SEGA's Shinobi saga, launched in 1987 on arcade terminals, is a classic of the action/platform genre of the 80s and 90s. You may be familiar with Shinobi Game Gear (GG), released in 1991, which was the first title in the franchise to be ported to a handheld console.

The Game Gear, with its backlit colour LCD screen, had everything to showcase the series. However, the technical constraints of the 90s handheld console meant that it could not match the level of detail of the Mega Drive, which had been released a few months earlier.

However, a developer known as Pigsy decided to pay tribute to Shinobi GG by adapting it for the Mega Drive, in order to take advantage of the 16-bit console's performance.

To do this, Pigsy used the Mega Drive Development Kit (SGDK), which allowed him to start the project from scratch. Although this involves more work, it allows him to create a port specifically designed for the Mega Drive, without being limited by the features of the Game Gear.

New graphics, an enriched soundtrack and adjusted playing mechanics (particularly in terms of collision and scrolling) are all planned to offer improved gameplay.

While these changes are designed to take full advantage of the Mega Drive's capabilities, the developer is keen to preserve the essence of Shinobi GG, without altering it in any way.

Although development is still far from complete, it is receiving a great deal of support from the retrogaming community and fans of the franchise.

On the Recalbox side, if you own the game, Shinobi GG is perfectly playable on Game Gear, and SEGA is even offering a sequel, Shinobi II The Silent Fury on its handheld console. If you're more of a home console gamer, you'll find different instalments in the series on the Master System, Mega Drive and Saturn.