Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Dev Talks Working with…

The Shinobi series has lain dormant for over a decade, but the upcoming release of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance finally puts players back in control of Joe Musashi once again. As a well-established Sega franchise, the company has co-developed an all-new Shinobi experience in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance alongside Lizardcube.

While Shinobi: Art of Vengeance is a fresh take on the series and its world, it aims to stay true to the game players fell in love with many years ago. In an interview with The Best War Games, Lizardcube CEO and art director of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Ben Fiquet detailed the process by which the company approaches longstanding and classic IP, all while updating the series for modern audiences.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Aims to Meet Fan Expectations

Fiquet compared the development of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance with Lizardcube’s past projects to modernize existing game properties, giving a particular focus to the visual aesthetics to push classic game series into the modern era. Abiding by Lizardcube’s mission statement to be respectful of players and the licenses the company works with, Fiquet commented on how Shinobi: Art of Vengeance intends to evolve the art style of the series while remaining authentic to the original games:

"Our development process remains consistent with our previous titles, leveraging the inherent artistic and animation strengths of 2D. With modern graphics cards now capable of rendering thousands of frames, this is an opportune moment for 2D to truly shine."

Working with an established IP comes with expectations, which is something Lizardcube’s work addresses.

The art style of Lizardcube’s games builds upon past iterations without limiting itself by rigidly emulating the visuals of those games. Fiquet explained how this balance is achieved, referencing works of the past as well as fan art tributes to align the game’s vision with player expectations of what a new Shinobi game should be:

"For each of our games, we dive deep into the source materials, past artworks, interviews, or making of. But we also take a lateral step and look at the fan art and the expanded lore; it provides a very insightful glance at what these games mean to the players throughout the years."

After further elaboration, Fiquet also shared that what gives the company’s projects the distinct Lizardcube is the dedication to getting the minute details right, staying as accurate as possible to the game series it has been given the opportunity to work on. The hand-drawn art style of Lizardcube’s games helps to differentiate projects like Shinobi: Art of Vengeance from other games and the series’ past installments, but the mark of a Lizardcube game is how much care is given to doing justice to the franchise and its fans:

"I believe we managed to make very special games, recognizable by the attention to art, animation, and details faithful to the original material. There are not many traditionally animated 2d games out there; it also makes them stand out."

Working with a beloved IP calls for a delicate balance between delivering on expectations set by past titles in the series while innovating to create something wholly new. Lizardcube’s work on Shinobi: Art of Vengeance excels at this, carefully considering how fans envision the new era of Shinobi without losing sight of what made the original stand the test of time.

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