When it comes to ninjas, I believe everyone is familiar with them.We have seen a lot of ninjas in video games alone.In real society, ninjas have almost become one of the symbols of Japan.

Photo Note: On February 22 every year, Koga and Iga, the birthplaces of ninjas, hold events to celebrate the arrival of "Ninja Day".

Although the name "ninja" was officially established in the early Edo period, its social status also jumped from "cow and horse" at the bottom to the government's escort employee.But in the Warring States period, many famous figures emerged in the ninja industry.

For example, Hanzo Hattori, the "God of Ninja", assisted Tokugawa Ieyasu to complete the "Iga Time Travel", made many military achievements in the troubled times of the Warring States Period, and eventually led the Iga Tongxin Legion and created the "leading factory" in the industry.

Image Note: Hattori Hanhide's image in the game "Samurai Soul"

It can be said that from the Warring States Period to Edo, the ninja industry has shown a scene of vitality and everything is in full swing.At its peak, more than 30 ninja genres or family heritages appeared in Japan.

Compared with the glorious moments in the past, the situation of Japanese ninjas now has to make people sigh that time has changed.

In 2008, the 21st generation leader of Japan's Kogari officially announced that he would no longer accept true disciples, and the old man in his seventies became the last "ninja" in Japan.For modern Japanese, ninjas are more like cultural symbols than professions.

But it is undeniable that the ninja who once worked as a "cow and horse" in the real world for hundreds of years is now obviously more active in the virtual world.

In the 1980s, the Hollywood movie "Enter the Ninja" was a great success, which caused a "ninja craze" in the United States that lasted for many years.

However, these ninja agents produced by the United States are very different from the "Japanese ninja" we imagine.Mind control, launching lasers, instant movement... When these "mysterious Eastern powers" were inserted into ninjas, intelligence personnel with weak combat capabilities jumped into unstoppable superheroes.

Photo Note: Cool Ninja in Hollywood movie Ninja Assassin

With the powerful influence of Hollywood, superpowered ninjas were also exported to the world, which naturally included Japan, the birthplace of ninjas, and had a profound impact on the creators at that time.

After realizing that ninjas can still play like this, the "ninja trend" in Japan took another direction.One of the representatives is Sega's "SHINOBI" series. Domestic players may be more familiar with its other name - "Super Ninja".

In the game, Sega integrates the ninja cultures of the United States and Japan, and finally creates a Japanese ninja with an authentic Hollywood style - Joe Musashi.

Joe Musashi is the leader of the "Oh Clan". His duty is to eliminate the evil sins hidden in the dark side of the world, specifically fight against evil criminal organizations, and secretly protect world peace.

Although the setting at first glance is completely full of superhero style, compared to the Americans' brains that let themselves go, Sega obviously follows tradition in the design of character abilities.Joe Musashi's fighting style is still inseparable from the classic skills of Japanese ninjas such as ninjutsu, shuriken, and kunai.It is worth mentioning that the classic ultimate skills of the "Super Ninja" series such as "Fire Dragon Technique" will also return in the new work.

Photo Note: Joe Musashi's classic ninjutsu: "Fire Dragon Technique"

However, classic skills can also be output at high intensity. In addition to the classic warriors, the enemies who fight this ninja also have evil mechanical weapons and mechanical weapons that look like Godzilla and full of technology. Qiao Musashi is not inferior, bringing a good combat experience.

At this year's State of Play launch, the "Super Ninja" series finally ushered in the new work "SHINOBI Counterattack Slash", and the game's prologue was recently released.

It can be seen that this game chooses the classic drama of Japanese Ninja vs. Cyber ​​villain.The evil armed group "ENE Group" attacked the base camp of the "Oh Clan" in order to conquer the world.As the leader of the "Oh Clan", Joe Musashi once again embarked on a difficult journey to defend the village and to protect the world, facing the ENE Group, which has put the world in terror.

It is not difficult to find that in the new work, Joe Musashi is still in a classic white ninja look, which is a huge difference from the dark outfits that ninjas will wear in reality, and has become a unique and deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Therefore, in the promotional video, we can see the familiar and friendly, ruthless and talkative ninja on the surfboard and flickering, chasing the Saibo soldiers with a shuriken and a samurai sword, staged a thrilling "air battle".

In terms of playing roles, Joe’s wife Naoko and her old partner Yamato will also appear to fight side by side with Joe Musashi.

In addition to these familiar faces, this work also welcomes a female ninja named "Ba".As a disciple of Joe Musashi, Ba has been following the teacher's footsteps and regards the guardian of the Ao clan as his ideal.In order to be able to stand alone one day, she has been practicing hard.

Photo Note: The handsome female ninja, who is in line with the master's style.

In this work, she will fight against the evil "ENE Group" with her teacher. Let us look forward to what wonderful performance this "newcomer" will have.

And their opponent is Lord Ruth, known as the "Emperor of Evil".Although he is a villain, Lord Ruth has a strong personal charm. With his strong strength and leadership temperament, he commanded the "ENE Group" and commanded the organization's actions with all his power.In this work, Lord Ruth was worried that Joe Musashi and Atsushi would hinder their plan to conquer the world, so he chose to take action first and launched a sudden attack on Atsushishi.Picture Note: The biggest villain, the evil emperor Lord Ruth

As for our old friend Joe Musashi, we will continue to write the legend of Super Ninja with our friends.

"SHINOBI Counterattack Slash" will be officially released on August 29, 2025.At present, the game has been launched on Steam and the pre-sale 10% off event has been launched. Interested players may wish to join the wishlist to follow.