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| SHADOW GANGS ZERO - Retro-style ninja action game for Shinobi fans ! |
| Marcio D. - Aug 19, 2024 |
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vbt | Aug 21, 2024 | |
| it's promising, is there a beta of the md version? | |||
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Marcio D. | Aug 21, 2024 | ||
I only see a Neo Geo demo for now, and it's because Neo Geo is the lead platform for development this time. | ||||
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Marcio D. | Sep 17, 2024 | |
| The core campaign ended on September 14, 2024 and was a smashing success. Not only was the project fully funded, but it also surpassed the stretch goal for having the female ninja included as a playable character! Due to extremely strong demand, the developer has decided to accept Late Pledges for those who missed out during the core campaign. Here's the exciting part... The project is only £6,000 away from reaching the next stretch goal: 2-player co-operative gameplay. This will be a revolutionary feature, as none of the arcade and console Shinobi games had this 2-player simultaneous gameplay. Mega Drive / Genesis fans have multiple options to choose from: - Digital edition. - Physical boxed cartridge edition (your choice of US / EU / JPN variations); includes digital edition. - Collector edition: Includes physical boxed cartridge plus digital edition, and adds several goodies - Collector's box, art book, T-shirt, soundtrack CD. Join the revolution here:
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Marcio D. | Oct 19, 2024 | |
| UPDATE: Less than £1,000 away from unlocking: 2-player co-operative gameplay. Join the party:
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Marcio D. | Nov 12, 2024 | |
| 2-player co-op gameplay has been unlocked. Thanks to all backers for making this happen! Late Pledges are being accepted for a bit longer, so make sure you join the club while you still can. The next stretch goal is £120K, which unlocks six mini-bosses: ED Walker, Military Tank, Dragon, Military Helicopter, CannonWall, and Heavily Armed Van. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jkmcorp/shado...  | |||
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vbt | Nov 15, 2024 | |
| well done for the 120k! | |||
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Marcio D. | Feb 14, 2025 | |
| ShadowTeam has posted an update for the upcoming Shinobi-inspired game Shadow Gangs Zero. The first bit of news is that the graphics development is coming along very nicely. The second major takeaway is that porting from the lead system Neo Geo to the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive has now begun! Catch up on the exciting details here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jkmcorp/shado... Enjoy the latest music tracks from the game: https://soundcloud.com/user-723778647/shadow-gangs... https://soundcloud.com/user-723778647/boss-level... If you haven't made a pledge to the campaign yet, what are you waiting for? | |||
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vbt | Feb 14, 2025 | ||
we wait to see how a neogeo game could look on megadrive ^^ | ||||
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Marcio D. | Feb 14, 2025 | ||
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous... But I have faith in the Genesis / Mega Drive. The Genesis / MD version won't display as many onscreen colours and layers of parallax scrolling as the Neo Geo version. But if the Genesis / MD version uses the hardware to the max without compromising on the gameplay, I'm happy! | ||||
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Marcio D. | May 15, 2025 | |
Last month (April 2025), the developer posted exciting news about the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive version of this highly anticipated Shinobi-style ninja game:
The latest news for this month (May 2025) is that the game's core artwork is now almost fully complete, with just special effects and background animations left to add - these will bring extra life and energy to the levels. For the few of you who haven't yet pledged, you're invited to join the ninja revolution at this page: https://www.kickstar ter.com/projects/jkm corp/shadow-gangs-ze ro When you make a pledge to the campaign, here are some cool personalized rewards available: Custom Backer Image - Later levels: Add a small image (up to 64 x 64 pixels) of your choice - whether it’s your portrait or any design - within a game level. Graffiti Text / Image - Level 1: Be the sole backer to have your custom text or graffiti design featured in the very first level of the game - up to 80 x 64 pixels in size. Graffiti Text / Image - Later levels: Add your custom text or graffiti design within a game level - up to 80 x 64 pixels in size. Name the Ninja Girl: Name the fierce, playable ninja girl - choose her name! | |||
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Marcio D. | Jul 28, 2025 | |
| The pixel art for all 18 levels was completed last month (June), as was the majority of the music tracks. Now in July, level design is well underway and things are progressing very nicely. The Neo Geo version is on schedule to be completed by December 2025 as planned, with the Genesis / Mega Drive version very soon afterwards for March 2026. The campaign is currently at £109K in pledges. It needs to reach £120K to unlock the six mini bosses. Please make a pledge so that you can join in the fun. In addition to the Genesis / MD and Neo Geo, you can also back the versions for these other platforms: Dreamcast, PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox, and Switch. It was confirmed a couple of months ago that the Neo Geo digital version is compatible with NeoSD PRO, as the developer is personally testing the game with it throughout development. Visit the campaign page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jkmcorp/shado... Reminder: All backers will have their names displayed on the credits screen accessible from the main menu, as well as on the end-game screens. Also: Backers of the physical versions for Neo Geo, Genesis / MD, and Dreamcast will receive the corresponding digital versions for free! | |||
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Marcio D. | Sep 22, 2025 | ||
| Level Design: Last month (August 2025), the developer reported that level design was in high gear. Now in September 2025, the developer tells us that he's finished the first pass in creating these game levels: City, Bridge, Airport, Bunker, Forest, Beach, Cyber Punk, Castle. The current level being designed is: China. He estimates that he'll have finished the first pass of designing all levels by mid-to-late October 2025. Designing levels for Shadow Gangs Zero is a multi-pass process involving three primary passes plus a polishing phase. Lots of work, but the developer is making great progress. Mini Bosses: The final campaign stretch goal is the inclusion of six mini bosses: Fire-breathing dragon, Military helicopter, Cannon wall with heavy firepower, Van with armed fighters, etc. To achieve that stretch goal, the pledge total needs to reach £120K. We are so very close to reaching this goal, as the pledge total is currently at £113K. Beta Testing: You already know that backers will have access to the Neo Geo beta digital release. I've received confirmation from the developer that ALL backers will have access to this Neo Geo beta release. In other words, even backers of the Genesis / Mega Drive version will be granted access to the Neo Geo beta. Granting broad beta access will help the developer iron out all bugs, while giving backers early access as a loyalty perk. A win-win for everyone! Ongoing Pledges: So far, 41 backers have pledged for the Genesis / MD digital version. That's awesome! We're hoping the campaign can reach 100 backers for that digital version by year's end. Could you help make that happen? If you haven't yet pledged, please take another look at the campaign page to see if you'd like to add Shadow Gangs Zero to your Genesis / MD digital collection. If you've already pledged, please tell your circle of friends about the game and invite them to join the SGZ community. As for the Genesis / MD physical cartridge, there are 272 of you who have backed it. Wow! If you've got friends with similar great taste in Genesis / MD carts, please tell them about the campaign. A reminder that all backers of the Genesis / MD physical cartridge will also receive the Genesis / MD digital version for free. Perfect for playing SGZ on your portable devices when you're away from home! New Music Track for Genesis / Mega Drive: From the developer:
Shadow Gangs Zero - Campaign Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jkmcorp/shado...   | ||||
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Marcio D. | Oct 14, 2025 | |
| Level design update: In his latest post on the campaign page, the developer informs us that the first pass of level design has been finished. The second pass is now underway, which focuses on refining each level’s layout, enemy placement, and gameplay flow to near-final quality. At the current pace, this second pass should be finished around mid-December 2025. After the second pass, the third pass work will begin, which involves integrating all final graphics for levels, characters, menus, and other visual elements. And then the final pass is the optimization and polish phase, to ensure the game runs smoothly and meets the high standards being aimed for. The developer promises to keep backers fully informed of all progress as it happens. The game has 42 levels, comprised of: - 35 regular levels - 5 boss levels - 2 bonus levels Graphics update: The artists have begun working on background animations to liven up the levels. They're also remastering the special effects such as blood, explosions, and impact visuals to ensure they look their best - i.e. smoother motion and more animation frames. The developer is sparing no expense in giving these elements the attention they deserve. Spread the word! Tell your friends about Shadow Gangs Zero. The more support the campaign receives, the better the final product: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jkmcorp/shado...   | |||
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Kirrap | Oct 15, 2025 | |
| Wow never heard about it, lovely that will be a Dreamcast version, but why leave the Saturn behind? | |||
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Marcio D. | Oct 15, 2025 | ||
I don't get the impression that the developer is purposely leaving the Saturn behind. The reality is that all versions of Shadow Gangs Zero (SGZ) under the current Kickstarter campaign are being programmed by one single person, Mr. ShadowGangs. So he's responsible for programming for seven platforms - Neo Geo, Mega Drive / Genesis, Dreamcast, PS5, Xbox, Switch, and Steam (PC). There's just not enough time/energy/resources to port the game to every single capable retro console out there in addition to the modern ones. When it comes to the first Shadow Gangs game released from 2020 to 2023, Dreamcast was the only Sega platform it was available for. It was released for other platforms, but Dreamcast was the only Sega platform. Now for this newest game Shadow Gangs Zero due for release in 2026, we're seeing the Mega Drive / Genesis join the Dreamcast in terms of Sega consoles being ported to. So is it possible we could see a Saturn version of a future Shadow Gangs game? Sure! But one thing that's a prerequisite is that the retro platform needs to have a modern, cross-platform, high-quality, actively supported development kit available. For example, the Neo Geo version of SGZ is made possible by NGDK. Similarly, the Mega Drive / Genesis version of SGZ is made possible by SGDK. I'm not familiar with the Saturn ecosystem. Could you let me know if such a development kit exists for the Saturn - i.e. modern, cross-platform, high-quality, actively supported? An alternative to Mr. ShadowGangs personally programming a Saturn version would be a prominent experienced Saturn programmer coming aboard to handle the port. If it were to happen, it'd be an official port involving signed legal agreements, remuneration, etc. Are there any active skilled developers in the Saturn world that you can nominate? Last but not least, how big and healthy is the Saturn fandom these days? There needs to be a big enough community for a Saturn port to be feasible. SGZ is a commercial product, after all. BTW, I'm not just waxing poetic here. Just a few weeks ago, an agreement in principle was made to port SGZ to a popular and "friendly" retro computing platform. It's not part of the current Kickstarter campaign. Rather, it will have its own Kickstarter campaign next year, and the port will be programmed by someone other than Mr. ShadowGangs. I tell you this to emphasize the idea that anything is possible, including a Saturn port! | ||||
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Kirrap | Oct 16, 2025 | ||
Well I think that you are right, I believe doesn’t exist a Saturn DK right? that it’s a shame but talking about the Saturn fandom just check how many translations, hacks, homebrew games and tools we have now, I think it’s the most productive and healthy console fandom by far right know even without a development kit | ||||
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Marcio D. | Oct 17, 2025 | ||
I googled around and it looks like the most promising modern one is Saturn Ring Library (SRL). I suspect you feel the Saturn is the "most productive and healthy console fandom" because it's your favourite platform and you haven't objectively compared it to other platforms. The same way our ancient ancestors wrongly believed that the sun, the stars, and other planets all revolve around the Earth. Am I right? Googled around some more and couldn't find too many new commercial Saturn games being released, apart from re-releases. I think the Saturn is noticeably lagging behind other retro consoles in terms of popularity. I doubt you'd see a Saturn version of a Shadow Gangs game in the future. Anything's still possible. Just not probable. | ||||
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Kirrap | Oct 17, 2025 | ||
Well Marcio I don’t know if you are part on this new game or if I hurt some nerves, but I fell like you are answer like some kind of fanboy gamer and I don’t wanna continue with that, I have the MD, DC, SFC, PSX, PC Engine, NeoGeo, two PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox classic, Xbox 360, PS5, a PC dedicated and of course the Saturn so I don’t really care to much if they don’t wanna or just can’t make a Saturn version, I only asking because with the Neo Geo the Saturn are the king consoles of 2D games. Good luck with this game. | ||||
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Marcio D. | Oct 17, 2025 | ||
Oh, I see... You were pulling my leg by claiming Saturn to be the most productive and healthy console fandom by far. If you had followed that with a wink emoji, I would've understood the joke!  | ||||
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