Ninja Spirit vs. Shinobi 3 - An 8 year old's opinion :)

[VenomMacbeth]

I can't wait til my little dude is old enough to form opinions about games, though so far he seems to thoroughly enjoy rotting his brain out to Darius Gaiden and Thunder Force IV.

[sosoyo180]

As loyal as I am to the Turbo, Shinobi 3: Return of the Ninja Master takes the cake for me... And I don't have a nostalgic bias so that's straight subjective...

Still both solid games tho

[pulstar]

It's pretty hard for me to be objective about Shinobi 3...it's one of my favourite Megadrive games. Ninja Spirit is good and is a game I loved as a kid (not PCE, but the Amiga version), but to me (with a lot of nostalgia added) Shinobi 3 wins. It just feels like a more refined game than Ninja Spirit.

[seieienbu]

I'd love to see more comparisons like this.  Possibly something like Ys vs Zelda 3?  Gate of Thunder vs Gradius 3 vs Thunder Force?  Popful Mail comparison?  There are a million options!

[fragmare]

It just feels like a more refined game than Ninja Spirit.

Shinobi III totally *is* a more refined game than Ninja Spirit.  More complex too.  It's got tons of lovely control mechanics that are fun to use.  The double jump + shuriken shower, the air kick, the double tap run, the ninjitsu magic.  Not to mention carefully placed enemies and tricky level design.  Ninja Spirit has none of those things... because it doesn't need them.  Ninja Spirit just isn't that kind of game.  Ninja Spirit is all about wave after wave of enemy ninjas swarming you, picking the right weapon for the right part of the game, timing your jumps and movements just right, and clearing a path through the madness so you can get a crack at the boss.  Ninja Spirit is, for all intents and purposes, a run-n-gun sidescroller masquerading as a ninja themed platformer.  And it pulls it off perfectly.  Shinobi 3 is the culmination of an entire series.  Sega had 3 previous games to experiment, hone and perfect their formula.  Ninja Spirit, however, is one of a kind.  I think the whole debate between Shinobi 3 and Ninja Spirit is really a debate over which genre of game you like better... action platformer or run-n-gun sidescroller.  For me, the answer is easy... I'll take stuff like Contra, Ninja Spirit, and Gunstar Heroes over Shinobi any day of the week.  Apparently my son will too lol 

[pulstar]

I think the whole debate between Shinobi 3 and Ninja Spirit is really a debate over which genre of game you like better... action platformer or run-n-gun sidescroller.  For me, the answer is easy... I'll take stuff like Contra, Ninja Spirit, and Gunstar Heroes over Shinobi any day of the week.  Apparently my son will too lol 

This is true. But when I said more refined, I mean in the scope of its own game, not as in they are in the same genre and this one has better play mechanics than the other etc. I mean the game feels polished to a much finer degree than Ninja Spirit...but I think time of release has a lot to do with that as well, with more competition and harvesting ideas from other games etc.

If you like games like Ninja Spirit more than Shinobi and your son does too does that mean it is something inherited Which means this isn't objective at all, it's all in the genes, he has to like it by his very nature

[reno5]

i like Shinobi 3 and still have to play a bit more of Ninja Spirit.

So for now i would have to go with Shinobi 3 but i promess to give more time to Ninja Spirit !