When did Shadow Dancer release?

Shadow Dancer was first released on November 1, 1989.

Shadow Dancer

Nov 1, 1989PlatformHack and slash/Beat 'em upArcadeArcadeCommodore C64/128/MAXZX SpectrumLinuxAtari ST/STE

Shadow Dancer — frequently asked questions

What platforms is Shadow Dancer on?: Shadow Dancer was released on Arcade, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Linux, Atari ST/STE, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Sega Master System/Mark III.
When did Shadow Dancer release?: Shadow Dancer was first released on November 1, 1989.

About Shadow Dancer

Shadow Dancer is an action platform game developed by Sega for the Sega System 18 arcade system in 1989. A port of the game was published by Sega for the Sega Master System, and ports to several home computers were published by U.S. Gold. It was the first sequel to Shinobi, alongside The Revenge of Shinobi. A similar game titled Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi was released for the Sega Mega Drive, which features an entirely different set of stages. A terrorist group is planting numerous time bombs throughout the city. The player, a ninja master accompanied by a canine partner, sets out on four missions to dismantle the bombs and destroy the criminal syndicate behind these acts.

Summary via IGDB.

Shadow Dancer on Wikipedia

Shadow Dancer is a 1989 platform game developed and published by Sega for arcades. It was the first game developed for the Sega System 18 arcade board hardware and is a sequel to Shinobi (1987). The player controls a mysterious ninja as he, aided by his attack dog, attempt to take out a terrorist organization. The player goes about this by using ninjutsu abilities and their dog to defeat enemies, as well as collecting bombs that must be obtained to clear a level.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).

Game details

Developer: Team Shinobi
Publisher: U.S. Gold
Game modes: Single player
Themes: Action
Series: Shinobi

Details via IGDB.

Reception

IGDB rating

65/100

from 16 ratings

Every version compared

Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release

Platform	Year	Loose	Complete	Sealed	Period reviews	Fake risk
Sega Master System	1992	$14	$28	—	5 reviews	Low (look-alike)

Also released on: Arcade · Commodore C64/128/MAX · ZX Spectrum · Linux · Atari ST/STE · PC (Microsoft Windows) · Mac · Amiga · Amstrad CPC · Sega Master System/Mark III. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.

Collector value & authenticity

Sega Master System · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-28

Loose

$14

Complete

$28

Sealed

—

How often it sells

Loose: about once a month
Complete: about once a month
Sealed: about once a year

Sales frequency from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, as of 2026-10-28.

Price over time

Loose
Complete

A loose copy sold for about $4.52 in Apr 2019, $12.69 five years ago, and $14.38 as of Oct 2026.

Show as table

Month	Loose	Complete
Jan 2020	$9.11	$19.53
Jan 2021	$8.83	$18.63
Jan 2022	$13.56	$25
Jan 2023	$15.46	$29
Jan 2024	$9.77	$27
Jan 2025	$10.81	$25
Jan 2026	$11.41	$43
Oct 2026	$14.38	$28

Monthly price estimates from PriceCharting's completed-sale records, sampled quarterly, through Oct 2026.

Release record

Territory	Date
Europe / PAL	January 1992
Brazil	1991

Source: Product numbers: MAME's Master System software list and the No-Intro serial records in the libretro database, published only where both agree on the same cartridge dump; Japanese numbers also checked against Sega Japan's software list. Board and ROM numbers: MAME's software list

Region: EU+BR
Released: 1992
Authenticity: Low

Modern re-releases, such as Sega Ages and Virtual Console, are not tracked hereLow look-alike risk

Sega Master System prices, all games & how to spot a fake

A ninja platformer that Mean Machines liked more here than on the Mega Drive, though not without doubts.

Shadow Dancer began as a 1989 Sega arcade game and was ported to home computers and the Master System. The Master System version, published by Sega in Europe in January 1992 and by Tec Toy in Brazil in 1991, sends the ninja Joe through the homeland of the Zeed empire to end its reign of terror.

Mean Machines said the Master System version fares better than the Mega Drive one, though the reviewer was left with a nagging doubt.

What the press said at the time

Mean Machines Sega Issue 3	December 1992	OVERALL 71%
Sega Master Force Issue 2	September 1993	62%
Sega Master Force Issue 3	October 1993	62%
Sega Master Force Issue 5	November 1993	62%
Sega Pro Issue 44	May 1995	59%

“Avid Shinobi fans will no doubt be chuffed with this latest offering for the Master System, but frankly I’m not impressed.”
— Sega Force, March 1992

“There's ninja japes aplenty in Shadow Dancer - a conversion of the Sega coin-op (but missing the dog). Still, the lack of any canine presence doesn't spoil the game too much, although the stupidly unbalanced difficulty setting is a bit of a downer (the levels are easy and the guardians are ultra-rock-blinking-hard). Not so bad, nevertheless.”
— Mean Machines Sega, December 1992

“Takashi and his hound take on the Asian Dawn terrorists, the former with shuriken throwing stars and magic, the lat¬ ter with, urn, teeth. Mediocre backgrounds pay the price for detailed sprites. Controls are awkward and gameplay unforgiving.”
— Sega Master Force, September 1993

“Takashi and his hound take on the Asian Dawn terrorists, the former with shuriken throwing stars and magic, the latter with, urn, teeth. Mediocre backgrounds pay the price for detailed sprites.”
— Sega Master Force, October 1993

How the Sega Master System version differs

Most of the arcade game's content was cut and the play mechanics were modified a bit. Each mission is now a single side-scrolling stage plus a boss encounter.

Your dog no longer follows you around, but you can still summon it to kill certain enemies from a distance.

Collecting the time bombs is optional here, but gathering all five in a mission earns an attack power-up for the next boss battle.

Also on other platforms

Arcade · Amiga · Atari ST · Amstrad CPC · Commodore 64 · ZX Spectrum

Amiga	Images
Atari ST	Images
Commodore 64	Images
ZX Spectrum	Images

Arcade. The arcade game was the first developed for the Sega System 18 arcade board.

Worth knowing

Takashi or Fuma. The manual and packaging for the Master System version name the hero Takashi, while the attract sequence in the same version calls him Fuma.

Before you buy

There is a European cart and a Brazilian Tec Toy cart, and both are official releases. Loose, the European cart sits around the middle of the games released in Europe but not North America for price. Check that the manual is there if you are buying a complete copy.