Cyber Shadow

great action and platforming. fast paced and precise. good time whole way through.

This is a very good game, is not very long but it really captures ninja-style gameplay, as you progress you get a lot of new abilities and the game also becomes more challenging. Even if you don't like old NES game I think it really worth trying. There's a very few things I didn't like, for example you can't crouch (i was very used to do that in Ninja Gaiden), if you dash and get stuck in a wall while running, the momentum is stopped completely other than that, everything was excellent, I loved the parry mechanic also.

STRIDER! Yes, this game is less like Ninja Gaiden and a lot more like CapCom's 1989 release for the NES, Strider. Yes, it has a ninja protagonist. Yes, it has some well designed and cinematic cutscenes. Give Cyber Shadow and Strider for the NES a try and compare them. You'll find many of the same elements at play here: Your hero starts with basic run, jump and slash techniques and gradually improves their ablilities by collecting upgrades. As you collect those upgrades you'll be able to revisit previously conquered areas to access new areas that grant you some other upgrade. It's not really a MetroidVania though as there is little exploring to do and secret areas are pretty obvious. It'll be very clear what you need to access them as you play. Cyber Shadow also rewards careful and deliberate play more than a run-n-gun game like Ninja Gaiden. Whenever I find myself having a tough time with an area I find it's a lot easier than it seems. Aggressive play will put you in a die/respawn cycle that'll have you developing tendinitis from griping your controller too hard. Realx, breathe and move carefully and you'll find yourself breezing through areas that had you nearly in tears. The bosses are the same way too and once you spot the patterns you'll be cutting them down in no time. There are some frustrating spots in the game, mostly a cheap kill that reveals itself once you manage to clear the screen just before it. The techniques can be a little tricky to pull off but once you get them they're useful. Speaking of useful, there are powerups that remind me of those from Section Z and Rygar; a barrier that shoots a beam and a bladed yo-yo weapon that you control and sling around by moving your ninja. There's also a pod that follows you around and replenishes your spirit, thus refilling your ammo. Overall it's a good game and I'm glad I picked it up. It's been fun to play in my free time.

Really fun nes style game. Takes some getting use to if you're not use to that style. Story is just enough to be engaging. Its learning curve while a bit brutal, is really satisfying to master. Well polished, suprising amount of easter eggs and upgrades to discover. Pixel art is fantastic. Simply put a well put together action platformer. Hope for a sequel or some other new game as this guy has talent.

I made to about 80%-90% of the game, then reached a particularly frustrating segment (there were others before, this one was just the final drop for me), thought about it and decided to move on. This game is heavily inspired by retro classics, so much so that it chose not to learn from their mistakes. The story is ok. Not horrible, but nothing revolutionary either (reminds me a lot of the Megamen storylines which some Ninja mystique thrown in). To be fair, there is a good game in there. A lot of the gameplay is downright clever (you'll struggle until you find a pattern and then it will be easy... assuming you have decent reflexes, this is an action game). The boss fights are cool. A lot of your abilities are cool and if you were around during the NES years, this game will give you a big nostalgia vibe. However, the game is downright grindy, not because you'll be farming xp like in an rpg, but because the game deliberately choose to put savepoints few and far between and will often thrown the most difficult segment between savepoints at the end, meaning that if takes you 10 tries to get the end part right, you'll be replaying the entire segment 10 times (and on each retry, you'll be dreading the part where you reach the end of the segment and have to restart over if you fail which you likely will). Also, the controls are nice for the most part, but it isn't Megamen simple. The are some, admitedly mostly simple, button combos to pull out some moves and both the dash and the "infinite" striking airjumps will try you (I actually gave up on the game because of a particularly difficult infinite striking airjump segment that felt downright finicky). If you're one of those people who love to grind and don't mind repeating things to death, maybe this game is for you. If you got limited time and want to be continously challenged by stimulating experiences, big chunks of this game will feel like work and you can do better with your time.