Software:Shadow Dancer

From HandWiki
Shadow Dancer
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Sega
Images (computers)
Publisher(s)Sega
U.S. Gold (computers)
Director(s)Motoshige Hokoyama[1]
SeriesShinobi
Platform(s)Arcade, Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Master System, ZX Spectrum
ReleaseNovember 1989 (arcade)
Genre(s)Platform, hack and slash
Mode(s)Single-player or two-player (alternating turns)
Arcade systemSega System 18

Shadow Dancer (シャドー・ダンサー)[2] is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega originally released as an arcade game in 1989. It is the second and the final arcade game in the Shinobi series, following the original Shinobi itself. The player controls a ninja aided by an attack dog, who is fighting to save the city from a terrorist organization.

Shadow Dancer was developed on the Sega System 18 motherboard hardware and its generally well received home versions were released for the Master System console and several home computer systems in 1991. A loose adaptation titled Shadow Dancer was released exclusively for the Mega Drive/Genesis.

Gameplay

The play mechanics of Shadow Dancer are similar to these of the arcade version of the original Shinobi. The controls and almost all of the player's moves from the original Shinobi are present here as well.

The biggest change is the addition of a canine companion, Shadow, that follows the protagonist around. When the dog barks towards an enemy, the player can sic the dog on the enemy by pressing the attack button while crouching, allowing the player an opportunity to attack the enemy while it is being bitten by the dog. However, if the player takes too long to attack the bitten enemy or the enemy has a strong defense, then the dog will be hurt and turn into a harmless pup. The dog will then remain in pup form until the player acquires the next time bomb or finishes the stage.

The player's weapons consists of an unlimited supply of shuriken and a sword which is used when adjacent to an enemy. When the player collects half of the time bombs in each stage, stronger weapons are granted until the player finishes the stage or loses a life. The player can also use one of three random ninja magic (ninpo) techniques that will clear the entire screen of enemies. Normally, these techniques can only be used once per stage, but if the player continues the game by inserting more coins and pressing START, the protagonist restarts the stage with two units instead of one. Bonus points are awarded if the player completes the game without using shuriken or ninja magic.

There are four different missions, consisting of three stages for the first mission and four stages each for the remaining three. In the first few stages of each mission, the player must collect a certain amount of time bombs scattered throughout the stage in order to proceed to the goal. The final stage in each mission is a confrontation between him and one of four bosses: an armoured giant throwing energy balls, a weaponized tank engine, a woman armed with a shield/weapon device, and a female ninja using magic and a naginata (the dog does not appear during boss battles).

Between each mission, there is a bonus stage minigame seen from the character's perspective as he tosses shuriken at enemy ninjas dropping down from a building. The player is awarded an extra life after successfully completing the minigame.

Plot

The young ninja battles together with his faithful pet dog. In the center of the city, a group of terrorists are committing every imaginable atrocity known to man, including the planting of time bombs throughout the metropolis. Our youthful hero and his canine companion courageously set out to gather all the explosives placed by the evil gang and annihilate the syndicate that manipulates them.[3]

The protagonist is never actually named in the original arcade version, although the various home versions gives him differing identities. The manual and packaging description for the Master System version identifies him as Takashi,[4] although the attract sequence in this same version contradicts this by naming him Fuma. The manual for the home computer versions produced by U.S. Gold, claims that he is Joe Musashi himself,[5] with one print ad for the game referencing Kato and Sauros (who were characters from the Genesis version).[6]

Release

Following its debut as an arcade game in 1989, Shadow Dancer was released on various home computer formats in Europe during 1991. Versions released for the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum were published by U.S. Gold and developed by Images. Some of these versions were re-released as budget titles by Kixx in 1993.

The Master System port was released 1991 exclusively in Europe and Brazil. Although this version bears the title Shadow Dancer on the packaging (much like the Genesis version released during the same year), it is actually based on the arcade version and is simply titled Shadow Dancer in-game. Most of the content from the arcade version was cut and the play mechanics were modified a bit. Missions now consists of a single side-scrolling stage and a boss encounter. The player's canine companion no longer follows them around, but can still be summoned to kill certain enemies from a distance. Collecting time bombs is now an optional task that the player can conduct while on their way to the goal. When the player gathers all five time bombs in each mission, they will gain an attack power-up for the next boss battle. This version also features bonus stage minigames after completing each mission. While the minigame played after the first and third missions is the same as in the arcade version, the one after the second mission is new: it requires the player to throw shurikens at enemies while both them and the protagonist are in free fall between skyscrapers, and, unlike the other minigame, is played in a third-person perspective.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Crash(Spectrum) 77%[7]
Your Sinclair(Spectrum) 85%[8]
Amiga Action(Amiga) 84%[9]
Commodore Format(C64) 89%[10]
Player One (magazine) (fr)(Master System) 84%[11]
RAZE(Amiga) 89%[12]
The One(Amiga) 80%[13]
Zzap!64(Amiga/C64) 83%[14]

Shadow Dancer was well received upon its release. In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their January 1, 1990 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade unit of the year.[15] GamePro praised the arcade version as "a slick-looking ninja quest with excellent 3-D backgrounds, jumpin' animation, and top-notch audio".[16]

Commodore Format awarded this "wondefully playable", "highly polished and challenging game that no one can really afford to miss" a score of 89% upon its Commodore 64 release,[10] and the same score for its 1993 re-release,[17] while Zzap!64 gave it 83%.[14] Your Sinclair described the ZX Spectrum as an "impressive arcade conversion" and "pretty blimming marvellous"[7] and CRASH called it "is a good scrolly beat-'em-up with arcade adventure overtones" that is "fast, tough and, above all, playable".[7] Amiga Action awarded the Amiga version of Shadow Dancer a review score of 84% and ranked it as the 19th best action game on the system.[9] RAZE gave the Amiga version of Shadow Dancer a score of 89%.[12]

The One gave the Amiga version of Shadow Dancer an overall score of 80%, beginning their review by stating that "if first impressions were anything to go by, then Shadow Dancer would score very highly indeed ... Unfortunately first impressions don't rate very highly and the early promise soon fades". The One criticised the "annoying" lack of checkpoints in levels, and expresses that foreground sprites blend in with the game's backgrounds, "thus making the action a touch confusing". The One praised Shadow Dancer's graphics, calling it's backgrounds "noteworthy" and noting the game's large sprites as "reminiscent" of the arcade original, furthermore calling Shadow Dancer "deep" and "colourful". The One also praised the dog companion feature, stating that it "adds a novel strategic twist" to Shadow Dancer's gameplay.[13]

On the other hand, Retro Gamer in 2010 declared it inferior to the Sega Mega Drive's 1990 release Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, "let down by surprisingly stodgy controls, uninspired level design, and a really frustrating difficulty level".[18] In contrast, Computer and Video Games considered the original Shadow Dancer arcade game to be superior to the Sega Mega Drive game Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi. The game sold around 300,000 copies.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Okunari, Yosuke. Legend of Joe Musashi: SHINOBI Music Collection (booklet). Japan: Wave Master. p. 8. WM-0626~9.
  2. ↑ Somewhat like Shinobi, Shadow Dancer has a kanji form of its name: 影の舞. This particular phrase is used extensively throughout the game.
  3. ↑ "Shadow Dancer flyer". http://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page=flyer&db=videodb&id=973&image=1. 
  4. ↑ "Shadow Dancer for the Master System packaging scan". http://www.smspower.org/Scans/ShadowDancer-SMS-EU. 
  5. ↑ "Shadow Dancer manual transcript for the Amiga version". http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/docs.php?id=1425. 
  6. ↑ "Shadow Dancer magazine ad by U.S. Gold". http://www.lemonamiga.com/games/advert.php?id=952. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Sinclair ZX Spectrum Reviews". Zxspectrumreviews.co.uk. http://www.zxspectrumreviews.co.uk/review.aspx?gid=4967&rid=9164. Retrieved 2015-05-04. 
  8. ↑ "Shadow Dancer". Ysrnry.co.uk. http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/shadowdancer.htm. Retrieved 2015-05-04. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Amiga Action 21 (June 1991) Reviews - Amiga Magazine Rack". Amr.abime.net. http://amr.abime.net/issue_94_reviews. Retrieved 2015-05-04. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Commodore Format Magazine Issue 07". https://archive.org/stream/commodore-format-magazine-07/Commodore_Format_Issue_07_1991_04#page/n35/mode/2up. Retrieved 2015-06-20. 
  11. ↑ Player One, issue 16, pages 74-75
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "RAZE - Issue 09 (1991-07)(Newsfield Publishing)(GB)". https://archive.org/stream/RAZE_Issue_09_1991-07_Newsfield_Publishing_GB#page/n37/mode/1up. Retrieved 2015-06-20. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Watsham, Jools (June 1991). "Shadow Dancer Review". The One (emap Images) (33): 86–87. https://archive.org/details/theone-magazine-33/page/n93. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Zzap 73 (May 1991) Reviews - Amiga Magazine Rack". Amr.abime.net. http://amr.abime.net/issue_1281_reviews. Retrieved 2015-05-04. 
  15. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (Amusement Press, Inc.) (371): 29. 1 January 1990. 
  16. ↑ GamePro, issue 12 (July 1990), page 30
  17. ↑ "Commodore Format Magazine Issue 33". https://archive.org/stream/commodore-format-magazine-33/Commodore_Format_Issue_33_1993_06#page/n57/mode/2up. Retrieved 2015-06-20. 
  18. ↑ Retro Gamer 77 (May 2010), page 66.
  19. ↑ http://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:CVG_UK_111.pdf&page=76
MobyGames
Logo since March 2014
Screenshot
Frontpage as of April 2012
Type of site
Gaming
Available inEnglish
OwnerAtari SA
Websitemobygames.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
LaunchedJanuary 30, 1999; 26 years ago (1999-01-30)
Current statusOnline

MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] The site is supported by banner ads and a small number of people paying to become patrons.[2] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It is currently owned by Atari SA.

Content

The database began with games for IBM PC compatibles. After two years, consoles such as the PlayStation, were added. Older console systems were added later. Support for arcade video games was added in January 2014 and mainframe computer games in June 2017.[3]

Edits and submissions go through a leisurely verification process by volunteer "approvers". The approval process can range from immediate (minutes) to gradual (days or months).[4] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copyediting.[5]

Registered users can rate and review any video game. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own subforum.

History

Logo used until March 11, 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999 by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, then joined by David Berk 18 months later, three friends since high school.[6] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience.

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[7] This was announced to the community post factum and a few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.

On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San-Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[8] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel.[9]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[10] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[11][12]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ "MobyGames Stats". https://www.mobygames.com/moby_stats. 
  2. ↑ "MobyGames Patrons". http://www.mobygames.com/info/patrons. 
  3. ↑ "New(ish!) on MobyGames – the Mainframe platform.". Blue Flame Labs. 18 June 2017. http://www.mobygames.com/forums/dga,2/dgb,3/dgm,237200/. 
  4. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  5. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32856/Report_MobyGames_Acquired_By_GameFly_Media.php. 
  8. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  9. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207882/Game_dev_database_MobyGames_getting_some_TLC_under_new_owner.php. 
  10. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  11. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site’s Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  12. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 






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