The game doesn’t even have an official name yet, but it’s already leaking out, so SEGA, who owns the IP, might want to tighten security a bit.

SEGA announced some time ago that it would be reviving some of its older franchises. Among them are Jet Set Radio and Shinobi. The reboot will bring the classic side-scrolling hack’n’slash gameplay we’ve long been accustomed to from the franchise. The term “long” is no coincidence, as it’s been nearly four decades since the IP debuted. Let’s take a look back…

Shinobi began in the arcades in 1987. It was picked up by the SEGA Master System in 1988, the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum, MSX, PC, TurbografX-16 and NES in 1989, the Wii Virtual Console and Xbox 360 Xbox Live Arcade in 2009, and then the Nintendo Switch in 2020 as part of SEGA Ages. Then came Shadow Dancer (1989: arcades, 1991: SEGA Master System, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum), followed by The Revenge of Shinobi, which was made for consoles by default. It was released on the SEGA Megadrive in 1989, on the Wii Virtual Console in 2009, and on the PlayStation Network (PlayStation 3) and Xbox Live Arcade (Xbox 360) and PC in 2012.

This was followed in 1990 by Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (SEGA Mega Drive), which was released as part of the SEGA Genesis Collection for PS2 and PSP in 2006, and for PC in 2010. In 1991, The Cyber Shinobi was released for the Master System only, and in the same year, Shinobi was released for the Game Gear, which appeared on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console in 2012. In 1992 came Shinobi II: The Silent Fury, also for the Game Gear, followed by Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (1993: SEGA Mega Drive, 2006: PSP/PS2, 2007: Wii, 2009: PS3/X360, 2010: PC, 2013: 3DS), then Shinobi Legions for SEGA Satun in 1995, and things slowed down from there. Then came Shinobi for PS2 (2002, made it to PSN in 2012), then Nightshade (2003: PS2), then Shinobi for 3DS in 2011… and that was it.

Lizardcube is also a studio known for Streets of Rage 4 and Wonderboy: The Dragon’s Trap. They do a pretty good job with SEGA titles. But when and where will the Shinobi reboot be released?

Source: Reddit