The main character of Shinobi (the original Japanese word for ' ninja') is most commonly associated with that of Joe Musashi, the protagonist of the original arcade game and many of its sequels. The Shinobi franchise sold more than 4.60 million copies. The series' games are a showcase of Sega's technical accomplishment, noted for their high quality of graphics, gameplay and music, as well as their high level of difficulty. Along with Alex Kidd and Sonic the Hedgehog, Joe Musashi has long been one of Sega's flagship characters, acting as a mascot for a short time in the late 1980s when ninjas were popular in mainstream media.
The first Shinobi was released in 1987 as an arcade video game. The ninja ( shinobi) Joe Musashi is the protagonist of the original series of games ( Shinobi to Shinobi III). Shinobi ( 忍 SHINOBI) is a series of hack-and-slash action video games created by Sega. The 2002 logo bears the shinobi kanji (in red) that adorns every title in the seriesĪrcade, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, NES, PC Engine, Master System, ZX Spectrum, MSX, Genesis, Mega-Tech, Mobile, Game Gear, Windows, iPhone, Nintendo eShop, Saturn, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo 3DS
