Nightshade (PlayStation 2)

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Nightshade

Developer(s)	Wow Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Sega
Release date(s)	February 10, 2004 (NA)
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (17+) PEGI: 12+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	1 DVD

Nightshade is a video game for PlayStation 2, developed by Wow Entertainment and published by Sega in 2004. It is the 11th game in the Shinobi series and follows the exploits of a female ninja named Hibana. In Japan Nightshade is known as Kunoichi, which roughly translates as female ninja. The game is a direct sequel to the 2002 PlayStation 2 game Shinobi.

1 Plot
2 Gameplay
3 Soundtrack
4 References

[edit] Plot

In Nightshade, the player plays as Hibana, a female counterpart to Shinobi's Hotsuma. She is a government-employed ninja tasked with the elimination of members of the Nakatomi Corporation, which has unwittingly unleashed hellspawn upon futuristic Tokyo. She is also ordered to recover the shards of Akujiki, the legendary cursed sword that Hotsuma used to seal the hellspawn the last time. ^[1]

[edit] Gameplay

Nightshade is structured similar to Shinobi, its previous iteration. Its missions are linear by design, and each one culminates in a battle against a challenging boss opponent. The core of Nightshade's gameplay is centered on the hack and slash genre, with accumulating combos on spawning enemies about the level. Using Hibana's arsenal of a long Katana (the primary weapon), short daggers (achieve less damage, but score a higher combo multiplier), Shuriken (long range projectiles), and various Ninjutsu spells, the game challenges the player to achieve as high a score as possible while eliminating the opposing threat.^[2]

Nightshade also includes aspects of platforming. With Hibana's ability to dash in mid-air, the game requires the player to use this ability to bypass holes and hazards. Game mechanics restrict Hibana to only a double-jump and an air-dash before she falls, requiring the player to strike enemies in mid-flight to stay in the air. By doing this, the player combines accuracy and timing to stay in the air continuously, or fall to their death. Many game reviews have criticized this ^[3], due to its likelihood to occur on a common basis.

[edit] Soundtrack

The Nightshade Soundtrack is based upon the Japanese techno of the previous iteration, Shinobi. All tracks were produced by Fumie Kumatani, Tomonori Sawada and Keiichi. Unlike the official soundtrack for Shinobi, Nightshade did not gain a release.