We interview Julian Nguyen-You, Backgrounds Director on SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance

Recently we sat down with Julian Nguyen-You, Backgrounds Director on SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance. In our conversation we talk about the art in the game, some of the places the team might take the series next, and how they brought back this long-dormant series for a new audience. We're going to get right into it, but first I want to point out an awesome new bundle that the team at Lizardcube has launched with several of their games all in one spot – an awesome way to catch up with all of these fantastic battlers in one shot. Check it out!

Play SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance, nominee for Best Action Game at The Game Awards, with two exclusive Steam bundles that pair the iconic ninja game with a reimagined classic SEGA brand developed by Lizardcube, known for creating high-quality 2D games. Complete your collection of SEGA + Lizardcube reimagined classics! 

SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance x Streets of Rage 4  (OUR REVIEW)

Amongst the best beat’em up series ever created, the all-time classic Streets of Rage, known as Bare Knuckle (ベア・ナックル Bea Nakkuru) in Japan, was a trilogy of games known for timeless gameplay and electronic dance influenced music. Streets of Rage 4 builds upon the classic trilogy’s gameplay with new mechanics, beautiful hand drawn visuals and a God tier soundtrack. 

SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance x Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (OUR REVIEW)

Boasting beautiful, hand-drawn animations and a re-orchestrated soundtrack, the cult classic, Wonder Boy, returns with a unique blend of exploration, action, and adventure!  Cursed into a half-human, half-lizard monstrosity by the Meka-Dragon, you are in search for a cure! The only way you can return to human form is to find the Salamander Cross, a magical item with the power to remove curses. 

SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance  (OUR REVIEW)

The iconic SHINOBI returns! Nominated for Best Action Game at The Game Awards, play as the legendary Joe Musashi, master of the ninja arts, in SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance. After finding your village burned to the ground and your clan turned into stone, you must set off on a quest for vengeance, ready to face an unparalleled evil and avenge your clan. Execute the ninja arts with precision, journey through a stylized world, and master the way of the Shinobi. 

Wield the blade, ready your fist, and slay the dragons! 

Pretty awesome stuff! Don't miss out because every single one of these are absolute bangers. They're on our holiday guide for 2025, and SHINOBI: Art of Vengeance picked up one of our Best of SGF award this year! Let's get to the interview:

1. The Shinobi series has had a lot of different incarnations. While Art of Vengeance features its own distinctive style, it doesn't feel out of place with the series. What are some of the elements that you think define the Shinobi series visually and how did you try to capture them?

[Julian] I think Shinobi’s backgrounds always were created with a special combination of mysterious colors and moods. The mix between feudal Japan and the modern world contributed heavily to this feeling. A lot of studies of the older games were made on our side to make sure that we would capture the essence of the original titles and be able to transcribe them in the modern era.

2. The amount of detail in the characters and backgrounds immediately stood out to me while playing Art of Vengeance. How do you balance how cool the game looks without detracting from the gameplay?

[Julian] It is important that players always keep an eye on their characters, so we used image composition techniques from cinema and animated films to ensure that the scenery highlights the player's character without ever overshadowing them. The colors have been carefully chosen to ensure that the character stands out at all times.

3. Art of Vengeance has some lengthy stages for a 2D action game, and I was impressed with how often the environments change even within the same stage. Was that a goal for the level design overall, or was it more that the team had so many ideas that you wanted to use them all?

[Julian] The goal of our environments has always been to tell a story, and to do that we need to change the scenery, colors, and atmosphere. Each new level is a new experience for the player, and it was important for us to do this work so that players never get bored and are constantly surprised.

4. Joe goes to all kinds of places throughout the series: Traditional Japanese villages, modern cityscapes, deserts, warzones, mutant-infested science labs, the afterlife...in a way it kinda feels like anything can happen in these games. Do you think there is anywhere that would be too weird for a series like Shinobi to go?

[Julian] I don't think there are any limits, as long as the narrative remains logical and the settings serve the story while respecting the Shinobi series.

5. Between Wonder Boy, Streets of Rage, and now Shinobi, I think it's fair to say your team excels at reinterpreting classic pixel art in your own distinctive style. Obviously though, these are properties where people have a lot of love for the old style, so some revival projects aim for a more conservative retro approach. What would you say are the biggest advantages of your approach versus trying to recreate the pixel art like some other retro revivals do, particularly when it comes to your roles on the team?

[Julian] Both approaches are great. The fact that most of our artists come from the world of animated film means that we are familiar with certain techniques that we have mastered, allowing us to tell the stories we want to tell in a style that we can develop by innovating within our discipline.

6. I'm excited to see how your team handles series like Sonic and Golden Axe visually for the upcoming SEGA villain DLC. Does your approach for designing a level for a character like Dr. Eggman versus the regular Shinobi world?

[Julian] We had to reinterpret the levels of these games by adding the Shinobi touch. It wasn't easy, but we did it, and we hope you like it. The work was pretty much the same as when we took on the “Shinobi” name at the beginning of the project. We had to study each area and reinterpret it, but above all, we had tremendous support from the SEGA team to help us understand the essence of “Shinobi.”

A HUGE thanks to Julian and the team at Lizardcube for their time. If you've not picked up on it, we liked this one quite a bit – let us know down in the comments if you're just now joining the SHINOBI franchise, of if you played it back in the day. For me, I got started when it cost quarters.