Art of Vengeance Dev Talks Designing Enemies and Bosses

The upcoming Shinobi: Art of Vengeance will be giving the series’ classic side-scrolling ninja action a new lease on life. Included within this new entry will be a slate of new foes, which in an interview with Game Rant, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance co-developer Lizardcube has been able to elaborate on.

The history of Sega’s Shinobi series has needed no updates in recent years, as there has not been a new mainline game in over a decade. However, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance will finally bring an end to the franchise’s silence soon, granting the hungry fan base a new adventure at last. Game Rant recently sat down with members of the Lizardcube team, including lead game designer Fred Vincent, who discussed the enemy and boss design of Shinobi and how this new rogues’ gallery will echo Joe Musashi’s arsenal.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’s Lead Game Designer Talks Enemy Design

From what’s been revealed about Shinobi: Art of Vengeance‘s gameplay, it’s self-evident that the new visual style will play a big role in combat, holding on to certain frames to emphasize impact. This is traditional for beat-em-up style combat, and Art of Vengeance is using its hand-drawn style to double down on these ideas in a way that changes the pacing compared to the original Genesis series.

When discussing the enemy design of Shinobi, Vincent spoke about what will make these foes special beyond what’s evident from the gameplay footage released thus far. In particular, Vincent brought up how the game’s enemies will mirror the tools and powers available to Joe Musashi:

“Each enemy has distinct strengths and functions, echoing Musashi’s abilities. We expect players to really pick carefully their next move in order to fight them: Which enemy do I need to target first ? Do they have armor ? What kind of abilities do I use to engage them? You can’t face all the enemies the same way, and you must use all the tools at your disposal. In each combat scenario, level design and enemy combinations equally matter: it’s easy to dodge an enemy charging towards you, unless you fight in a tight space where you can’t jump; if there’s a monk in the squad of enemies you’re facing, you must target him first, because he will heal the others, for example.”

The need for players to pick their moves “carefully” but also never stop moving suggests a change of pace from previous Shinobi titles, all the while emphasizing the more tactical elements. Vincent brought further credence to this idea, saying that iconic moves from prior games have been “adapted” in Art of Vengeance, suggesting that the core gameplay loop has been developed into something new when compared to past titles. In terms of the tools available to Joe Musashi, Vincent added that “Joe Musashi has a large range of abilities, allowing him to be efficient at close or long range. During your playthrough, you’ll be able to buy or find new attacks, Ninpo, Ninjutsu, and Amulets. Each has distinct strengths, making them efficient against a particular kind of enemy, or more useful in a specific context.”

Boss Fights in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Are a Challenge

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In terms of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance‘s boss fights, only a few details have understandably been revealed so far. However, Vincent did speak to what players can expect and how each boss suits their roles nicely:

“Bosses obviously offer a tougher challenge. We wanted boss fights to be epic and the culmination of everything the player learned during the stage. Also, we came up with different archetypes of bosses throughout the game to keep things fresh.”