Sega Revives Classic Shinobi Franchise With New 3DS Game

Noted handheld game developer Griptonite Games (Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet, Where the Wild Things Are) is developing Shinobi for Nintendo's 3DS, the first new game in the classic series in eight years. Unlike the series' more recent 3D outings, the latest game -- simply titled Shinobi -- will be a side-scrolling game, like the arcade games that kicked off the franchise in the late 1980s. The game will, according to Sega, feature a "brand new combo system switching between melee, ranged and acrobatic attacks," and will take advantage of the StreetPass function of the Nintendo 3DS. Including its spin-offs and portable iterations, this will be the twelfth title in the Shinobi series that dates back to the 1987 original arcade game. The last two games in the series, Shinobi and Nightshade, were published for Sony's PlayStation 2 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The new Shinobi [YouTube trailer] is scheduled to ship this September.