Nightshade

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a game by Ultra Soft, and Sega
Genre: Adventure/RPG
Platforms: PC, Playstation 2, NESNES
Editor Rating: 5.9/10, based on 6 reviews
User Rating: 8.0/10 - 2 votes
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See also: Action Adventure Games, Action Games
Nightshade
Nightshade
Nightshade
Nightshade

Psst... the word on the street is that Sutekh, a powerful crime boss, plans to take control of Metro City, but not if you have anything to say about it! As Mark Gray, bookish encyclopedia researcher by day, you don a trench coat, a fedora, and shades by night to become Nightshade, super crime fighter.

Although this action/adventure from Ultra has a side-scrolling perspective the gameplay is reminiscent of role-playing games such as Solstice, Shadowgate, and Déjà Vu. You guide Nightshade as he roams through over 100 different rooms throughout the city in search of clues to Sutekh's whereabouts and different items that enable him to advance and keep searching. The game also has action scenes where Nightshade punches and kicks various enemies head-to-head.

ProTip: Watch out for a carpet. The moths have eaten away at it and there's a hidden hole. Use the Screwdriver on the screws on the other side of the rug and you'll hear a crash. Go downstairs to investigate and you'll find an important clue.

Cool graphics and a fairly compelling mystery offset some pretty tinny tunes. Turn em' off. Nightshade isn't as challenging as Shadowgate or Solstice, but it's a nice case for first time action/adventurers. Here are a few clues to help you get started.

Download Nightshade

PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Playstation 2

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
NES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • P-200, 32 MB RAM

Game Reviews

Artistic and well-crafted, Nightshade is an excellent addition to Sega's Shinobi franchise. In this latest title you play the female government ninja Hibana who's been drafted to take out the Nakatomi Corporation. Apparently members of the company have accidentally released hellspawn on Tokyo. To save the future city you'll have to defeat a cadre of creative boss baddies and collect the broken pieces of the cursed sword Akujiki they leave behind.

The storyline is fairly straight forward, dished out in between-level cut scenes that are fairly well rendered and voice acted. The scenes are short enough not distract from the game, which plays smoothly and is filled with loads of non-stop hacking, kicking and jumping. Movement takes a few minutes to get used to as you adjust to controlling the third-person view of Hibana with one stick and the camera angle with another. Once you master the basics you can use combinations of buttons and movements to do double jumps, wall runs, even a cool new move called a stealth dash which gives you a momentary blur of speed that creates doubles of you and jets Hibana across the screen.

After spending a fairly short amount of time with the game, I found the controls very smooth, but what really makes this game such a blast to play is the inventive combat system. There are really only three basic attacks: sword, kick and power ' but when used in combination with each other and certain movements the possibilities seem almost limitless. You can string together combinations of attacks for more damage and points or you can make use of the game's Tate Timer. The timer kicks in when you defeat an enemy ' once the timer is counting down each successive attack increases in power. If you take out more than four enemies before the timer runs down you get a Tate attack ' basically a cool cinematic death scene that shows the down bad guys all dying in some interesting way at the same time. It's pretty cool.

The Chakra Gauge also tracks your attacks ' powering up with each successful hit. The Chakra units earned are then used to perform some of the special attacks and moves ' like a stealth attack which creates momentary clones of Hibana for a powerful multi-attack. It would take too long to go through all of the games special attacks and moves, but despite the fact there are so many of them they are very easy to pick-up and use in the heat of battle.

The fights themselves are very fluid, with your character dashing through the action, flipping over bad guys and bouncing off walls to destroy the screen full of monsters. The game ramps up nicely, giving you the opportunity to perfect your timing and attacks before you come to rely on them. One of the neat twists to this game is that it relies heavily on jumps and aerial dashes, turning it at times into almost a platformer with combat. It's a nice change from the typical game in this genre.

Although Nightshade is an excellent game, it does suffer from a very linear plot and play ' but you can't win them all and I still strongly recommend this as an addition to any gamer's library.

He's a hero best known for his a trench-coat, fedora and shades. Known as Nightshade, you must defend Metro City from an Egyptian villain. Gather information about this mystery enemy and track him down before he takes over the city.

Crime is taking over the city! The local hero, Vortex, was captured and slain and now the very concept of law and order has disappeared in the chaos. Metro City is under siege from the various crime bosses fighting for control and without the help of Vortex, the grand metropolis will fall to the torrent of crime. During these dark hours another guardian of good must be found to replace this void. It is time for Nightshade.

Metro City was a quiet place for everyone until the crime lords moved in. The police couldn't even help. Crime filled the streets and things got out of hand. However, there is hope as a mysterious person named Nightshade moved in. Now Nightshade must stop Sutekh from filling Metro City with crime. Ultra's new RPG will challenge players with it's unique blend of action and role play.

People say:

7.0

Another Konami/Ultra original that melds the top quality action games that the companies are known for with a new storyline and a unique approach. It's pretty standard stuff here, but the graphics, sound and game play are all incorporated into a cart that is, above all, fun to play!

6.0

Now this game has style! It s a quest game that involves a fair amount of thinking. Lots of things to do, examine and use. A well rounded quest that has spots of brilliance and some of the solutions are downright devious. Not a game for the-shoot-anything-that-moves crowd.

4.0

This game has a few cool ideas and an original type of game play that make it interesting. The control is poor and the graphics are only average for this type of game. The quest is kind of fun but only the first time around. They should of saved this one for the SNES.

5.0

Nightshade is a wonderful idea that should have been made on the Genesis or Super NES. The high-res graphics required for Nightshade just isn't possible on the 8-bit machine. The control could use a little more work, and the quest isn't very long either. Nightshade is average.

City! The local hero - Vortex - has just been found dead after trying to take on an evil clan of gangsters that are led by the notorious Sutekh. Now, a new crime fighter, who goes under the name of Nightshade, has appeared on the scene! He, single-handedly, is putting the bad guys behind bars and Sutekh wants Nightshade eliminated.

Your job is to get to Sutekh first! To do this you must carefully explore the 100+ screens in the game. Clues are hidden everywhere, and, like a good detective, you must search each screen for items which will may help you. Pick up everything possible and talk to the people as they can give you hints as to where to go and what to do!

Nightshade is not the typical action game. Rather, it is an adventure game which requires you to solve many small puzzles in order to achieve your final goal. These puzzles can get quite complex involving items which you picked up earlier in the game; clues from people you talked to; items that have to be operated (turn on light switch); and items that have to be used in combination with other objects. Also, some actions may seem to be completely unrelated to the quest but it's these 'Ittle puzzles' which, when solved, open up doors to the real quest. It's a thinking game that will keep you glued to the screen for a long time!

Snapshots and Media

NES/Famicom/Dendy Screenshots