SEGA AGES: Shinobi and Fantasy Zone Nintendo Switch Impressions
By Jakejames Lugo
The arcade legacy of SEGA goes way back and is populate with many characters and series that many have forgotten over the years. Shinobi and Fantasy Zone are two SEGA arcade titles that released in the late 1980s, but have been reclusive despite getting a number of sequels. Shinobi received sequels on the SEGA Genesis and Saturn, as well as make the jump to 3D on the PlayStation 2 in 2002; but Fantasy Zone never had a lot of shine behind the mid-90s and the Genesis. Luckily for both, SEGA has been rereleasing a series of their classics under the banner of SEGA AGES for multiple platforms. These new versions of the games are the arcade releases bundled with a few extras to play around with, including modified versions of each game and some bonus material.
The SEGA AGES version of Shinobi looks and plays like the 1987 arcade game, with all of the bells and whistles you expect. The bonuses in this rerelease include an AGES version that gives the player a boost in attack power and defense. You can kill most enemies pretty quickly from the very start and can take a few extra hits before losing a life. It makes the game somewhat easier, but the tedious hit boxes and enemy bullets that have given players so much trouble over the years are still annoying. You can change up the difficulty and player settings in the game’s main menu, adjusting other aspects of it as well, but there’s not much else beyond that. It’s the same game with little else added.
Fantasy Zone is handled in a similar fashion to the other SEGA AGES releases, but is a bit meatier than Shinobi. There are three game modes to jump into. The original arcade mode and Time-Attack are basic, with the latter tracking your time as you play through the game. The new Upa-Upa mode mixes up the gameplay and forces you to gather more coins in each stage to use the special weapons you obtain. You can cycle through weapons using the shoulder buttons, but you deplete your gold resources as you fire which can lower your gold to zero if you aren’t careful. It’s a fun twist that makes Fantasy Zone a bit more challenging, but skilled players will find a myriad of ways to take advantage of the normal shot without wasting their gold. Speaking of which, the gold you pick up gets tracked in the game’s main menu and can be used to unlock a few additional features in the options menu, such as a Boss Rush mode. Unlike Shinobi, this adds a bit more incentive to play through the game over and over, gathering more gold to open up each unlockable. They’re not hard to earn, but it can get a bit repetitive when you find yourself replaying the same earlier levels over and over again.
Both games get a few additional features for being released under SEGA AGES. You can toggle between a number of filters that add scanlines and smoothing effects on the visuals. The most interesting however is an arcade view that gives a similar look to each game’s original arcade cabinet. Unfortunately, you can only see the artwork and decals where the screen was located as you play. It would’ve been great to have an additional section in the menus as a gallery to see artwork from each game, as well as photos of the arcade cabinets from their initial release. It’s a shame because most of the SEGA AGES rereleases lack additional features like a Gallery mode. It’s a wasted opportunity to not have some sort of bonus showcasing more about the legacy of the games, especially concept art and promos that may have been released back in the day.
If you’re someone who enjoys playing through classic games of the past, then both Shinobi and Fantasy Zone will have what you need. On the other hand, these rereleases won’t appeal to anyone else who prefers to play something more current or was hoping for a bit more substance to the extras included. Games released for the SEGA AGES are great for offering quicker incentives to play these forgotten classics, but they definitely need a some more goodies to entice players to dive into them once again.
Impressions are based on a digital review code of SEGA AGES: Shinobi and Fantasy Zone for the Nintendo Switch, provided by SEGA.
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