History VideoGame / Shinobi2002

A ''VideoGame/{{Shinobi}}'' game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, developed by Overworks (previously [[Creator/{{Sega}} Sega AM1]]).

Hotsuma would go on to appear in 2015's ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone 2'' as a playable character (teamed up with Creator/{{Capcom}}'s [[VideoGame/{{Strider}} Strider Hiryu]]), with Hibana, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/NightshadeKunoichi'' (this game's sequel), accompanying him as a [[AssistCharacter Solo Unit]]. Both Hotsuma and Hibana would also reappear in 2018's ''VideoGame/SegaHeroes''.

* BloodierAndGorier: Previous games besides ''VideoGame/ShinobiLegions'' had small blood spurts at best, before they explode or poof or so forth. Here, every enemy Hotsuma kills falls apart to gory little pieces with blatantly red blood spraying all over the place. Even ''VideoGame/NightshadeKunoichi'' made the blood purple to be a bit less gory.

* TheFourGods: The four Hellspawn Lords are actually distorted versions of the classical Four Gods, each of them using the alternate reading /different kanji for the color: Shiragumo is a giant tiger-headed spider with powers over earth, standing for Byakko, Benisuzume is a giant fiery moth with a human face and torso standing for Suzaku, Kurokuda is a {{Kitsune}} themed humanoid with a giant black snake for legs and able to summon eight more standing for Genbu. Finally, Aomizuchi is a humanoid green-skinned dragon man who controls lightning and is a distorsion of Seiryuu.

* BloodierAndGorier: Previous games besides ''VideoGame/ShinobiLegions'' had small blood spurts at best, before they explode or poof or so forth. Here, every enemy Hotsuma kills falls apart to gory little pieces, whether it be Hellspawn or human, with blatantly red blood spraying all over the place. Even ''VideoGame/Nightshade'' made the blood purple to be a bit less gory.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Besides Hotsuma's rather gory slayings of his foes, this game's story is less about cool ninjas fighting bad guys and saving the world, and more about how ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne and [[spoiler:almost every single cast member dying one way or another, including presumably Hotsuma himself.]]

* 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.

A VideoGame/{{Shinobi}} game for the [=PS2=].

2 years prior, a pair of brothers in the Oboro Clan, Hotsuma and Moritsune, duel to be the next leader. Hotsuma wins and is bestowed the sword, Akujiki. In the present day, a massive earthquake strikes Tokyo and erects a large golden palace. Hotsuma, now wielding Akujiki, sets off to search the cause, all while being attacked by resurrected clansmen...

* AnyoneCanDie: The game may have a rather small cast, but the only character to make it to the very end is [[spoiler:Kagari Ubusuna.]]

* AsiaRuneChant: The kanji on the markers that denote the number of enemies currently active on screen make this when read aloud.

* BadassArmfold: Hotsuma's idle stand has him crossing his arms.

* BonusFeatureFailure: Joe Musashi can be unlocked as a playable character, 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.

* CallingYourAttacks: Hotsuma will yell "BURN!!" as he cast his jutsu. Hiruko too, but he could be justified being a warlock.

* DifficultyByRegion: The US version removes Easy entirely and adds an extra "super" difficulty level.

** Shiragumo has Earth.
** Benisuzume has Fire.
** Kurokuda has Ice.
** Aomizuchi has Heavens.
** Hiruko has all of the said powers plus Light.

%%* Evil Is Hammy: Hiruko, especially in the boss fight with him.
%%* Evil Sorcerer: Hiruko.

->'''Hotsuma''': "I am prepared to face my fate."

%%* The Mole: Ageha in the [=PS2=] Shinobi.

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Hotsuma's scarf. Hell, they tack one on JOE in his model here... it doesn't trail or get brushlike....but it's the principle that matters.

* YouAreAlreadyDead: The whole TATE sequence, attack the enemy enough times until they freeze, go to the next one, and when all the enemies are frozen, Hotsuma will pose or sheath his sword and all the enemies explode simultaneously.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Akujiki, despite Hotsuma being the one using it. Everything is caused by sword. Hotsuma and Moritsune's duel was so that one of them would die sate the blade. This caused Ageha to release Hiruko, whose entire plan was for Hotsuma to kill the revived Oboro and the Hellspawn so he could merge with the souls consumed by the blade and obtain ultimate power and TakeOverTheWorld. Hotsuma vows to end Akujiki himself as he realizes it was responsible for all the pain in his life.

%%* The Mole: Ageha in the PS2 Shinobi.

!! Tropes used in Shinobi (2002):

! Tropes used in Shinobi (2002)

%%* RedHerring: Yatsurao.

* AnyoneCanDie: The game may have a rather small cast, but the only character to make it to the very end is Kagari Ubusuna.

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

* 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.

* 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.

* NintendoHard: This entry is probably the hardest game in the entire franchise, between juggling a life-draining sword that forces you to play aggressively to survive, Bottomless Pit galore with even having to combo enemies over them from wall to wall, and straight up hard boss fights that require you to use all the tools and abilities as well as have reflexes to survive; death means an entire stage restart unless you reached the boss and if you run out of continues altogether, not even a boss checkpoint will spare you from a stage do-over.

* SoulEating: The Akujiki 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.

-> Hotsuma: "I am prepared to face my fate."

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

** Akagane having a Precocious Crush 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 Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who was known for putting extreme mental and physical stress on the ninja who worked under him despite his jolly facade
** Homura being a dandy ladies' man who hates lying and cheating
** Kizami being a sort of Big Brother Mentor for Hotsuma and Homura, being warmhearted and caring despite his eerie calmness and horrifying skill at killing.

* 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.

->''"Ignite the fiery vengeance of Hotsuma, the last of the Oboro Clan. Scale walls and slash your way through the demon-filled streets of post-apocalyptic Tokyo. But beware, you'll have to keep your bloodthirsty sword satisfied of suffer its deadly curse yourself."''

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A VideoGame/{{Shinobi}} game for the [=PS2=]

* ApocalypseMaiden: Kagari, the Ubusuna Miko in the PS2 game, whom Hiruko intend to use to power up Yatsurao. She's also his descendant.

* 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.

* BossBanter: Every single one in the PS2 version. You can actually attack them while they're taunting.

* Pyromaniac: Homura in the PS2 game is very fond of roasting people.

* RewardedAsATraitor Deserves: 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.

* ScarfOfAsskicking: Hotsuma's scarf. 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.

Asia Rune Chant: The kanji on the markers that denote the number of enemies currently active on screen in the PS2 game make this when read aloud.

* BadassFamily: The Oboro Clan.

* 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.

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

* AlwaysABigger Fish: The Hellspawn may be immensely powerful demon lords, but the Akujiki will devour their souls all the same.