Ninja Master 0.1.4

Changes since 0.1.3

• Add Explore and Time Trial practice modes, unlocked by normal stage completion, with saved best times and ghost replays.
• Add 49 local achievements and persistent gameplay statistics, with improved achievement, statistics and best-time menus.
• Move display settings into Options, improve menu navigation, and adapt widescreen presentation to ultrawide displays.
• Add support for original US, European and Japanese retail ROMs, dedicated control schemes, persistent options and automatic Continue checkpoints.
• Fix boss damage rules, the forest boss entrance and exit, overhang movement, melee selection and shuriken handling.
• Add viewport screenshots and a performance overlay, reduce rendering uploads, and expand regression checks against the original game.
• Fix SDL2 discovery for macOS CI tests.

Downloads

Windows x86_64: MSI installer or portable ZIP. Linux x86_64: DEB, RPM or portable archive. macOS Intel and Apple Silicon: DMG or portable app archive; macOS 15 or later is required. SHA-256 checksum files accompany every package. SDL2 is bundled on Windows and macOS. Windows installers are not publisher signed; macOS apps are ad-hoc signed and not notarized.

Supply your own original 1 MiB retail ROM: US CRC32 5381506f, EU 0b6d3eb5, or JP 5b412816. No ROM or extracted game assets are included. See the README for installation, controls and compatibility details.

Full changelog: v0.1.3...v0.1.4

Ninja Master 0.1.3 preview

Ninja Master 0.1.3 is a maintenance update with fewer repeated allocations and no intended changes to gameplay, audio, controls or ROM compatibility.

System	Downloads
Windows 10/11 x86_64	MSI installer and portable ZIP
Linux x86_64	DEB, RPM and portable archive
macOS 15+ Intel	x86_64 DMG and app archive
macOS 15+ Apple Silicon	arm64 DMG and app archive

Windows and macOS packages bundle SDL2. Linux installers obtain their runtime dependencies through your package manager. Every package includes a user guide, license notices and an adjacent SHA-256 checksum file.

Compatible cartridge

Supply your own original Shinobi III USA / NTSC-U (1993) ROM: plain big-endian BIN, 1,048,576 bytes, CRC32 5381506f, SHA-1 1e07d7998e3048fcfba4238ae96496460e91b3a5. Original game data is decoded from the ROM at runtime. No ROM or extracted game assets are included.

Installation and play

Open the Windows MSI, install a Linux DEB/RPM with your package manager, or drag the Mac app from its DMG into Applications. Launch Ninja Master and choose your compatible cartridge dump. Arrow keys move; S/X attacks; D/C/Space jumps; A/Z uses ninjutsu; Enter pauses; F1 opens settings.

The Windows installer is not publisher signed. Mac apps are ad-hoc signed and not notarized; if blocked, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

All seven rounds are accessible, but this remains a preview and a complete playthrough is not guaranteed. Original code and app artwork are MIT licensed; Sega retains rights to its original game content.

Maintenance changes: #1 — Split oversized gameplay and rendering modules.

Ninja Master 0.1.2 preview

Ninja Master 0.1.2 is a native desktop preview of Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master for Windows, Linux and macOS.

System	Downloads
Windows 10/11 x86_64	MSI installer and portable ZIP
Linux x86_64	DEB, RPM and portable archive
macOS 15+ Intel	x86_64 DMG and app archive
macOS 15+ Apple Silicon	arm64 DMG and app archive

Windows: open the MSI and launch Ninja Master from the Start menu, or extract the ZIP and open play.bat. Uninstalling preserves ROM files you add, settings and saves.

Linux: install the DEB with sudo apt install ./ninja-master-*-linux-x86_64.deb, or the RPM with sudo dnf install ./ninja-master-*-linux-x86_64.rpm. Open Ninja Master from your app menu. Portable archives launch with play.sh and require the system SDL2 runtime.

Mac: choose the download for your processor, open the DMG and drag Ninja Master.app into Applications. SDL2 is bundled, so Homebrew is not needed. These preview apps are ad-hoc signed and not notarized; if macOS blocks the first launch, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway. The Windows MSI is not publisher signed.

Bring your own cartridge

Only the original Shinobi III USA / NTSC-U (1993) image is supported: plain big-endian .bin, 1,048,576 bytes, CRC32 5381506f, SHA-1 1e07d7998e3048fcfba4238ae96496460e91b3a5. Choose your cartridge dump in the startup picker. Original game content is decoded from the ROM at runtime; no ROM or extracted game assets are included.

Arrow keys move; S/X attacks; D/C/Space jumps; A/Z uses ninjutsu; Enter pauses. F1 opens settings and saves; F11 toggles fullscreen. Every package includes a user guide, license notices and an adjacent SHA-256 checksum file.

All seven rounds are accessible, but this remains a work in progress and a complete playthrough is not guaranteed. Original project code and app artwork are MIT licensed. Sega retains rights to its original game content.

Ninja Master 0.1.1 — Linux preview

Ninja Master 0.1.1 is an early native desktop port of Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master. This release provides a Linux x86_64 build.

Start playing

1. Extract ninja-master-0.1.1-linux-x86_64.tar.gz.
2. Install the SDL2 runtime library (libsdl2-2.0-0 on Debian/Ubuntu).
3. Run ./play.sh and select your own compatible cartridge dump.
4. Press Enter and select GAME. Arrow keys move, S/X attacks, D/C/Space jumps, and A/Z uses ninjutsu. F1 opens settings; F11 toggles fullscreen.

Required cartridge

Only Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (USA, 1993) is supported: a plain big-endian binary dump, 1,048,576 bytes, CRC32 5381506f, SHA-1 1e07d7998e3048fcfba4238ae96496460e91b3a5. European, Japanese, modified and interleaved images are unsupported.

Original graphics, audio, text, stage content and animation data load from your ROM at runtime. No ROM or extracted game assets are included. The archive includes a user guide and license notices; use the .sha256 file to verify your download.

This is a work in progress. All seven rounds are accessible, but gameplay and sound can differ from the cartridge, and a complete playthrough is not guaranteed. Windows and macOS binaries are not included in this release.

Original project code and app artwork are MIT licensed. Sega retains rights to its original game content.