Shinobi Art of Vengeance Mandara boss guide

Seeing Mandara show up in Shinobi Art of Vengeance was a real blast from the past for me! The third boss from the original Shinobi, it was easily the hardest boss in the game. Most of his original attacks come back here in some form, too. Apparently, Joe Musashi didn’t finish off Mandara in their previous encounter, and he wound up enslaved by Lord Ruse’s forces deep within the Mountains.

As you can imagine, this does not sit well with Mandara, and he immediately attacks Musashi, triggering the Shinobi Art of Vengeance fight. This isn’t the only boss that is attached to the wall, as one shows up much later in the game. However, if you’re stumped by this boss, here’s what you need to know.

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Tips to defeat Mandara in Shinobi Art of Vengeance

Mandara’s Attacks

• Electric Fence: Mandara electrifies the ground, dealing damage and forcing Shinobi to respawn.
• Return of Bodhisattvas: Mandara summons columns of bodhisattvas that slowly move towards the left side of the screen. They can be alone, or several stacked on top of each other.
• Fiery Spit: Mandara spits several little bouncing fiery boulders that make their way across the screen.
• True Power: Mandara spits a huge laser beam; duck under it to be safe, or climb up the wall.

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Typically, Mandara will immediately electrify the floor upon starting the fight in Shinobi Art of Vengeance. It doesn’t last forever, but it will last for quite a while. The tell is the screen glowing red. Then he’ll start summoning the Bodhisattvas, and that’s where the most frustrating thing about this entire fight begins.

In my first attempt, he mostly only launched columns that were three statues tall. The second fight, the one I won, it was only one statue at a time. Honestly the one statue at a time drops are much easier, because they keep you at his face’s height. You have to hit his face to deal him damage; aim for the Red Jewel.

Be careful! You can break the statue on its way down, and leave you with almost nowhere to stand (Image via SEGA)

In my second fight, he never used the huge columns of Bodhisattvas, nor did he use the True Power laser. You should still definitely watch out for them. The RNG in this fight is absolute madness. He will also occasionally use Fiery Spit, and launch tiny boulders across the screen, but he used that in both attempts.

It’s also important to note that you can break the Bodhisattvas, even if it’s just one by itself. That means you have to be careful with your attacks, because it could leave you on the ground in the electricity.

When he’s only summoning one or two at a time, I dive kick and attack, before dashing away when the next one spawns. You can see a red column of light; that indicates more statues are coming.

Mandara is almost always doing something, so just get your hits in when possible (Image via SEGA)

Just be patient, and get your hits in when you can. Even if you only get one dive kick in, get that and get out of the way. When he’s not summoning statues, you can get nice, long aerial combos off against him, but just watch out for the Fiery Spit. Like all bosses, you can execute him around 1-2% HP, so hold off when he’s low if it’s safe to do so. Your reward is the useful Shuriken Ninpo.

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Shinobi Art of Vengeance is the latest action platformer from SEGA, and will release on August 29, 2025, on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. You can learn more about the game from our in-depth review.