Lizardcube revitalizes the Shinobi franchise with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, positioning the game as a direct sequel to 1993's Shinobi 3 and restoring Joe Musashi as protagonist. The studio brings a hand-drawn aesthetic following successful remakes and revivals, and Sega maintains active involvement in the project rather than merely licensing the IP. Lizardcube contributes beyond art to game design, programming, and story. The Shinobi series historically struggled during its 3D transition with weaker PS2 entries, while retro collections have preserved the originals and influenced the new sequel's direction and fidelity.
The Paris-based studio has already proven itself with its delicious remake of Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap followed by the excellent revival of Streets of Rage with a new entry in 16 years, both employing a beautiful hand-drawn art style. But Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is perhaps its biggest challenge to date. In some way, there's even more to prove, because unlike Ninja Gaiden, the Shinobi series languished in its transition to 3D, spawning two so-so PS2 games with different protagonists before fading into obscurity.
The memory of the original side-scrollers have nonetheless been kept alive by their inclusion in retro collections, including the Mega Drive games available on the Nintendo Switch Online service, and it's these games that Art of Vengeance follows directly from, acting as a sequel to 1993's Shinobi 3 and returning with original ninja master Joe Musashi (also see our guides to the best Nintendo Switch 2 games and the best retro consoles). Paint it red Instead of just licensing out its IP, Sega is actually much more directly involved with Art of Vengeance. Contrary to assumptions, that doesn't mean Lizardcube has been brought on board solely for the art direction as the team is also credited in other areas, including game design, programming and story.
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