In the weeks following the launch of the Nintendo Switch, the Switch eShop was somewhat of a barren wasteland in terms of available titles. The Switch's early days were heavily reliant on players making their way through Zelda: Breath of the Wild's hundreds of potential hours of content, with new releases for fans to sink their teeth into few and far between. One of the early bright spots on the Switch eShop was a game called Kamiko published by Flyhigh Works - a top-down Zelda-like similar to Link to the Past. Recently, Studio PICO had Flyhigh Works publish its newest indie game, Shinobi Non Grata, which is another retro throwback, although its inspirations are much different.
Shinobi Non Grata is a finely tuned throwback to the tough-as-nails action platformers of the NES-era. While its most obvious comparison is Ninja Gaiden, there are also elements of classic Castlevania and Mega Man titles present in its gameplay, and its visual presentation is more cartoonish than Koei Tecmo's darker Ninja Gaiden trilogy. For fans of the brutal-yet-fair highlights of the NES library, Shinobi Non Grata takes some of the best elements of those titles and presents them in a package that feels modern despite its retro aesthetic.
Shinobi Non Grata's Modern Polish Makes Boss Encounters Less Maddening
Whether someone is referring to the NES classic trilogy of games or the newer trilogy that was released across 6th and 7th-generation hardware, Ninja Gaiden is notoriously one of the most difficult series in gaming. For any title to be compared to Ninja Gaiden is usually an indicator of brutally punishing difficulty and unforgiving boss fights. While the characters, story, and setting of Shinobi Non Grata call to mind the NES-era Ninja Gaiden titles, the addition of subtle modern quality-of-life features makes the game's brutal boss encounters far less infuriating. Pattern recognition and trial-and-error are still the rules of thumb, but the game's checkpoint system is very forgiving. Death may mean starting from a checkpoint, but one will never have far to travel to make it back to a boss.
For those that enjoy tense enemy encounters that require players to make use of their entire suite of abilities, Shinobi Non Grata has them covered. There are typically anywhere between three and four bosses per stage, and the forgiving checkpoint system makes these boss fights a highlight as opposed to a dreaded chore. In between boss fights, players will fend off a wide variety of one-hit popcorn enemies and then be treated to an on-screen indicator prior to each boss battle. The ability to die and then hop right back into the action is similar to Hotline Miami's quick restart system and makes death a welcome and expected part of learning the game's mechanics.
Shinobi Non Grata's Ninja Gaiden and Platformer Inspirations Shine Through in its DNA
Ninja Gaiden isn't the only classic action-platformer from which Shinobi Non Grata draws inspiration, as there are clearly elements of classic Castlevania and Mega Man inherent in its design. Waves of one-hit kill enemies bombarding the player from every corner of the screen, reliance on sub-weapons in addition to the protagonist's katana, and perilous-yet-satisfying platforming are just some of the elements that Shinobi Non Grata carries over from its inspirations. In one interesting twist, each boss encounter relies on using one of the game's many sub-weapons in a move reminiscent of Mega Man's boss encounters relying on weaknesses.
The indie development space is a regular source of titles that draw from classics as inspiration, and a quick look at the games Flyhigh Works has published shows that it has an affinity for spotlighting the work of indie developers that harkens back to what many consider to be the golden era of console gaming. By taking aspects of older games and utilizing them in a modern context, developers can smooth the rough edges of 8 and 16-bit classics. As such, Studio PICO's Shinobi Non Grata is another great entry into a growing list of indies that pay homage to the classics of the NES.
Shinobi Non Grata is available now for PC and will be coming to the PlayStation 4 and Switch later in 2023.