Shinobi is a side-scrolling action game where you play Joe Musashi, a ninja fighting the criminal organization Zeed to rescue kidnapped clan members. Across five missions—each split into three or four stages—you must free every hostage before advancing. Stages end with boss fights against powerful enemies. You start with unlimited shuriken plus melee attacks. Rescuing specific hostages upgrades your stars to an explosive gun and swaps punches for a katana. Each stage grants one use of screen-clearing ninja magic. Joe dies in one hit from projectiles or attacks, though bumping regular enemies just pushes you back. Enemies respawn in fixed positions, so memorization helps. You've got three minutes per stage; leftover time converts to bonus points. Finishing without magic or ranged weapons adds score multipliers. After mission four, continues disappear—you tackle the final mission with whatever lives remain. Bonus stages between missions offer extra lives if you clear waves of leaping ninjas.
