Shinobi: Art of Vengeance brings the series back with a fiery vengeance.

I was excited when it was announced that Shinobi (and Joe Musashi) would be returning to the gaming world. I haven’t kept up with the series since the Nintendo 3DS entry. Which, I might add, wasn’t very good. The more I played that, the more I wanted to replay the PlayStation 2 entry or its follow-up: Nightshade. I mention this because I was really pumped to play the game on 3DS and got let down. This time, I knew to keep my expectations in check. It turns out that I didn’t need to. This was a game that accomplished a goal that all games should strive to accomplish: being fun – plain and simple. I played Shinobi: Art of Vengeance on both Switch and Switch 2. I recommend it for any console you have access to.

You don’t need to have any prior knowledge of the series or the adventures of Joe Musashi or the history of the Oboro Clan to jump into Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. The game begins in a small, remote hut where Joe is enjoying another quiet morning with his pregnant wife and their dog. Naturally, the quiet doesn’t last long because one of Joe’s students arrives with disturbing news of intruders. Joe hops into action and sees helicopters dropping enemy shinobi and military soldiers across the landscape. The person behind this invasion introduces himself as Lord Ruse. He plans to take over the world, obvs. Joe is on the scene, and with the help of some unlikely allies, he ventures across the world to put a stop to Ruse’s ambitions.

Most of the story is predictable stuff we’ve seen before, but I want to touch on the “unlikely allies” part. During the game, Joe meets some extra colorful faces that provide him with guidance and intel. Joe is a silent protagonist, but there is still a lot of discussion and dialogue that flows naturally amongst his friends. Surprisingly, I found myself eagerly looking forward to the next story beats as much as entering a new level because of the succinct and solid writing. Note that these story sections are fully voiced and have multiple language settings.

The game does a good job of easing players into all of Joe’s abilities. Some will feel familiar. Along with being able to perform impressive sword combos with weak and strong attacks, he can double-jump, dodge-roll, dash in the air, scale walls and rebound off them, and throw kunai. Amulets are scattered throughout the game that grant him passive and active abilities. He can equip one of each. The passive abilities often help with his equipped Ninpo AKA ninja magic. Various ninja magics can be discovered that let Joe do some impressive feats; my personal favorites are a bomb that detonates on impact with a wide explosion and instantly crushes enemy shields, and summoning the snake of the Oboro Clan to snap at enemies for high damage. Shielded or not, enemies come in various sizes and are out to stop Joe in his tracks.

Toppling them with various combos at high speed never gets old. The controls are as tight as ever. And for those wondering, no. There is no ridiculous parry mechanic from the 3DS version. Most enemies drop some sort of reward: gold, life restoration and/or kunai. Gold is used to purchase new upgrades and amulets at the shops scattered throughout each stage. As satisfying as that is, the best way to earn more rewards is to attack enemies just enough so a red meter below their health fills to the max allowing Joe to perform a Shinobi Execution, as noted by a symbol above their heads. Performing a flashy and sleek Shinobi Execution will not only instantly kill enemies, but it will cause them to drop more rewards. It took me a while to nail this technique because a lot of the enemies would die before I could perform it. Killing bosses requires the use of a Shinobi Execution, too. Most of the bosses are expectedly brutal. You’ll be dodging and jumping and dashing frequently as you try to find an opening for your favorite combos. If things really get dire, there are four Rage Attacks that can be used for healing or dealing intense damage to everyone on screen, all with flashy effect. But, even then things can get busy and frustrating. A generous checkpoint/quick-jump system helps make the return to boss layers somewhat easier.

Combat is an important part of Art of Vengeance, but exploration is just as important. Taking a page from a Metroidvania, Art of Vengeance features upgrades that give Joe access to new areas and secrets. Broken floors. Steel walls. Windy areas. Grapple points. All these will be imposing at first, but eventually Joe will be able to navigate them. A handy tracker keeps a tally of your percentage of completion in each stage. It’s fun and rewarding getting every stage to 100 percent.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a beautiful game that continues the canonization of 2D staying power. The character art is outlandish and exaggerated. The sprites are fluid and vibrant. Every attack is swift and every special move over the top. Each stage has a unique look that’s worth taking the time to admire after you clear out enemy hordes. Finally, most of the bosses are ridiculously designed yet still have an imposing aura. This is a well animated game that captures the spirit of the series and shows what modern hardware is capable of. (Nothing will ever dazzle me as much as Hotsuma’s flowing red scarf. But. This game comes close.) The soundtrack combines oriental instrumentals and heavy rock. Each stage has a track that’s fun to toe tap along to. The song that plays in the Anki Realm, secret areas housing insane platforming challenges but excellent rewards, is my favorite. It’s a total banger.

After dealing the last blows to the final boss, a few extras were unlocked to extend game time. I spent most of this time getting each stage to 100 percent. Doing so uncovered hidden keys that unlocked a powerful secret boss within an unnerving stage. All told, I was able to get a good 25 hours in with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance. I might have earned 100 percent on every stage, but some stages are so fun that they warrant a revisit. I can see this being a good game to just hop back into every now and again to kill both time and enemies. It’s great seeing Joe’s return to form. I hope more Shinobi titles with such polish get released in the future.

Overall, 8.5/10: There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and enemy ninja. Luckily, Joe Musashi is able to handle that third one in the well-crafted Shinobi: Art of Vengeance.