Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master is the second sequel in the Shinobi series, released by Sega – exclusively for the Megadrive/Genesis – in 1993. Shinobi III sees Sega slightly changing the focus of this famous platform/action game, with less emphasis on difficulty and more on the speed at which you play the game and the timings of your attacks. Which will be welcomed by some players.

After defeating criminal gang “Neo Zeed” in The Revenge of Shinobi, ninja master Joe Musashi returns to Japan to recover from the battle. While in training, Joe senses that Neo Zeed are secretly reforming, so he sets off once again to finally destroy them for good.

New to part three are a variety of moves: Joe can now block enemy projectiles after throwing one of his “kunai” knives; he can drop-kick enemies, and bounce to connect more kicks together; he can dash and slash enemies with his sword; he can perform wall jumps, and can also shimmy across ropes.

Joe has four different types of ninja magic at his disposal this time: the “Ikazuchi” (temporary invincibility); the “Kariu” (a fire attack that affects the whole screen); the “Fushin” (which makes him jump higher), and the “Mijin” (a self-destruct that costs one life, but deals high damage to all enemies on screen).

Graphically, Shinobi III is arguably the best in the series, with great pixel art backgrounds and animation. The “Body Weapon” stage (level three) is particularly good, with atmospheric, glowing lighting that pulses light and dark. The music is of a very high standard too – as it has been throughout the entire Shinobi series. The presentation throughout is top-notch.

The gameplay in Shinobi III is relatively straightforward hack-and-slash platforming, although there are some surprising action sequences in there too. There’s a very cool horse-riding level, and later on you even get to surf on a jet-powered ninja surfboard. There’s also a vertically-scrolling elevator ride sequence that is pretty exciting, and a level where you’re being targeted by a crosshair and must try to avoid it. So the developers have at least tried fairly hard to inject more variation than in previous Shinobi titles.

The fact that Shinobi III isn’t as mind-bendingly difficult as previous Shinobi games is a plus in my opinion, as it allows players to enjoy the ride without too much frustration. At least until the later levels, which are still very difficult. And the game does not have passwords or a save feature, so it’s certainly no pushover.

Overall, I think Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master is another great game in the Shinobi series, and also a must-play Megadrive title. And it’s one to own if you have real hardware in your collection.

More: Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master on Wikipedia
Steam: Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master on Steam