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It was definitely worth the wait.
Ninja Gaiden has been waited on for a very long time by impatient Xbox gamers. Even worse were fans of the original series, which were waiting well over ten years for a new entry in their beloved franchise. Tecmo’s Team Ninja, led by Tomonobu Itagaki, is most famous for the Dead or Alive series, but one can tell that Ninja Gaiden is where they really shine.
Itagaki hasn’t been shy to talk up his latest project. He said it was going to blow us away with it’s incredibly gameplay and notably, its graphics. Itagaki has been known to speak his mind, not being shy about discussing other publisher’s games, for example, but after numerous delays there were worries. Was Itagaki finally over his head? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding no.
In the game you take control of Ryu Hayabusa, or that “Ninja Guy from Dead or Alive.” The plot is something about a sword that is very powerful and someone wants to steal it… but it doesn’t really matter. The plot isn’t entirely cohesive and is probably there so you can get your breath back after some of Ninja Gaiden’s more difficult boss fights. Oh, and to show off the quality CGs and in-game cut-scenes.
Team Ninja has a background in developing solid fighting games, so it’s no surprise that the control scheme of Ninja Gaiden is very solid. You can pull of every move in the game with ease and you never feel that the game has cheated you. Team Ninja’s background with the Dead or Alive series also shows with Ninja Gaiden’s combat system. There are tons of combos and moves that you can pull off, some of which you won’t uncover until you purposely try and mess with the system. For an action game, the combat system is extremely solid, matching and even besting some dedicated fighting games.
All of this fighting is broken up by the necessary puzzles. At first you wonder why you need to collect keys when you really want to be slicing people, but as you progress the puzzles get much better. Although they start off like Resident Evil, they move toward progressively better puzzles that really test your non-combat skills.
Where Ninja Gaiden is getting most of notoriety is due to the difficulty. The ever vocal Itagaki commented that he was making the game difficult and once again, he wasn’t lying. There is no way to fancy this up: the game is incredibly difficult. You will need to use the skills you get and use the beginning of the game to make sure you’re up to par because Gaiden will have no pity on you in the latter stages of this adventure. Oh, and did I mention that this in on Normal? Normally, I’d back down and put it on easy, but there is no easy here. It’s this or even harder. Better start training, guys.
All of those delays seemingly have helped the game. Team Ninja is very vocal about their like of the Xbox because of its visual prowess and their games have consistently pushed the Xbox to the limit. The game looks excellent. The animation is super-fluid and looks excellent. The levels are huge and very varied with new textures that make the game look excellent. There is a reason Ninja Gaiden is available only on Xbox, other consoles may not have handled it.
Tecmo promised to deliver the ultimate Ninja game. Ever. They have certainly done so. Ninja Gaiden looks awesome, plays great and pushes the Xbox to the max. I, like everyone else, was rather upset with each delay, but I’m not complaining anymore. This is a masterpiece. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Mar 22, 2004
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