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, also known as just ''Shadow Dancer'', is a side-scrolling action game produced by Sega that was originally released for the Mega Drive/Genesis in . It has been re-released via downloading services such as the Wii's Virtual Console and Steam in 2010. It was also included in the ''Sega Genesis Collection'' for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable but it was omitted in PAL version (''Sega Mega Drive Collection''). It is the second game in the Shinobi series released for the Mega Drive, following ''The Revenge of Shinobi''. However, it is not a continuation of the previous game, but rather a loose adaptation to the 1989 arcade game ''Shadow Dancer''.〔The next game in the series, ''Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master'', serves as the sequel to ''The Revenge of Shinobi''. Both games were released under the "Super Shinobi" name.〕 Like in the original arcade game, the player controls a ninja followed by a canine companion. ''The Secret of Shinobi'' was well received by critics. == Gameplay == The game mechanics are roughly identical to the arcade ''Shadow Dancer'', with the main difference is the addition of a meter for the dog that accompanies the player's ninja character. In order for the dog to attack an enemy, the player must hold down the attack button until the meter is filled. The dog will only attack when he is barking towards a nearby enemy. This allows the player to sic the dog on an enemy while standing and jumping, allowing for more versatility than in the arcade ''Shadow Dancer'' (where the dog only attacked while the player was crouching). The objective of each stage is also slightly changed from retrieving time bombs to rescuing hostages, much like in the original ''Shinobi'' arcade game. The male hostages give out bonus points and the occasional extra life, while the female hostages will strengthen the player's basic attacks until he reaches the next stage or loses a life. While the one-hit-point-per-life system from the arcade ''Shadow Dancer'' has been retained, there are numerous bonus lives hidden throughout the game. Between rounds the player will participate in a bonus stage where he will jump down from a building and shoot down an army of 50 enemy ninjas jumping across his direction. After the bonus stage ends, the player will gain a certain amount of points or extra lives. There are three difficulty settings in the game, each affecting the enemy placement and the number of continues the player gets. The player can also choose to disable shurikens, using them only for boss battles and bonus stages. Bonus points are awarded at the end of each stage and boss battle (except for the final stage), based on how long it took the player to complete the stage and whether a ninjutsu attack was used or not. There are also hidden bonuses that the player can achieve by completing a stage or boss battle under a certain condition. There are five rounds in all. The first four rounds consists of three stages each, with the third one being a confrontation with the round's boss, while the fifth round consists of only one stage comprises five rooms that leads to the final boss' lair. The names of the enemy bosses are also different between versions (the names of the bosses are listed with their English version names first, followed by their names in the Japanese version in parentheses). The rounds are as followed: * Round 1: "Burning Downtown" - Set in the ruins of a city filled with burning buildings. The boss is called the , a giant armored warrior who can cause earthquakes by stomping the ground, as well as shoot fireballs. * Round 2: "Battle in the Railway" - Loosely based on Round 2 from the arcade ''Shadow Dancer'', set on a bridge which leads to a railway. The boss is called the , a brick wall possessed by a demon that can materialize into a face with a pair of arms. * Round 3: "The Statue of Liberty" - Set on a construction site which leads to an elevator ride to the top of the Statue of Liberty. The boss is called , a giant female ninja armed with rolling buzzsaws. ''Video Games & Computer Entertainment'' singled out this "incredible fight" as the graphically "breathtaking" high point of the game: "The boss attacks with whirling buzzsaws, clouds roll by in shifting parallax, all with the New York City skyline visible in the distance beyond Liberty Island. It's all a wild feast of action, magic, sound and spectacle."〔''Video Games & Computer Entertainment'' 25 (February 1991), page 44.〕 * Round 4: "In the Darkness" - Loosely based on Stage 4-1 from the arcade version, set inside a dark cave. The boss is the , a flying spinning wheel with three fire-breathing faces. * Round 5: "Union Lizard" - Set in the hideout of the enemy, where the player proceeds through a series of six rooms, each populated by a specific enemy type. The sixth room is the throne lair of the final boss Sauros (unnamed in the Japanese version), who will summon black ninja minions to attack the player. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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