Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’s Most Intimidating Boss is a…

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance pits players against some terrifying foes as they work to take down ENE Corp and Lord Ruse's forces. As Shinobi: Art of Vengeance begins to ramp up difficulty, players will have to use every tool in Musashi's arsenal—from Ninpo and Ninjitsu, to Ningi and high-flying Combat Moves—to take down the game's toughest bosses. However, one boss in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance can be all bark and no bite with some clever maneuvers from Joe Musashi.

In general, Shinobi: Art of Vengeance strikes the perfect balance between combat and platforming, forcing players to become adept at both chaining together combos of Combat Moves while also utilizing Shinobi's Ningi skills throughout the course of any given stage. This balance is put on full display during Shinobi's boss fights, which often serve to test the player's skill with the new Ningi learned during the stage. When it comes to Art of Vengeance's Mandara boss fight, players might assume they will need to make some careful use of these tools, but they can make the fight a lot easier for themselves by focusing on one simple technique.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance's Mandara Boss Fight is Easier Than it Seems

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Mandara is an Intimidating Foe at First Glance

LizardCube has shown a clear level of respect for the classic Shinobi games with Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, and the presence of Mandara as a boss in the game is a testament to that. Mandara was a boss in the original Shinobi, and now makes his return as the stage boss found deep in Art of Vengeance's Mountain level. When first attempting this boss fight, players may get overwhelmed by the attacks Mandara will throw at them, which include moves like:

Electrifying the stage's floor
Launching towers of Bodhisattvas that move across the stage and push the player
Spitting several bouncing fireballs
Firing a massive laser from his mouth

Mandara appears as a giant head in the wall that can move up and down, requiring players to maintain a vertical approach in order to damage the boss by hitting the red jewel on the top of his head. Typically, players will need to utilize the newly acquired Ninja Claws Ningi to cling to the stage's other wall and avoid Mandara's electrified floor attack or the tower of Bodhisattvas that he will throw at the player. While this may seem like a complicated strategy to claim victory over Mandara, one trick can let players rush down the boss fairly quickly without needing to use the Ninja Claws at all.

Shinobi: Art of Vengeance Offers Players a 'Cheese' Strategy to Defeat the Boss

Rather than trying to hit Mandara during a window of opportunity and then rushing to the other side of the stage to cling to the wall with the Ninja Claws, players can essentially pummel Mandara by taking advantage of a small sliver of ground that doesn't get electrified. The key to making this strategy work comes down to using two of the best Combat Moves in Shinobi: Art of Vengeance—Dive Kick and Aerial Spin. Jumping to hit Mandara and then following up with a combo of Dive Kick and Aerial Spin allows players to continually hit the boss and then restart the combo with another jump off the sliver of ground right in front of Mandara to keep the damage coming while largely avoiding the boss's attacks.

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Bouncing off of Mandara himself to restart the Dive Kick and Aerial Spin combo also works, but this strategy functions best when players attack aggressively. Doing so allows them to quickly drain the boss's health before he starts spamming his most difficult-to-avoid attacks, like the fireballs and lasers. While some players may find this strategy a bit cheesy, especially for such a respectable foe like Mandara, it can work wonders for players who find themselves unable to progress the story of Shinobi: Art of Vengeance because they are trying to defeat this boss.

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