Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo
# of Players: One
ERSB: Mature
Released On: 3/2/04
Features: Xbox Live

Introduction

In 1991, Ninja Gaiden was released for Nintendo Entertainment system. It was praised for not only having a perfect blend of platforming and combat, but also for having a memorable story told by use of a new technique, cinema. Ninja Gaiden was probably the first big game to tell it’s story though this art. A year later Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos was releases. It not only improved graphically, but it was not more challenging and included several new gameplay innovations. A year after that Ninja Gaiden III: Ancient Ship of Doom hit US shores. Gameplay wise, it’s considered the benchmark for all 2D ninja games, however it was shunned by many hardcore fans for the absurd and nonsensical story; A stark contrast to the prior two games. It is with the last of the NES trilogy that Ninja Gaiden most directly compares. In terms of gameplay and graphics, it’s near faultless, but it’s hampered by fragmented and idiotic storyline.

As memorable as the games themselves were, equally memorable was the young protagonist Ryu Hayabusa. For a number of years Ryu was considered the ultimate ninja, blending not only realistic and eye-pleasing atheistic, but an intangible sense of just being able to kick ass. It was for this reason that Ryu appeared in Tecmo’s famed Dead or Alive fighting series as one of the central characters with arguably the most powerful moves. Ryu now steps fully out of the shadow casts by Dead or Alive and stars in first games in over a decade, and as far as glorious returns go, they don’t get much more glorious than this.

Presentation

Perhaps the biggest obstacles facing Team Ninja in making Ninja Gaiden were the camera and controls. Theses two issues, particularly the prior, have plagued “Hack N Slash” games. Team Ninja is quoted to have worked a year to hammer out these two important details, and the results defiantly show.

The camera is responsive and adjustable. To be quite honest, it’s far from perfect and in a game where flaws are few and far between it does tend to stand out. There are several parts when you’re trying to platform that it seems like the camera just won’t get in that right spot, but during battles it’s flawless. Never in any game like this have I been able to run thru an enemy (leaving only 2 bloody pieces behind), and quickly adjust the camera to parry the next foes attack.

The controls are equally well done. Every button is used effectively and is well placed. I very surprised with the ease I adjusted to the controls as well. It was only a matter of minutes before I felt like I had been controlling Ryu all my life. The controls could, and should, be considered nothing short of astounding, as they (In conjunction with a few other aspects) accomplished a feat not even Zelda could achieve. In a third person game, I felt like I WAS the character. The only game off the top of my head to create that sense for me was Metroid Prime, and with all the interfaces there it’s not hard to see why. But I digress. The button placement is spot on, allowing you the jump, adjust the camera for a better angle, and attack all at the same time. Simply put, this may be the best control scheme I’ve ever seen.

All of the sizeable interfaces are nice as well. The fact of the matter is that Ryu carries a shitload of items and weapons around, and they’re well organized. You’re menu is divided into about 7 sections, and then within each section there’s usually a few subsections then the list of items. Although this may sound a bit unnecessary, by the time you read the halfway point in the game you’ll be carrying around more shit than you know what to do with.

As previously mentioned, one of the truly disappointing aspects of the game is the story. Team Ninja decided not to stay true to the classic Ninja Gaiden storyline and created their own. Now even as a fan of the original I would be ok with this if they even tried, but this story makes Gigli seem worthy of an Oscar. The storyline is stark contrast to the rest of the game in the fact that while the other parts of the game are polished and well thought out, it seems as though the storyboard were written by a chimp during an opium dream. Now I may be overstating things a bit, but there’s not one point where you feel any connection to the story, or any motivation to go further because of it. Furthermore, you’re given practically no back-story, and half of the events in the game go unexplained. There’s even a pathetic attempt at a plot twist at the very end, but you feel absolutely no sense of connection with any of the characters, so by that point you won’t care. Now ninja’s hardly need an excuse for killing things, but coherency would have been a nice addition to the story line.

Graphics

This game is beyond fault graphically. This game, probably more than any other really pushes the limits of the Xbox while not showing and negative effects for doing so. You can have as many as five or six enemies on screen, along with you and the gorgeous backgrounds, all moving at a very steady frame rate. Team Ninja has always had a reputation for graphics, but the effect that they have on this game is simply astounding.

It’s pretty obvious that the bulk of the development time was invested here, and boy did it pay off, everything related to graphics is spot on. The character designs are perfect, representing every inch of flexing muscle in ridiculous detail. Additionally, one thing that you’ll notice is that all the enemies are truly unique. Each has it’s own distinct and fresh appearance, and furthermore they seem to move differently, giving a very convincing variety effect.

The backdrops in which you fight are equally as varied and amazing. You’ll fight everywhere from crypts filled with rotting cadavers, to high among the lightning filled clouds and everywhere in between. All the textures are varied and realistic.

But as jaw dropping as the in game graphics are, they are put to shame by the cut-scenes. I’m not kidding when I say that Final Fantasy looks like a crappy third-rate game graphic wise compared with this. EVERYTHING is accounted for is excruciating detail. Every ray of sunlight plays perfectly of every shard of glass, every drop of blood sprays majestically from it’s severed head, every piece of clothing dances in the wind. Simply put, these graphics may be the best the Xbox can hope to achieve.

Sound

As far a sound goes, this game is pretty middle of the road. The effects do their job quite well, the sounds of swishing swords and the strained yells of your fallen foes all sound realistic. I do think that the game would have done better with Japanese voice actors, but the English ones are at least passable.

The soundtrack is pretty standard for a hack ‘n slash games, with plenty of hard rock to found, but the reality is that you’re so zoned in on the game you’ll barely have time to notice any of the sounds.

Gameplay

As good as the graphics are, they’re close to outdone by the astounding gameplay that Ninja Gaiden has to offer. Is it revolutionary? No. Is it the best game of genre? Without a doubt yes.

The first and most noticeable part of Ninja Gaiden’s gameplay is it’s difficult. Bluntly put, this game will challenge some of the most hardcore gamers on NORMAL. By the time you get to very hard, you’d better be a fucking a Ninja or you’re not going to get past the first level.

Honestly, the game isn’t so much hard as it is realistic. For example, there aren’t healing potions left and right. Shops come around only so often, and if you squander your money you’re going to pay for it. The AI also demonstrates this brilliantly. If you’re fighting three on one (which happens all the time), two of your foes won’t stick their fingers in their asses and wait for you to kill the first guy, all three will surround you and attempt to kill you.

For those of you who don’t know, Ninja Gaiden is what I call a hack ‘n slash game, meaning it’s a third person game where you’re goal is to make you’re though monsters and puzzles to reach a boss at the end of the level, but realistically, the only skill you need to have is the ability to slice your way though the hordes of baddies that assail you. Many people simply dislike this style of gameplay, and if you’re one of those people, this game probably won’t convert you, but if you’ve no vendetta against the genre, odds are you’ll love this game (provided you don’t quit due to the difficulty).

The first thing that sets this game apart from the pack is weaponry. Ninja’s carry a shitload of weapons, and Ryu is no exception. There are roughly a dozen melee weapons with different fortes and foibles (most of which can be upgraded for new combos), and a handful of projectile weapons, ranging from arrows to shuriken (throwing stars). You also have four types of Ninja Magic that can be upgraded.

The end result of the weapon variety is an unsurpassed flexibility in annihilating your foes. You can soften them up from a distance than move in for a quick kill, use a large weapon and simply kick the shit out of whoever is stupid enough to get near you, or you can sit back and snipe with arrows. The amount of control you have with weapons helps keep the combat from getting stale.

But the one thing that more than anything else prevents you from getting bored is the AI. This is one of the largest varieties of AI I’ve ever seen. Sure plenty of games have different types of AI, but what makes Ninja Gaiden different is how unique each enemy is. I don’t think it’s possible to beat the game favoring any sort of ubiquitous fight strategy. Each different beast has a different way of fighting you, and if you don’t adjust you’ll find yourself very dead very quick. The weapons also play in brilliantly here, as certain weapons allow for even more strategies. It takes quite a bit of experimentation to find out what exactly is the best course of action to take out various foes.

The boss fights also keep on par with the high standards set by the regular AI. There are about ten different strategies for taking down each boss, and some are more effective than others. As always the only way to find out is to try.

In short, Ninja Gaiden is just about everything that a hack ‘n slash game can strive to be.

Lasting Appeal

It does take a fair amount of time to complete all 16 chapters, but it’s very boring to play them again. Luckily, Team Ninja included several measure to prevent your game from collecting dust.

For starters, all three of the timeless NES Ninja Gaiden games are available, but good luck getting them. There are also plenty of easter eggs to be found, and completing the game on Very Hard is nothing short of a quest.

But even the incentive listed above offers close to nothing as far as new gameplay; enter Xbox Live. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing a Vs. or Co-op mode anytime soon, but what’s offered in it’s place may be just a sweet; The Master Ninja Tournament. While the details are still very sketchy at this point, what we do know is that Team Ninja will be releasing downloadable levels around the time of E3, and your score will be automatically recorded and entered in a contest to win prizes. Pretty nifty, eh? Personally I’m very curious to see how hard these new levels will be, and more importantly if they’ll have cut-scene to at least try to justify the story.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, Ninja Gaiden won’t leave you feeling like you’ve experienced a gaming revolution, but it will certainly give you a damn fine gaming experience.