Thanks to a much wider assortment of buttons, both the kunai and katana are accessible at once, physics have been revamped, and the graphics have been reworked to a pristine degree.

That doesn’t mean the gameplay felt pristine thanks to these quality-of-life changes. I still think that the platforming is a bit clunky due to the automatic wall-sticking mechanics, as if I were a Spider-Man on his first week on the job. I also really hated the swapping system for my powerups and secondary weapons, as I’d have to stop dead on the tracks and manually swipe right or left for my desired powerup, whilst still getting bombarded by enemy attacks. It’s basically like using Tinder on a warzone. That’s not to say the combat isn’t fun, as using the kunai and chain is amazing, but the platforming and occasionally brutal level of difficulty were a major hindrance all the way through.

Platforming can be clunky at times.

It’s odd to realize that Shadow of the Ninja did not start its life as an arcade title, because it has all of the unfair elements you’d often associate with quarter munchers from the late 80s. You only have one death before the game is over, for instance. Enemy placement can often feel unfair, but at the same time, enemy placement never changes; this game is all about pattern recognition. Whether you find this to be cool or not is up to you. All while being bombared by some really decent presentation.

Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn features some downright gorgeous pixel art that feels like this game was originally conceived as a long-lost arcade from the 90s. Colors are crisp, the animation is solid, you never feel like you’re unable to see an enemy in front or above you. The screen can be plastered with enemies and particles, and the framerate remains intact. The soundtrack wasn’t bad, either, but it wasn’t as impactful as the pretty visuals. They mostly managed to get the job done, but I can’t say I was wowed or was able to remember a single tune right after turning the game off.

This boss battle nearly made me want how to cuss in Japanese.

Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn can be infuriating at times, due to clunky platforming and a borderline irritating level of difficulty, but if you take it as one of those challenging arcade games which want you to memorize pattern recognition and enemy placements, you can have quite a bit of fun with it. If you have the patience, that is. As a fun arcade pasttime, meant to be played in shorter bursts, and also thanks to its pretty good presentation, Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn is a pretty decent recommendation.

Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn is available now on (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch

Reviewed on Xbox Series S.

A copy of Shadow of the Ninja: Reborn was provided by the publisher.