Shadow Dancer - Kage no Mai

Shadow Dancer - Kage no Mai © 1989 Sega.

A loose sequel to 1988's "Shinobi", Shadow Dancer stars a young Ninja who, together with his faithful canine companion, must battle against a terrorist group. The terrorist group have planted a number of time bombs throughout the metropolis. The Ninja and his dog must set out to gather up all the explosives placed by the evil gang and to annihilate the criminal mastermind.

Game-play is very similar to that of the original Shinobi, and features the jumping and projectile weapon-based game-play of its illustrious older brother. However, a new and crucial attacking move has since been added to the Ninja's arsenal. Pulling DOWN on the joystick and pressing the ATTACK button sends the hero's dog to attack the nearest enemy. This will stop the enemy from attacking the player as he wrestles with the dog. The enemy must be killed quickly, however, or the dog itself will be killed. If the dog is attacked, he will turn into a small puppy, and once the player has killed a set number of enemies, the puppy will grow to be a full-sized dog who can once again be used to attack enemies.