Being the younger of the two, Hotsuma looked up to Moritsune, and considered his older brother to be a superior warrior. Raised together within the Oboro Clan, Hotsuma and Moritsune were seldom apart during their youth. Three types of ninja magic are available to him: 'Ka'en', an area-based fire attack 'Kamaitachi', a ranged shock wave attack and 'Raijin', which grants him invincibility for a short period of time. Hotsuma can also use shurikens to briefly paralyze his enemies. The mechanic of jumping from enemies after dispatching them adds an element of platform gameplay. To ensure that Akujiki's hunger remains sated, Hotsuma can kill four or more enemies with no more than a few seconds between each kill to perform an exaggeratedly violent 'TATE' attack that will release more souls for Akujiki. This leads to an emphasis on killing all enemies in a battle as quickly as possible. Akujiki feeds on souls, initially devouring those of the enemies he kills, then that of Hotsuma himself if he does not kill any enemies for too long. Hotsuma's sword, Akujiki, is his primary weapon. Ĭombat is hack and slash-based, involving large numbers of recurring enemies. The game does not feature checkpoints, but allows the player to continue from the start of a boss battle if they die. Gameplay consists of quickly moving through levels and killing enemies. The player guides protagonist Hotsuma through eight levels that each consist of two sections and a boss battle. Shinobi is a 3D action-adventure game viewed from a third-person perspective. The necessity of his sword to absorb the souls of his victims creates urgency in the gameplay. Gameplay Hotsuma kills an enemy in the game's urban Japanese setting. A comic book adaptation, soundtrack album, and sequel entitled Nightshade were also released. Upon release, Shinobi was generally well received by critics.

Other gameplay elements resulted from a desire to mix old and new elements. The game was designed to place emphasis on the action elements of action-adventure gameplay and appeal to the action market. Shinobi was originally planned for the Dreamcast, but due to the discontinuation of the console, the game was moved to the PS2. Hotsuma's mission is to stop Hiroko from destroying the world and avenge the death of his clan. Upon finding a golden castle after an earthquake, Hotsuma makes it his goal to defeat the powerful sorcerer Hiruko, who had summoned hellspawn creatures in Japan to destroy Tokyo. He can also use ninja magic, shurikens, and special moves. The game stars the master ninja Hotsuma, leader of the Oboro clan, who wields Akujiki, a sword that feeds on souls. It was released for the PlayStation 2 console on November 12, 2002, in North America December 5 in Japan and May 15, 2003, in Europe. Shinobi is a 3D action-adventure video game developed by Overworks and published by Sega as part of the Shinobi series.

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