Nightshade (2004 video game)

Nightshade, released in Japan as Kunoichi, is a video game for PlayStation 2, developed by Wow Entertainment and published by Sega in 2003. It is the 11th game in the Shinobi series and follows the exploits of a female ninja named Hibana. Its original name, Kunoichi, roughly translates as "female ninja". The game is a direct sequel to the 2002 PlayStation 2 game Shinobi.

Plot
In Nightshade, the player plays as Hibana, a female counterpart to Shinobi's Hotsuma. She is a government-employed ninja tasked with the elimination of members of the Nakatomi Corporation, which has unwittingly unleashed hellspawn upon futuristic Tokyo. She is also ordered to recover the shards of Akujiki, the legendary cursed sword that Hotsuma used to seal the hellspawn the last time.

Gameplay
Nightshade is structured similar to Shinobi, its previous iteration. Its missions are linear by design, and each one culminates in a battle against a challenging boss opponent. The core of Nightshade's gameplay is centered on the hack and slash genre, with accumulating combos on spawning enemies about the level. Using Hibana's arsenal of a long Katana (the primary weapon), short daggers (achieve less damage, but score a higher combo multiplier), Shuriken (long range projectiles), and various Ninjutsu spells, the game challenges the player to achieve as high a score as possible while eliminating the opposing threat.

Nightshade also includes aspects of platforming. With Hibana's ability to dash in mid-air, the game requires the player to use this ability to bypass holes and hazards. Game mechanics restrict Hibana to only a double-jump and an air-dash before she falls, requiring the player to strike enemies in mid-flight to stay in the air. By doing this, the player combines accuracy and timing to stay in the air continuously, or fall to their death. Many game reviews have criticized this, due to its likelihood to occur on a common basis.

If the player has a completed save file from Shinobi then Hotsuma, the protagonist of the previous game, is available as an optional playable character (He uses the exact same character model and animations). He differs from Hibana in that he does not use daggers like her and is only able to use Akujiki, the sword he used in the previous game. Hotsuma plays exactly as before with the same arsenal of moves and operates under the same mechanics as he did in the previous game. He must always be finding and defeating enemies to feed their souls to Akujiki, or the cursed sword will devour his soul instead and kill him.

Characters

 * Hibana
 * The main character, Hibana was born to a branch family of the Oboro lineage, but was put up for adoption at an early age. She is a jaded ninja who was abandoned by Jimushi and now works for the government. The government modeled her sword and outfit after Hotsuma's, the main character of the previous game.


 * Jimushi
 * The Shinobi of Earth and Hibana's former master. One of the Oboro Clan elders, until he seceded and became a government agent.


 * Kazaguruma
 * The Shinobi of Wind. The first Shinobi who confronts Hibana in Jimushi's gang. An honorable warrior who claims that Hibana is his 1,000th opponent.


 * Onibi
 * The Shinobi of Fire and the second Shinobi who confronts Hibana. He is attracted to Hibana and wants her to kill him.


 * Hisui
 * The Shinobi of Water and the third Shinobi who confronts Hibana. She is Jimushi's new apprentice and is essentially Hibana's replacement. However, she despises Hibana because Jimushi prefers her.


 * Kurohagane
 * The antagonist, a robotic ninja created by the Nakatomi group ordered to work with Jimushi and retrieve pieces of Akujiki. Although a soulless robot, he has his own agenda.

Soundtrack
The Nightshade Soundtrack is based upon the Japanese techno of the previous iteration, Shinobi. All tracks were produced by Fumie Kumatani, Tomonori Sawada and Keiichi. Unlike the official soundtrack for Shinobi, Nightshade did not gain a release.


 * Akujiki No Densetsu
 * Digital Ambience
 * mad beatdownz
 * arashi
 * kurohagane beta
 * sunset
 * insecticide
 * metro
 * shinjuku
 * heart of a mercenary
 * kunoichi step
 * escape!
 * sensei...
 * Vengeful beauty
 * the golden castle
 * monster freakn
 * kurohagane gamma
 * Golden Castle
 * my day
 * vr dojo~