Last year, Sega and Lizardcube dropped one of the best action games I’ve played in quite a while. Games editor Myles Obenza and myself are of similar minds. Shinobi: Art of Vengeance was a 9/10 masterpiece of the year. So you know it wouldn’t take much for me to ninja flip back into the garb and start swinging around a sword like I was playing Beat Saber.
The new Sega Villains stage DLC is a unique way to splash water onto the faces of a couple different Sega properties. Nesting it inside Art of Vengeance’s kinetic, visceral gameplay is the sweetest part of it though, because returning to this game for any occasion is a good deal. More discerning fans may find that this DLC lacks in some key areas that the base game excelled in.
Temper Your Expectations
While it does add more action, platforming, and skills to utilize with Joe Musashi, the overall breadth is questionable. This DLC adds five new levels to the world map. Two are modeled pretty loosely after Golden Axe with Death Adder as the boss of them. Two are designed for Yakuza/Like A Dragon fans with Goro Majima awaiting you at the end. And the final level has Dr. Robotni- I mean, Dr. Eggman take his shot to get wily with you.
This all sounds really cool until you get into the levels and see the designs aren’t probably what you’d expect. Each stage is explained in-game as a dimensional rift that you have to close, sealing away the Source of Power hidden in each and returning normalcy to Musashi’s world. The Golden Axe levels have parallels with the Desert level in the base game, including its environmental hazards and gimmicks. The Yakuza levels share some DNA with the Neo City and Fish Market levels with neon signage strewn about and a general bustling city feel brought to calamity by the collision of realms. The most unique was the Sonic the Hedgehog level. It has backgrounds inspired by Green Hill Zone (because of course) and Chemical Plant Zone.
As far as layout and goodies in each level, they’re also barebones. Stages aren’t holding secrets or findables that made the exploration of Art of Vengeance so fun. No Ankou Rifts or secret chests to worry about here! I do appreciate the straightforward approach, focusing solely on combat and platforming. But I can’t help but to compare it to the base game which was a lot more fleshed out.
Who’s the Boss?
Since this is still Art of Vengeance though, I was having a blast. I was reaching flow state through waves of enemies, platforming through with relative ease, fighting for my life in new arena configurations that challenged me, and, of course, the main event of the DLC: the bosses. Each one is fully voiced just like others in the game which is a nice touch. Death Adder gave me the most trouble. His moveset is a little difficult to manage. He also hits like a truck, fitting since he’s bigger than an 18-wheeler. Goro Majima was tricky, but put down the easiest out of the three.
Sonic fans will be pleased to know that Eggman puts up the most fight. In Sonic fashion, you get two separate fights with him just like you typically do at the end of most mainline Sonic games. The first is simple with neat references to tech and contraptions that the Blue Blur has had to deal with himself, the second is a wholly new Shinobi-sized mech that did kick my ass for a bit since each attack melts around a fourth of your health if it’s maxed out and on default difficulty. Don’t be stingy with your healing Shisui Ninjutsu and you should be fine.
The Payoff for Diehards
Your reward for beating these levels is a costume color for Musashi and a new Ninpo based on the boss you fight. I won’t spoil them beyond that, suffice to say that they aren’t grand, game-breaking rewards, more there for the reference and novelty. Maybe they’ll fit your ninja playstyle more than they did mine. At the end, you also unlock a boss rush mode with all three bosses if you want to really test yourself gauntlet style.
The best part of this DLC isn’t even part of it technically. It’s a free update for all who own Art of Vengeance bringing with it some quality of life tweaks (finally, you don’t accidentally scroll through warp points on the map when you open it!), new gameplay options that affect the visuals, and even a Hardcore Mode that is indeed hard. You have to start a fresh save file to play it – no New Game+ here – and from what I played on Oboro Village, it’s definitely tougher with enemies you wouldn’t normally see until several levels into the game and lowered healing. Even the higher ranked ninja can send four-fifths of your health bar straight to hell with one sword swipe so you really have to be an actual qualified and licensed ninja if you’re going to venture into this mode. Good luck!
Verdict
It’s clear Sega and Lizardcube have some reverence for these properties. Why else even produce and develop something like this which you don’t see very often? What’s here is good and for the price ($9.99 USD) it barely justifies its value for fans of Shinobi or the other games being represented with the Sega Villains DLC. If you loved Art of Vengeance like I did, you’ll take any reason to return, just don’t expect a lot of pomp to come along with it. Digital Deluxe Edition owners should absolutely jump in and get slapped by a couple hours of Sega greatness regardless.
Score: 7/10
