History VideoGame / Shinobi

* PressXToDie: A self-destruct ninjitsu is featured, which kills or greatly damages everything on the screen and reduces a life from your total stock, while also giving you another use for a ninjitsu. There's nothing to stop you from using it while on your very last life.

** ''The Revenge of Shinobi'' is known as ''The Super Shinobi'' in Japan.
** ''Shinobi III'' is named ''The Super Shinobi II'' (establishing its status as a sequel to ''Revenge'').
** ''Shin Shinobi Den'' is known as ''Shinobi Legions'' in America and ''Shinobi X'' in Europe.
** The [=3DS=] version is known as ''[[SuperTitle64Advance Shinobi 3D]]'' in Japan.

%%* SuperMode: Again, the Shadow Master after he charges up.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: In addition to having a [[FlechetteStorm Punishing Steel Rain]] attack, Jiro can launch into a [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Jump-and-Slash]] off a double jump.
* EvilCounterpart: The Shadow Master is this to Joe, especially since he was cloned from the Musashi bloodline.

* ScarfOfAsskicking:
** Hotsuma's scarf in the [=PS2=] titles.
** They even tack one on Hibana - although hers isn't quite as epic, it does leave a rather cool 'ghost trail' effect.
** Hell, they tack one on JOE in his model for [=PS2=]... it doesn't trail or get brushlike....but it's the principle that matters.
** Jiro Musashi sports one.

** An organization named "Zeed"? An enemy named "Ken-oh"? Someone must have been watching too much ''[[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar Hokuto no Ken]]'' when they made the game.

* YukiOnna: Jiro has to fight one at the end of the first level.

!!Tropes used in ''Shinobi'':

** In the Game Gear games, you have a FiveManBand of heroes colored in red, blue, green, yellow, and pink. Sounds like a ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' team to me.

[[/index]]

[[index]]

* BribingYourWayToVictory: Averted in the final stage of the arcade original. You can continue as many times as needed in previous levels, but here losing all your chances is '''Game Over''', with no continue prompt. Quite a nasty surprise, really.

* ContinuingIsPainful: In the Master System version of the original game, dying resets the length of your life bar down to its default, and brings you back down to the slow-shuriken weapon. The former can be particularly frustrating in levels 4-2 and 4-3, which feature bottomless pits.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Originally, Joe was not the most traditional ninja around. He didn't wear his headress-mask and he was a OneHitPointWonder. The guy also went the high tech route when it came to his weapon power-up. When he powered-up, he exchanged his regular shurikens for a gun that shot rocket-propelled explosive shells. The flaming shurikens that he uses now are no less powerful but a lot less stylish and he's taken to covering his face.

* AWinnerIsYou: The ending in the arcade ''Shinobi'' wasn't anything special to begin with, but it sure beats the Master System port, which awards the player with a blank Game Over screen (the same one you can get for losing the game).

* ''Shinobi'' - 1987 (Arcade, Mark III/Master System, NES, PC Engine)

* AllThereInTheManual All the backstory for ''Shinobi X'' is only detailed in the manual, making the FMV scenes - especially the ones that deal with [[CainAndAbel Kazuma and Sho]] - completely incomprehensible.

* ContinuityNod: Of sorts in the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] version. Enemies from past games like the Brain Mutants make an appearance, and one stage has Jiro [[spoiler:board a Zeed warship identical to the one in the final level of ''Shinobi III'']].

%%* DangerousTechnique: The MacGuffin in ''Shinobi Legions/X''.

* ElementalPowers: Jiro's Ninja Magic in the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] ''Shinobi'' are now classified by elements:
** Fire: The Art of ''[[SmartBomb Karyu]]''; it also temporarily powers up Jiro's shuriken and [[MoreDakka gives them a spread shot]].
** Earth: Instead of ''[[SuicideAttack Mijin]]'', Jiro has a new magic that grants him automatic parrying against enemy attacks, [[MoreDakka shuriken spread]], and increased melee speed, but [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique leaves him severely drained of health when it wears off]].
** Lightning: The Art of ''[[DeflectorShields Ikazuchi]]''.
** Water: The Art of ''[[InASingleBound Fushin]]''; also grants faster speed and shuriken recharge.

%%* FishOutOfTemporalWater: [[spoiler:Jiro Musashi.]]

* FullMotionVideo: ''Shinobi X'' did this; specifically, the "live action {{cutscene}}" shtick used so extensively in TheNineties.
* HeelFaceTurn: Kazuma in ''Shinobi X'' pulls this, as he considers Sho a WorthyOpponent.
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Hotsuma's scarf is designed to make him this so the player doesn't lose track of him during the action.

* ImprobableUseOfAWeapon: In the 3DS ''Shinobi'', Kunai are used as projectile weapons much like shuriken. Although not implausible in real life, Kunai were used primarily as tools and melee weapons (as depicted in ''Revenge of Shinobi'' and ''Shinobi III''), seldom thrown. However in real life there are ''kunai-gata'' shuriken, ones that are shaped like kunai and are very much meant to be thrown.

* KatanasAreJustBetter: Hotsuma's sword can cut a tank in half.

* LegacyCharacter: [[spoiler:In the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] ''Shinobi'', it seems Shadow Master has become a title for the head of Zeed, as the one fought in this game is apparently the very first and is quite different from the Cyberninja in ''Shinobi III''.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Orn in the 3DS Shinobi is the real mastermind behind the attack on Jiro's village, and is controlling the Shadow Master (and therefore Zeed).]]

%%* MinecartMadness: Happens in ''Shinobi Legions''.

* NotSoFastBucko: In ''Shinobi Legions/X'', the protagonist Sho spends the game trying to rescue his girlfriend Aya. You actually rescue her after only stage 4, and she even teaches you the secret to the ultimate Ninjutsu technique, [[spoiler:but the BigBad's ninjas were eavesdropping on you both so they could overhear the secret, and they recapture Aya after knocking her out with a cheap shot. So your mission to rescue Aya isn't over yet.]]
* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: [[spoiler:The ending of Shinobi on 3DS has Jiro fall from space ALL THE WAY DOWN TO EARTH during the entirety of the credits. On fire. And then he walks away unscathed upon landing. Doubles with IFellForHours.]]

* RocketRide: Jiro performs one in a cutscene (off the plane you were fighting on no less) to reach the [[spoiler:Zeed stratofortress]].
* SaveTheVillain: At the end of Shinobi X, [[TheHero Sho]] attempts to do this for Kazuma, but Kazuma decides to save Sho and his girl instead, [[DeathEqualsRedemption dying in the explosion]] [[HoistByHisOwnPetard he was responsible for]].

** The [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] game has a couple of {{Shout Out}}s to other Creator/{{Sega}} games:
*** One of the unlockable extra weapons is the VideoGame/GoldenAxe. [[spoiler:Also in the Oboro Village level next to one of the hidden Mastery Coins is the dwarf Gilius Thunderhead trapped in ice. Free him and he'll thank you with an extra life before moving on.]]
*** The fifth level is called ''[[VideoGame/AfterBurner Afterburned]]'', and climaxes with [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome a battle atop a fighter jet as it flies on a sortie against the Zeed warship]].
*** The "No-Mask Jiro" Costume looks a lot like Kage from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfKage 2''.
*** Also, getting through Very Hard Mode gives you the option to replace your kunai with [[VideoGame/FruitNinja fruit]].
*** There are also a few in the achievements. The name of the achievement for beating very hard? "[[WebVideo/AskANinja I Am Ninja, You Are Ninja Too]]". More include "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay You Won't Be Back]]" and "[[Creator/DiscoveryChannel Shark Weak]]" (defeat the Lava Crawler without taking damage and in under 2 minutes, respectively), "[[Film/ApocalypseNow The Smell of Victory]]" and "[[Film/{{Predator}} Got To Tha Choppa]]" (same for the Chopper), "[[UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli Float Like A Butterfly]]" (complete a level without parrying) and "[[Film/DieAnotherDay Die Another Day]]" (win the bonus stage).

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Sho in ''Legions'' does this to save Aya from getting backstabbed.
* WeCanRuleTogether: [[BigBad Kazuma]] tries this in the final stage of Shinobi Legions. This example differs from most VideoGame examples of this trope, as Sho automatically says no.

* ''VideoGame/Shinobi3d'' - 2011 ([=3DS=])

* ''Shinobi'' - 2011 ([=3DS=])

* ''Shinobi Legions'' - 1995 (Sega Saturn, known as ''Shin Shinobi Den'' in Japan and ''Shinobi X'' in Europe)

-->-- "Shadows" (quoted from the Secret Manual of Oboro Ninjutsu), intro to ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master''

* AirborneAircraftCarrier: In the final mission of ''Shinobi III'', Joe boards Neo Zeed's flying fortress and has to navigate past its automated defenses in order to reach the final duel with the Shadow Master.

* AttackItsWeakPoint:
** Both Lobster samurais had their heads as their weak point. Some bosses have this as well.
* BattleAura: In ''Shinobi III'', the final battle with the Shadow Master starts off on equal footing as he uses shuriken and katana against Joe. Then when he takes enough damage, he calls down a beam of energy to power himself up with a corona of fire -- at which point he starts firing energy bolts from his palms, hurls a huge EnergyBall, counters Joe's dive kick with a {{Shoryuken}} and sometimes unleashes his own Ninjitsu technique to spray the entire chamber with energy bolts.

* LawyerFriendlyCameo: In the early versions of ''Revenge of Shinobi'', Musashi will fight against thinly-disguised pastiches of Franchise/{{Rambo}}, [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} The Terminator]] (or [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Incredible Hulk]], depending on how you look at it), Franchise/SpiderMan, Franchise/{{Batman}}, and even Franchise/{{Godzilla}} as bosses. Unfortunately, [[SubvertedTrope the companies that made the characters started catching on]], so shipment of the games was stopped in order to modify the sprite data. This happened at least 3-4 times, with each revision removing or altering the characters in question. By the time of the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} re-release, Rambo was spriteswapped, Spider-Man was recolored pink, Batman was a mutated Manga/{{Devilman}} ripoff, and Godzilla's skin was peeled off. Yep, that's right: only the Terminator / Hulk survived.
** Franchise/SpiderMan was more of a SpecialGuest, as Sega originally obtained the rights to use him in another set of games. In fact, he was the only one of the aforementioned cameos who remained the same until the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} re-release, since Sega no longer had the Spidey license by that time. Especially noted is that he does not die in the BossFight; rather, he climbs out of the picture after taking enough hits before the Franchise/{{Batman}}[=/=]Manga/{{Devilman}} rip off moves in to take on Joe.
** In ''Shinobi III'', Mecha Godzilla is the fifth boss, making him the ''second'' Godzilla-related boss in the series.
** In the prototype of ''Alex Kidd in Shinobi World'', titled ''Kid Shinobi'', one of the bosses was named Mari-oh, who looked like [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros the mascot]] of a [[Creator/{{Nintendo}} certain rival company]] dressed like a samurai. Said company wasn't amused by the joke Sega made at their expense, so Mari-oh was renamed Kabuto and his face was altered. However, he still attacks by throwing fireballs and shrinks after taking a few hits.
** Here's a dialogue in a youtube comment section for an LP of Revenge of Shinobi:
--->'''sandwichoftruthiness''': So you're a ninja and so far you've fought Rambo clones, Terminator-Hulk, Spider-Man, Batman and Godzilla. Did Sega's CEO just write some fan-fiction and tell them to make it into a game?\\
'''LetsPlay/{{slowbeef}}''': Does the "Tropes vs. Ninjas" title make sense now?

* LightningBruiser: Moritsune when unlocked as playable character is faster and stronger than Hotsuma, but his yin meter drains more quickly causing him to need to kill more enemies to keep his health from being drained.
* MadeOfExplodium: Every single enemy in Shadow Dancer.

* {{Notzilla}}: ''[[Videogame/{{Shinobi}} The Revenge of Shinobi]]'' features a boss battle against a Godzilla parody.
* ObviousBeta: Sega once [[http://segaretro.org/Sega_PC_Smash_Pack released]] a pack of poorly emulated Genesis games for PC. ''The Revenge of Shinobi'' was one of them and it was a beta build.

* PrehensileHair: The Ninja Master, FinalBoss of ''Revenge of Shinobi'', uses his Kabuki hair as a weapon. When he returns in ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'' [[spoiler:[[DemotedToDragon as the penultimate boss]]]], he takes this UpToEleven, shooting a FlechetteStorm from it.

* RazorWind: Kamaitachi no Jutsu.
* RealityEnsues: In ''Revenge of Shinobi'', falling into molten metal spells instant death, and getting hit by a car ''really'' hurts!

** The name ''Shinobi'' alone could apply to the original 1987 arcade game and its console variants, the first Game Gear title, the 2002 [=PlayStation 2=] game starring Hotsuma, and the 2011 [=3DS=] game by Griptonite (aka ''[[MarketBasedTitle Shinobi 3D]]'').

* ReformulatedGame: The Genesis port of ''Shadow Dancer'' has the same gameplay as the arcade game, but with completely new stages.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation:
** Played straight and then subverted in ''Shadow Dancer''. The original arcade game starred an unnamed ninja with no relation to the Musashi bloodline, but the Japanese Mega Drive version establishes to be Joe Musashi's son Hayate, where he is given an elaborate backstory of how he was estranged from his father in the manual. However, the English manual for the American and European version ditches that backstory in favor of just making the protagonist into Joe Musashi himself.
** Similarly, in the Japanese version of ''Shinobi III'' the penultimate boss is Byakushishi ("White Lion"), who is supposed to be the Ninja Master's younger brother while Western releases makes him The Ninja Master instead.

* TheRuinsICaused: The ending of ''Shinobi III'', where Joe looks at the remains of Neo Zeed's aerial base from a cliff after it crashes into the ground.
* RuleOfCool: Ninjas on surfboards in ''Shinobi III''? Yes, please.
** Riding on horseback at the beginning of stage 2. On which said horse can do a ''diving KICK'' ...awesome
** And Hotsuma's sword-parachuting, cutting tanks, missiles, and helicopters in half...
** Hibana gets some nice moments too in a number of the cutscenes.

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Hotsuma's scarf in the [=PS2=] titles.

* SoulEating: The Akujiki in the 2002 game. It feeds on the souls of those that are slain by it, and it can and ''will'' also feed on the soul of its wielder should he fail to keep it sated.
* SpoilerTitle: ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master''. [[spoiler: The Ninja Master, the FinalBoss of ''The Revenge of Shinobi'' indeed returns, [[DemotedToDragon albeit as the penultimate boss]].]]
* SteppingStonesInTheSky: Round 6 of ''Shinobi III'' is set entirely on a series of falling rocks in a chasm.

* SuperDrowningSkills: In the revenge of shinobi, in the first 2 acts of the Tokyo stage (rocky canyon near Tokyo and Tokyo itself), the second act of the Detroit stage (car factory), the second act of the Area Code 818 stage (freeway), the first act of the New York stage (the docks), and the first act of the Neo Zeed Marine Stronghold stage (the mariner), Joe is killed instantly if he falls in water.
* SuperMode: Again, the Shadow Master after he charges up.

* TimeBomb: Non-boss levels in the arcade version of ''Shadow Dancer'' are littered with these, justifying the missions' time limits.
* TimedMission: The arcade version of ''Shadow Dancer'' has a timer justified by the [[TimeBomb time bombs]] that are placed throughout non-boss levels.
* ToBeContinued: We are told this after the credits in ''Shinobi III'', but Joe's story isn't continued at all in the other games.

* WombLevel: The second half of level 3 in ''Shinobi III''.

* AllThereInTheManual
** Depending on the language of your instruction manual, the protagonist of ''Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi'' is either: Hayate, the estranged son of Joe Musashi, seeking to avenge the death of his adoptive father (which is the story in the Japanese manual); or Joe Musashi himself seeking to avenge the death of a student (which is the story in the English version). The game's opening text crawl (which is written in English, even in the Japanese version) is ambiguous enough to support either version of the backstory, as it never actually mentions the protagonist by name.
** All the backstory for ''Shinobi X'' is only detailed in the manual, making the FMV scenes - especially the ones that deal with [[CainAndAbel Kazuma and Sho]] - completely incomprehensible.
* AttackAnimal: Both ''Shadow Dancer'' games allow you to sic a white dog at enemies that would be very difficult to handle without the dog's help. The dog can distract some enemies to make them easy targets for the ninja. However, letting the enemy fight the dog too long will allow the enemy to injure the dog, turning it into a puppy until the next bomb is found or the next hostage is rescued.

* AwesomeButImpractical: The Jitsu of Mijin in ''Revenge of Shinobi'' causes Joe to explode and do enormous damage to everything onscreen. It's the only Ninjitsu that can be used repeatedly without needing additional pick-ups (though you need to have one use to use it to begin with)...''at the cost of consuming a life every single time it's used''. Needless to say, using it on your final life isn't a good idea...[[IncrediblyLamePun unless you WANT to go out with a bang]].
* BaseOnWheels: The giant ballistic missile tractor in ''Revenge of Shinobi''.

* BombDisposal: The ninja must collect all of the [[TimeBomb time bombs]] in a non-boss level in ''Shadow Dancer'' before he can leave a level.

* CanineCompanion: Both ''Shadow Dancer'' games allow you to sic a white dog at enemies that would be very difficult to handle without the dog's help. The dog can distract some enemies to make them easy targets for the ninja.

* CrosshairAware: ''Shinobi III'': In the WombLevel section of Round 3, the grotesque Hydra will surface in the background and a computerized targeting reticle will slowly drift towards Joe. Let it get too close and it locks on to him before the Hydra unleashes its laser breath. Blocking the Hydra's line of sight to Joe will temporarily disable the targeting system as the Hydra submerges and waits for him to be visible again.

* DefeatByModesty: The Pink Dragon dancers from ''Revenge of Shinobi'' are one of the few enemies who don't explode when they die... instead, after nine hits, you knock their bra off and they surrender while desperately trying to cover up!

* DubInducedPlotHole: The UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem version of ''Shadow Dancer'' identifies the player character as "Fuma" in the attract sequence and "Takashi" in the manual.

* FuumaShuriken: Kongou wields a gargantuan, kite-shaped shuriken that he uses as a shield and a flying saucer-like platform.
* GuideDangIt:
** Killing the Ninja Master in ''Revenge of Shinobi'' can get like this, given he appears completely invulnerable and even the boss-killing Mijin magic deals no damage to him. As it turns out, you can only attack his body, which is usually protected by his deadly Kabuki hair -- [[TacticalSuicideBoss until he overextends it in his initial strike]], which leaves an opening that Joe can throw a shuriken at... or even detonate a ''Mijin'' into.
** ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'' actually has a functioning guard mechanic that can outright NoSell ''many'' projectiles and attacks, even trivializing some sections. The manual simply lists it as a defensive pose in a corner of the page like an awkward hang-on from the last that is easy to overlook, and doesn't bother to indicate just how effective it really is.

* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: ''Shadow Dancer'' on the Genesis uses faux-sequel numberings on its difficulty levels: level 2 and 3 change the title screen to ''Shadow Dancer II'' and ''III'', respectively.

* ImprobableWeaponUser: A part from various weird shaped blades, we have Homura, who fights with a ''kiseru'' (pipe), Hakuraku, who uses a huge box full of scrolls, and Kogou, who uses his extra-spiky iron Geta in order to chain lightning bolts at you.

[[quoteright:300: [[VideoGame/Shinobi2002 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images1_2.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images1_2.jpg]]

[[Index]]

[[/Index]]

* ''ShinobiIIIReturnOfTheNinjaMaster'' - 1993 (Mega Drive/Genesis, known in Japan as ''The Super Shinobi II'')

* ''Shadow Dancer'' - 1989 (Arcade, Master System)

* ''Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi'' - 1990 (Mega Drive/Genesis)

* ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'' - 1993 (Mega Drive/Genesis, known in Japan as ''The Super Shinobi II'')

* AbstractEater: Hotsuma's sword is inhabited by the [[EldritchAbomination Akujiki]], an ancient metaphysical parasite that feeds on blood, eats ''yin'', and drinks souls.

** Much of the backstory for the various ninja boss characters of the [=PS2=] game is only ever told in the Japanese version's manual. Tidbits include:
*** Akagane having a PrecociousCrush on Hotsuma prior to her death. (Hence why she is reaching out for him as she fades away in the cutscene following her boss battle.)
*** Hakuraku being an old man variant of a BitchInSheepsClothing who was known for putting extreme mental and physical stress on the ninja who worked under him despite his jolly facade
*** Homura being a [[TheDandy dandy]] ladies' man who hates lying and cheating
*** Kizami being a sort of BigBrotherMentor for Hotsuma and Homura, [[HitmanWithAHeart being warmhearted and caring despite his eerie calmness and horrifying skill at killing]].
* AlwaysABiggerFish: The Hellspawn may be immensely powerful demon lords, but the [[EldritchAbomination Akujiki]] will devour their souls all the same.
* AnyoneCanDie: The [=PS2=] game may have a rather small cast, but the only character to make it to the very end is [[spoiler:Kagari Ubusuna.]]
* ApocalypseMaiden: Kagari, the Ubusuna Miko in the [=PS2=] game, whom Hiruko intend to use to power up Yatsurao. She's also his descendant.
* ApologeticAttacker: Some of Hotsuma's lines when performing a TATE attack are "Forgive me" and "I am sorry".
* AsiaRuneChant: The kanji on the markers that denote the number of enemies currently active on screen in the [=PS2=] game make this when read aloud.

** The [=PS2=] game's Tate system tended to require human foes to be hit in the back for one-hit kills.
** The massive Hellspawn Lord bosses had "taunt" phases to their attack patterns where they took hugely increased damage. Outside the US-only Super difficulty, every boss could be killed by Hotsuma in a single sword swing save the two iterations of the Blackhawk. Yes, even Shirogane and Akagane if attacked at the right time.

* BadassArmfold: Hotsuma's idle stand has him crossing his arms.
* BadassFamily: The Oboro Clan.

* BonusFeatureFailure: Joe Musashi can be unlocked as a playable character in the [=PS2=] ''Shinobi'', his bonus being that he has an unlimited supply of shurikens -- which damage targets instead of paralyzing them, and no life draining Tate gauge (since he doesn't wield the Akujiki blade). He has the strongest magic attack as well. The benefit to this is that you don't have to worry about getting huge combos to keep your health and damage enemies, and you can just continually chuck shurikens at some of the harder to kill enemies. The downside is that there are some bosses that pretty much require you to get huge combos in order to defeat them in a timely fashion; however, you can also chuck shurikens at them infinitely. A perfect beginner character... only you don't get him until you've collected 40 Oboro coins, which is only possible if you've already beaten the game twice: once on Normal and again on Hard.
** Using his infinite shurikens to defeat a boss sounds good on paper, but in practice it takes a ridiculously long time. The game was also designed around the 'stun' ability of Hotsuma and Moritsune's projectiles, which actually makes certain sections trickier with Joe.
** On another note all together, the long time fans will note that this isn't much of a surprise for Joe, as all of his titles focused much of the combat on rapid-fire shuriken throwing (save for latter installments like ''Shinobi III'', where the running slash and jump kick help to ease the difficulty by a good notch), Making this something of a throwback to the arcade games.
** Some other things to note. Hotsuma has the weakest sword strike but average speed, defense, and magic. He doesn't lose energy to his sword like Moritsune. Moritsune has the most speed and power, but the worst defense and second strongest magic. Joe Musashi has the slowest speed, but the second strongest sword and the most powerful magic; in addition, he doesn't lose energy to Akujiki, and he also has unlimited Shurikens. He's there to beat the game on Super difficulty if you need it.
* BossBanter: Every single one in the [=PS2=] version. You can actually attack them while they're taunting.

* BrotherSisterTeam: The two teens Shirogane and Akagane.
* CallingYourAttacks: Hotsuma will yell "BURN!!" as he cast his jutsu. Hiruko too, but he could be justified being a warlock.

* ConvectionSchmonvection: The fourth area in the [=PS2=] version is filled with lava pools and fire-spitting foes. Yet, Hotsuma has no problem whatsoever walking around. He's damaged only if he hits the magma.

* DangerousTechnique: The MacGuffin in ''Shinobi Legions/X''.
* DarkSecret: The duel Hostuma fought with his brother Moritsune wasn't to decide the leadership of the Oboro, it was to give a soul to sate Akujiki. Hostuma isn't pleased to learn that, especially when by the end of the game we see that he has Akujiki to blame for all of his woes.

* DifficultyByRegion: The US version of the [=PS2=] ''Shinobi'' removes Easy entirely and adds an extra "super" difficulty level.

* DirtyCoward: Hakuraku, who will summon ninja hounds and keep healing himself using scrolls from his magical box.

* EldritchAbomination: The Akujiki may [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith look like a katana]], but it's actually [[TheSymbiote some sort of metaphysical parasite]]. [[TimeAbyss It's so ancient that nobody remembers where it came from]], [[SealedEvilInACan it can remain dormant for centuries]] until it's awakened by the [[BloodLust taste of blood]], and it [[AbstractEater feeds on the concept of yin]]. [[HorrorHunger It forces its host to slaughter enemies constantly to keep it fed]], [[YourSoulIsMine and will drain their soul if they neglect to satisfy it]]. Even [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Hellspawns]] are terrified of it, and [[DeaderThanDead for good reason]].
* ElementalPowers
** In the [=PS2=] game, the Hellspawn lords have them.
*** [[GiantSpider Shiragumo]] has [[DishingOutDirt Earth]].
*** [[PyroManiac Benisuzume]] has [[PlayingWithFire Fire]].
*** {{K|itsune}}urokuda has [[AnIcePerson Ice]].
*** [[TheDragon Aomizuchi]] has [[ShockAndAwe Heavens]].
*** Hiruko has all of said powers plus [[SoulPower Light]].
** Jiro's Ninja Magic in the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]] ''Shinobi'' are now classified by elements:
*** Fire: The Art of ''[[SmartBomb Karyu]]''; it also temporarily powers up Jiro's shuriken and [[MoreDakka gives them a spread shot]].
*** Earth: Instead of ''[[SuicideAttack Mijin]]'', Jiro has a new magic that grants him automatic parrying against enemy attacks, [[MoreDakka shuriken spread]], and increased melee speed, but [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique leaves him severely drained of health when it wears off]].
*** Lightning: The Art of ''[[DeflectorShields Ikazuchi]]''.
*** Water: The Art of ''[[InASingleBound Fushin]]''; also grants faster speed and shuriken recharge.

* EvilCounterpart:
** In the [=PS2=] ''Shinobi'', the [[spoiler:four]] [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Hellspawn Lords]] are actually twisted and dark counterparts of the FourGods: eg Shirogumo stands for the White Tiger of west, and is a white GiantSpider with Tiger's head and [[DishingOutDirt earth powers]]. From the same game, [[spoiler:Moritsune]] is one to Hotsuma, having many of the same attacks and abilities [[spoiler:he later doubles up when he is possessed by Aomizuchi, who stands in for the Azure Dragon of the East.]]
** The Shadow Master is this to Joe, especially since he was cloned from the Musashi bloodline.
* EvilPlan: [[spoiler:Hiruko is more interested in collecting souls than the Yatsurao. His actions are focused on collecting them, or getting the player to collect them for him. Nonetheless, the Yatsurao thing is the opening conflict.]]
* EvilIsHammy: Hiruko, especially in the boss fight with him.
* EvilSorcerer: Hiruko.
* EvilWeapon: The sword ''Akujiki'' in the [=PS2=]-generation ''Shinobi'' feeds off the lifeforce of those it kills, and if not given fresh blood for too long, feeds off the wielder instead.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: Hotsuma is aware that Akujiki's power will either force him to kill others to stay alive or die sealing it away. He chooses the latter, but not without slaying Hiruko first.
--> '''Hotsuma''': "I am prepared to face my fate."

* GenocideFromTheInside: In the [=PS2=] generation "Shinobi", Hiruko resurrects the remaining members of the Oboro Clan to fight Homura throughout the game after initially killing them so Hotsuma can collect their souls for his later usage. Hotsuma essentially has to kill off his clan members after they've already died.

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Hotsuma stays behind in a collapsing Golden Palace after killing Hiruko to seal Akujiki away for good.]]

* LoveMakesYouEvil: Ageha betrayed the Oboro Clan and broke the seal to release Hiruko, hoping that he would resurrect Moritsune, a childhood friend who saved her from having her soul absorbed by the Akujiki when they were children.

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Ageha in the [=PS2=] ''Shinobi''.]]

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Gameplay example with the fight with Hiruko in the [=PS2=] game. Hotsuma's attacks will only remove a sliver of Hiruko's health, so he can only reliably be killed with "TATE" attack. If Hiruko didn't summon minion to allow Hotsuma to do a "TATE" then he may well have been impossible.

* PyroManiac: Homura in the [=PS2=] game is very fond of roasting people.

* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Yatsurao.]]

* RewardedasaTraitorDeserves: [[spoiler:In the [=PS2=] game, Ageha having betrayed the Oboro to resurrect Moritsune for Hiruko, he rewards her by reuniting her with the ninja she loved. But then, Aomizuchi who is controlling Moritsune kills Ageha.]]

* SealedEvilInACan: Hiruko at first and then Yatsurao, a demonic living statue powered by the souls of the victims of all the earthquakes that struck Tokyo in the past.

* SignsOfDisrepair: A neon sign in the [=PS2=] game reads "SKILL UP" before the battle begins. As the boss walks towards you, the "S" and "P" short out, and the sign reads "KILL U".

* TheUnreveal: That the MalevolentMaskedMan alongside Hiruko is Moritsune is painfully obvious. [[spoiler:That Aomizuchi was possessing him, however, wasn't so obvious...]]

* ''Shinobi'' - 2002 ([=PS2=])

* SuicideAttack / TakingYouWithMe / ActionBomb: The Art of ''Mijin'' sets off an explosion fuelled by Joe's lifeforce (i.e. one life) that'll wipe out {{Mooks}} and inflict heavy damage on Bosses. Also, for the longer stretches, it's a great way to avoid having to do a level from closer to the starting point - if you're going to die, might as well do it without having to do everything over again, no? But if you try to do it when you don't have any lives left, this can fall right into ExplosiveStupidity.