56 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
56 lines
3.4 KiB
Plaintext
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SHADOW DANCER
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SHADOW DANCER for the Sega Genesis is an excellent game that's the true sequel
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to SHINOBI. Its only faults are evident from comparison to an earlier cart, THE
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REVENGE OF SHINOBI (ROS): The games seem out of sequence. Although SHADOW DANCER
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is not a short game (it has four rounds with three sections each, plus a bonus
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round, and a five-part fifth round), it is not nearly as long as ROS. Also,
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while the graphics are quite impressive, they are not as artistic or detailed as
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in ROS.
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If you haven't played SHINOBI or ROS, they are martial arts games in which you
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control a powerful character (Shinobi) who has various skills, such as the
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ability to jump about ten feet high, throw morning stars at enemies, and even
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summon magic to defeat foes. SHADOW DANCER adds a new element: Shinobi has a
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dog. This well-animated pooch injects extra strategy into the game. Usually,
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when an enemy is nearby, the dog crouches and barks like mad. At your command,
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the dog will rush the victim and pin him until you can take him out with a
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well-placed kick or star. The strategy comes from the fact that some enemies are
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only vulnerable to the dog at certain times, and some can damage him for a short
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time. Also, the dog never kills any enemies for you, he just immobilizes them
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until you can get them. This is especially helpful against enemies who shoot.
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It is clear upon close inspection that the graphics are somewhat more complex
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in SHADOW DANCER than in ROS. While many levels of ROS have parallax scrolling
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(two independently scrolling layers), some of the backgrounds in SHADOW DANCER
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have more than two layers or backgrounds that are interwoven (a new effect in
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Genesis games, first seen in THUNDER FORCE III). Also, there are extra new
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effects, including earthquakes that cause the ground to split open, and a huge
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helicopter that makes a strafing run on you. Despite this, ROS in comparison is
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more impressive, with a wider variety of scenes, superior use of color, and much
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better music. While there are several outstanding screens (e.g., on the bridge
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with moving water -- a very good three-dimensional effect -- and on a scaffold
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on the Statue of Liberty), these do not surpass the better ROS screens, such as
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the fight against Spiderman, the battle on top of a moving train, the freeway,
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or the dinosaur boss.
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This is not to say that SHADOW DANCER is not an excellent game. It is: In fact,
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it's one of the _best_ Genesis games. One of its better features is the variety
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of difficulty levels. There are three, and the game can also be made more
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difficult by taking away the throwing stars. SHADOW DANCER is actually one of
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the hardest Genesis games (even on the easiest level), but it is addictive and
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fun at any level. It takes many, many tries on each level to make it through
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without getting shot or stabbed.
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Nevertheless, ROS is really a worthier game, mostly because it is longer and
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more diverse. For people who only buy a few games a year, there probably won't
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be room on their shelf for SHADOW DANCER: It's just too similar to ROS, without
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being better. For players who really loved ROS, or who buy more than a few games
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a year, SHADOW DANCER is definitely worth owning. There are several new or
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different features, and it's more difficult. Personally, I prefer it to other
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recent games, including STRIDER.
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SHADOW DANCER is published and distributed by Sega.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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