Ninja Gaiden (2004 video game)
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Ninja Gaiden is a 2004 action-adventure video game developed by Team Ninja for the Xbox console. Released worldwide under the same name, it was a break away from the Ninja Gaiden series produced before it. The game features the super ninja, Ryu Hayabusa going through hordes of enemies in a variety of challenging environments to retrieve the stolen Dark Dragon Blade. It received many critical acclaims with several proclaiming it the best video game ever made. An enhanced version was made for the Xbox as Ninja Gaiden Black in 2005, which was remade into Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the PlayStation 3 in 2007.
Ninja Gaiden
| Ninja Gaiden | |
|---|---|
| Box art for 'Ninja Gaiden | |
| Developer(s) | Team Ninja |
| Publisher(s) | Tecmo |
| Designer(s) | Tomonobu Itagaki |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Release |  March 2, 2004 May 14, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Action-Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Development
The "Next-Generation Ninja Gaiden Project" began in 1999; it was originally intended to be a game for the Sega NAOMI arcade system board. The game's development cycle was plagued by several delays and changes of platform: first to the Sega Dreamcast, then as a launch title for the Playstation 2.[1] It was a surprise then when Tecmo announced during E3 2002 that Ninja Gaiden would be exclusive to the Xbox,[2][3] especially when their own online poll showed the Gamecube as the fans' overwhelming choice platform for the game.[4]
The game director, Tomonobu Itagaki had stated his desire for this game to be a violent action game at heart.[5] He intended for a difficult game which primarily challenges players on their reflexes instead of their memorization of layouts and timings like in the old NES series.[6][7] Itagaki sought to attract casual and hardcore gamers with a well-made game which integrated high quality smooth flowing graphics, with responsive controls, and immersive gaming experience. As a brand new take on the Ninja Gaiden universe, the game made a few references to the old series like the theme of a pair of good and evil swords, reused attacks from the old games, and new imaginings of old foes.
The release date of the game kept slipping and Tecmo finally announced it will be released in 2004.[8][9][10] The American retail release was two weeks earlier than its Japanese release,[11] and was accompanied by a commercial[12] and the launching of the official website.[13] Those who had pre-ordered the game on Tecmo's site can purchase Ninja Gaiden merchandises at a discount.[14]
Work continued on the project despite the retail release, and Hurricane Pack 1 was announced to be available for download in August 2004.[15] It was an even harder version of the original game and has new features including various changes to the location of items and enemies. The Pack is part of the qualifying process for the Master Ninja Tournament World Wide Finals.
Just as the Finals concluded, an extended version of the game used in the Finals was released as Hurricane Pack 2. As an honorary mention, the user names of the highest scoring participants of this Pack were featured in the ending credits of Ninja Gaiden Black, a further upgraded version released in 2005.
Plot and setting
Ninja Gaiden's world consists of fictional locations between two countries, Japan and the fictional Vigoor Empire. For the Japanese locations, the ninja fortress and the Hayabusa village are designed in the typical Japanese Heian period architecture, set amongst the mountains.
The Vigoor Empire is an imaginative environment, consisting of a variety of real world cultural influences. The city Tairon bears the marks of Islamic architecture with Arabic letterings found on various gates and structures. The monastery bears the looks of Byzantine architecture with the large spacious hall, multiple levels of windows and archways. The hidden underground evokes the influence of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, while the pyramid is that of a Sumerian ziggurat. Overall, Ninja Gaiden is a reckless mish-mash of unrelated styles. Itagaki has admitted to this, saying "I just put everything in that I wanted to create!"[7]
Characters
The protagonist and the only playable character in Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black is the super ninja, Ryu Hayabusa. A man of few words, he works alone in his quest. He ends up rescuing the fiend hunter, Rachel (who is another playable character in Ninja Gaiden Sigma) quite a number of times over the course of the game.
The bulk of enemies the protagonist faces in the game are Fiends, humans turned into supernatural creatures through cursing of their blood.[16] Of the three Greater Fiends,[17] only Doku plays a major role in the storyline, being the one who starts off Ryu's quest for vengeance, by killing his village, stealing the Dark Dragon Blade, and having turned Alma into a Fiend.
Story
Taking place two years before the first Dead or Alive game, the story starts off with the raid on the Hayabusa village and theft of the Dark Dragon Blade during Ryu's visit on his uncle, Murai. Ryu rushes back to his village on receiving the news but is cut down by Doku, ending the scene with the Hayabusa's spiritual animal, a falcon watching over Ryu's fallen body.
With information given by Murai, a fully recovered Ryu sets off to Vigoor, seeking vengeance[18] and retrieval of the Blade. Guided in the background by Ayane, Ryu cuts a bloody swath through the streets of Tairon, leaving death and destruction. In his adventures, he meets the Fiend Hunter, Rachel and the enigmatic swordsmith, Muramasa, both of whom aid him in their own ways.
Ryu finally metes out his vengeance on Doku in a labyrinth, but the latter casts the the blood curse on Ryu with his last breath.[19] To overcome this curse and to recover the Dark Dragon Blade, he enters the palace and overcomes the Holy Vigoor Emperor in the latter's own realm.
With the Emperor's hold on his realm gone, it starts to collapse. Ryu loses his grip on the Dark Dragon Blade while escaping. It is picked up by the Dark Disciple who was shadowing Ryu throughout his adventure. Unmasking himself to be Murai, the whole ordeal is revealed to be a set up by him to infuse the Blade with the souls harnessed from Ryu's quest of vengeance, thereby restoring its evil power.[20][21]
The story ends with Ryu defeating Murai, and shattering the Dark Dragon Blade with the True Dragon Sword. Simply stating "It's over...", Ryu turns himself into a falcon and flew back to the Hayabusa village.
Gameplay
The player controls Ryu Hayabusa, guiding him in a third person view, fighting foes and exploring the environment of the 3D world. Except for a few situations dictated by the story, Ryu is unrestrained in his exploration, running through the streets, jumping and running up and along walls, and acrobatically swinging from pole to pole. Though the game world is loaded in stages, it is remarkably smooth on the Xbox that such loadings are said to be negligible.[22][23]
Ninja Gaiden's standard game mode, Story Mode, follows the pacing of the typical action-adventure game, where the protagonist starts off weak at the beginning of the story and can be built up to have a larger life bar, more powerful weapons and magical ability through items or purchases, by the end of the it. The player's performance in this mode is based purely on the karma score, with "Master Ninja" as the highest rank, and "Ninja Dog" for the worst scores.
Another gaming experience was introduced in Ninja Gaiden Black and Sigma, in the form of Mission Mode. The missions are short sessions of pure combat action, and each mission typically comes with its own equipment loadout for the player. The highest scores for each mission are accumulated for the player's Mission Mode score.
Players can upload their scores to online ranking boards for both modes, and compete with other players to get the best scores. Besides this, the games also promote replayability with the large number of Mission Mode missions, and unlockable costumes and emulated games for completing Story Mode on different difficulties.
Combat system
Reviewers have praised Ninja Gaiden as having one of the more deeper combat engines for a Xbox game, the smooth interaction and responsiveness of controls.[24][25][22][26] Using only the control stick and three buttons, the player is able to make Ryu block, dodge and attack with ease. Ryu's defence is unbreakable to most attacks, though he has to be wary against grab attacks. He can also dodge attacks with a well-timed 'reverse-wind' (tumble and roll).
Ryu has a multitude of weapons to choose from, to engage the enemies beseiging him. With the light swords (Dragon Sword, Kitetsu, etc), he is able to perform quick attacks, the Flying Swallow (high speed leaping slash) - cutting through foes, as well as his signature Izuna Drop (leaping spinning piledriver) - smashing foes into the ground. Heavy weapons like the Dabilahro, swing with slow but powerful momentum. Flails and staves let him show off flashy but useful attacks. The super weapon typical of most action games is here in the form of the Unlabored Flawlessness, the fully upgraded form of the wooden sword. Shurikens and arrows, make up the rest of his arsenal, allowing to hurt his foes at distance.
By absorbing essences given off by slain enemies, Ryu can unleash super powerful attacks known as Ultimate Techniques. Each weapon bears its own unique Ultimate Technique, and besides dealing out heavy damage to the unfortunate foes caught in them, it also grants Ryu invulnerability during the attack. In the later versions of Ninja Gaiden, these techniques award karma points, making them an integral part of high scoring play.
Lastly, fueled by his ki, Ryu can cast ninpos (magic spells), harming his foes with fireballs, ice storms or bolts of lightning while avoiding damage from their attacks.
Downloadable content
The player can download additional content, Hurricane Packs 1 and 2 for Ninja Gaiden via Xbox Live. None of these downloads will affect the original version of the game, and the player can still play the original game as usual.
Hurricane Pack 1 was available for download since August 9, 2004. It reused Ninja Gaiden's Story Mode, but added several new foes like the blue furred humanoid Cat Fiends, the Dino Fiends wearing triceratops skull masks, and upgraded versions of the Vigoor military forces. Modifications were made to the scoring system to reward clearing only encounters for the first time, and for fast kills. The player is now able to manually rotate the camera, and an Intercept technique (similar to Soul Calibur II's Guard Impact),[27] was introduced.
Hurricane Pack 2 was available for download since September 27, 2004. It integrated all the features of Hurricane Pack 1, but changed the story and game world. With the aid of a new weapon, the Lunar, the player has to fight through several rounds of combats to rescue Rachel from the twin Ancient Fiends, Nicchae and Ishtaros. Going up through the palace, and into the nether world, the player can only shop and save after certain rounds of combats with old foes and a few new foes, like the slide tackling Crow Shadows and the great sword wielding Nightmare Fiends.
The original purpose of the first pack was for the Master Ninja World Tournament qualification, and the second pack was a separate tournament on its own. With the events' conclusions, the packs' ranking boards are left up online for players to continue competing their scores.
Master Ninja Tournament
Tecmo's planned to hold a Master Ninja Tournament for all Ninja Gaiden players to participate in. Making use of the online ranking capability of the game, three rounds of competition plus regional playoffs were held to select the finalists who would proceed to the Master Tournament World Championship. Their flight and accomodation were paid for by the organizers.[28] Registration for the competition started on May 3, 2004.[29][30]
Master Ninja Tournament 1, the first round of competition was decided by players playing Ninja Gaiden's Story Mode on Normal difficulty, and submitting their scores to the online scoreboard. It was limited to North American and Canadian players. It began on May 12, 2004. The participation rate was immense, and was reported to be the highest participated tournament on Xbox Live then.[31] The deadline for score submission was June 4, 2004. Prizes were t-shirts and wristbands.[32]
Controvesy however surrounded the first round.[33] The official rules were only posted 10 days before the end of the first round, and the initial conception of there being 100 qualifiers for the next round was revealed to be mistaken - only the top three would receive a bokken signed by Tomonobu Itagaki, and the chance to proceed to the championship.[34] The first placed player, Ryan Martoni aka 'taibhse' obtained a score which many players declared as unattainable by fair means. Even Martoni himself was uncertain how he got his score.
Master Ninja Tournament 2 was the second round of the competition. Participating players had to register by August 2, 2004 (later extended to August 9, 2004),[35] download Hurricane Pack 1, complete it, and submit their scores by August 22, 2004 for the North American and Japanese regions; September 2, 2004 for the European region. The European region participants got to win the same prizes as the North American region had in Master Ninja Tournament 1,[36] however only the top European champion could proceed to the championship. The European champion turned out to be Darren Forman aka 'Kayin Amoh'.
Of the three Master Ninja Tournament 1 winners, only one of them would make it to the championship by beating out the other two in this round. Derek Ian Edwin Kisman aka 'SnapDragon', easily trounced the other two, and earned his spot. The highest Master Ninja Tournament 2 score for the North American region also qualified for the finals. There was controvesy as the top North American player nicknamed 'Saryah' was disqualified for failing to declare his age in his gamer profile, and David Barlog aka 'Captain Tuttle' the second highest scorer was passed over for being unable to present his passport on time. The spot finally went to Grant Goodwin aka 'Grantisimo', who squeezed in as the third highest scoring North American just before the deadline as stated in the rules.[37] The top two Japanese scorers, 'maruyo' and 'panzerorta40148' rounded off the finalists to the championship.
Like the first round, the second round of the competition broke the record for online participation of a tournament on Xbox Live.[38]
The Ninja Gaiden Master Tournament World Championship was held at the Tokyo Game Show 2004 on September 25. The five finalists played simultaneously an extracted version of Hurricane Pack 2, on raised walkways while commentators called out the action. The winner was judged by the highest score, and Yasunori Otsuka aka 'panzerorta40148' outscored the rest to take the championship. He was presented a plaque by Tomonobu Itagaki himself.[39][40]
Master Ninja Tournament 3 was a comparatively low key affair started on September 27, 2004.[41] The players had to download Hurricane Pack 2 and submit their scores by October 22, 2004. Only the top scorer would be declared the winner and be awarded with a plethora of prizes including a copy of Ninja Gaiden signed by Tomonobu Itagaki and a copy of Dead or Alive Ultimate. The top scoring 100 players received Ninja Gaiden boxers or wristbands. 50 pairs of Ninja "Dog" boxers were awarded to random participants.
Demo
The demo disc of Ninja Gaiden came with the March 2004 edition of Famitsu Xbox,[42][43] on 12 February 2004. In the demo, the player is restricted to the ninja fortress in the retail version's chapter one. However, Ryu starts off with three fully upgraded melee weapons, two types of shurikens, and a bow. He is also equipped with the Art of Inazuma ninpo, which shoots out bolts of lightning. This gives the player a taste of the later features in the retail version. The demo has no multiple difficulty levels to choose from.
Ninja Gaiden Black
Development
After the releases of the Hurricane Packs, Team Ninja was rumored to be working on Ninja Gaiden 2, and would announce it in May's E3 2005 for release on the upcoming Xbox 360. However Tecmo announced the project to be Ninja Gaiden Black for the Xbox.[44] The game was shortly listed as playable for the Tokyo Game Show 2005,[45] and was released on schedule in September 2005 with loads of content for a comparatively low price.[46] Those who pre-ordered the game received a free exclusive t-shirt as well.[47]
Essentially a special edition of the original Xbox release of Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black integrated all of the new features in the two Hurricane Packs, along with new features of its own, such as the all new Mission Mode, and the new easy difficulty - Ninja Dog.
According to interviews with Tomonobu Itagaki, the Ninja Dog difficulty was added only grudgingly.[48] He felt the standard difficulty implemented in the game was reasonable for any casual player if they persevered through the difficult parts. However, due to the strong outcries to the game's difficulty, he instituted the Ninja Dog mode as a double-edged compromise: it can only be accessed through dying three successive times (similar to the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3) within the first stage, at which point the player is asked, "Do you wish to abandon the way of the ninja?" If the player accepts, the game enters Ninja Dog and continues on under a condescending atmosphere - pink ribbons for accessories, Ayane taking on an attitude to Ryu, etc.
Ninja Gaiden Black is, however, more difficult than the original release, especially on the higher difficulties. Several bosses including Spirit Doku and the Dark Disciple attack faster and more furiously, plus a variety of dangerous new foes have been added to make life even harder. Furthermore, players who have previously played Ninja Gaiden will find the Flying Swallow move, previously a powerful and useful technique, has been noticeably toned down and is a mere shadow of its old self, with a couple of new enemies having moves specifically to punish usage of it against them. On Hard difficulty and above, foes block the Flying Swallow more frequently, forcing players to adapt to a new style of fighting.
Changes from Ninja Gaiden
New costumes for Ryu were available for the player to unlock, as well as the Ninja Gaiden arcade game (which took the place of the three bonus unlockable NES games in Ninja Gaiden).
Hurricane Pack 1's design, along with several new in-game cutscenes were effectively integrated into Story Mode, and playable on all difficulty levels, including the new Ninja Dog and Master Ninja difficulty. Encounters were added on higher levels of difficulty to surprise players on their first play, and almost all foes were given grabbing, guard breaking or crushing attacks. This coupled with the increase in the enemies' aggressiveness made the player more wary on their toes, and less likely to 'turtle' in Ninja Gaiden Black.
New elements are continually introduced as the player clears the higher difficulties with the aid of the Lunar and Smoke Bombs (a new projectile which aids in distracting enemies). As the player attempts the higher difficulties, he will encounter foes from the Hurricane Packs, as well as new ones, like explosive bats, flame ninjas (red-clad ninjas whose attacks inflict additonal flame damage), and Ryu's evil shadows, the Doppelganger Fiends.
Mission Mode introduced 46 missions of pure action to the player. The majority of the missions are new scenarios, while several are modified versions of fights found in Story Mode. The game the finalists played in the World Wide Master Ninja Tournament 2004 finalists was implemented as one of the missions. The longest mission is Eternal Legend, which is Hurricane Pack 2 implemented on Ninja Gaiden Black's engine.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Development
Tecmo announced in the September 2006 issue of Famitsu the next project in the Ninja Gaiden series would be remaking Ninja Gaiden Black into Ninja Gaiden Sigma for the Playstation 3.[49][50] This was officially announced by Sony at the Tokyo Game Show 2006.[51] Yousuke Hayashi was appointed the game director of this port, and Eidos managed to purchase the publishing rights for Europe and North America.
Tomonobu Itagaki while having no direct involvement in the project, had stated Ninja Gaiden Sigma is only for Playstation owners who never got the chance to experience what Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black had to offer, which is why this version will remain exclusively for the PS3.[52]
GameStop announced in April 2007 that it would be releasing limited number of copies of Ninja Gaiden Sigma Collectors Edition for the North American market.[53] They were sold at ten US dollars more than the standard edition, with the only extra exclusive content being a 'behind-the-scenes' DVD of Team Ninja, as the advertised exclusive code was applicable for the standard editions as well. Hopes for a Collectors Edition for Europe were dashed with a followup announcement by Eidos.[54][55]
The Japan-based singer, Leah Dizon was contracted to be the celebrity promoter for the game, starring in and singing the song for its commercial.[56] Her autographed posters were also prizes for the game's Japanese launch.[57] Limited supplies of free t-shirts were given to those who pre-ordered the game for the North American launch.[58]
Changes from Ninja Gaiden Black
Contrary to claims of this being the "more complete" version,[59][60][61] almost all of the bonus features from the two previous versions were excluded from this version. Unlockable costumes were reduced to only two, and the old NES and arcade games which can be unlocked previously were eliminated. The introductory movie chronicling the legend of the Dark Dragon Blade and the Dragon Sword was also no longer in the game.
Graphics were overhauled to high definition standards. Vast changes were made to the layout of a few environments. A great number of new save and shop locations were added, and Rachel's three chapters were simply inserted amongst Ryu's Story Mode chapters. New foes, like the biker MVAPs, the fish-men girtablilu, and the wisp-like phantoms, were introduced with the two new bosses, Gamov and Alternator, with quite a few changes made to the specifications (AI, damage, etc) of the old foes. The player can fight these foes with the new weapon, a pair of katanas, the Dragon's Claw & Tiger's Fang.
Ryu's reverse wind technique was replaced with that of his ninja foes. He can now fight on water, and shoot arrows in mid-air. The most prominent change allowed the player to use restoration items without going through the menus. The controller can also be shaken to increase a casted ninpo's power.
Downloadable content
On August 3, 2007, Tecmo announced Ninja Gaiden Sigma's downloadable content availability from August 30, 2007 onwards.[62] There will be three separate packages, each costing 315 yen to download from the PlayStation Network. Each package will add a set of themed missions (Weapon Master, Speed Master, Rachel Master) to the new Survival Mode option. The Survival Mode is expected to have its own online rankings.
Demo
A demo was released on April 26, 2007, over the PlayStation Network. Like the original Ninja Gaiden's demo, the player is restricted to chapter one's game world. However the demo unlocks the next higher difficulty when the player completes it on a lower difficulty. The player can also play as Rachel in a separate mission.
On starting the very first game on the retail version, the player can be rewarded with a bonus amount of yellow essence based on the player's achievements in the demo. The demo exhibited a scoring glitch which resulted in ridiculously high scores on the leaderboards to the dismay of many Ninja Gaiden veterans.
Regional censorship
| NTSC/J | NTSC/U | PAL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ninja Gaiden | Yes | Yes | No |
| Ninja Gaiden Black | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ninja Gaiden Sigma | No | Yes | No |
Being rated as a 'Mature' video game, Ninja Gaiden can retain its heavy gore content (blood, violence, decapitations, grotesque monsters) without any censorship. However, the ratings systems for certain countries prohibit beheadings from being depicted in them. Several of these decisions were based on public opinion over current events, and as such there are differences in the rulings between versions.
Despite heavy suspicions that the European release of the game would be censored in certain aspects, Microsoft reassured the crowd in March 2004 that the gore would be left intact.[63][64] A month later, however they admitted the European PAL version would exclude decapitation of human foes.[65][66][67] While the submitted material was uncensored, German law forbids the decapitation portrayed in the game, and this was likely why the PAL versions were censored.[68] This is given credence when Ninja Gaiden Black has no official release for Germany, and its PAL version features human decapitations.
Since 2006, Japan has become more stringent with CERO, its violence rating system. Therefore, Ninja Gaiden Sigma cannot feature human decapitation unless Tecmo is willing to accept a 'Z' rating for the game. As it is sold in Japan under the 'D' rating, there are no decapitations in the NTSC/J version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma.
Reception
| Publication | Ninja Gaiden | Ninja Gaiden Black |
Ninja Gaiden Sigma |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gamespot | 9.4[69] | 9.4[70] | 9.0[71] |
| IGN | 9.4[72] | 9.4[73] | 9.3[74] / 8.8[75] |
| GamePro* | 5[76] | 5[77] | 4.75[78] |
| EGM | 9.1[79] | 9.5[80] | 8.7[81] |
| Eurogamer | 9[82] | 7[83] | |
| Pro-G | 9[84] | 8[85] | |
| Compilations of multiple reviews | |||
| Metacritic | 91[86] | 94[87] | 88[88] |
| Game Rankings | 92.0%[89] | 94.0%[90] | 87.0%[91] |
| * - score out of 5 | |||
Ninja Gaiden received near universal critical acclaim. GameSpot acclaimed it as "one of the best most challenging action adventure games ever made." IGN said it "sets a new standard for third-person action games in terms of length, depth, speed, and gore."
Ninja Gaiden Black despite being an enhancement of Ninja Gaiden still managed to awe its reviewers. GameSpot hailed it having the best visual and audio presentation on the Xbox and its new features, "mission mode distills the game down to its purest essentials". IGN called its release "a rare and welcome day" for a re-release which can "bring your excitement levels back to the first time you played the game."
From a technical viewpoint, Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black were regarded by the reviewers as epitomes of Xbox programming, fully using and pushing to the limits the resources of the console while still performing fluidly. GameSpot was floored by their "Absolutely first-rate presentation--visuals and audio still second-to-none" while IGN claimed their standards were such "that can make you momentarily forget about the next generation of consoles". When the Xbox 360 was released, Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black were listed among the Xbox's top games and set for backward compatibility in all three regions right at the very start.[92][93][94]
When Ninja Gaiden Sigma was released, the reviewing community was divided in its opinion over the technical aspects. While EGM gushed over the updated graphics, calling it "a gorgeous reworking of the modern ninja classic", Pro-G was harsh on it, saying they are average by next-gen standards with occasional "tearing, jagged edges and miss matched collision between bloodstains and walls." Frequent loadings unseen in the Xbox versions (which refuse to go away despite installing the game on the local hard drive), as well as previous recognized flaws remaining unfixed were on the lists of complaints, characterized by EGM bemoaning "weird glitches (sync problems that make the screen "tear" when the camera moves, odd bouts of loading where the screen briefly fades to gray, even in combat)" made the game "feel like a bit of a slapdash port."
Ninja Gaiden Sigma's lack of new attractive features raised the question on the value of a remake of a remake of a game. Pro-G stated none of Sigma's features made it worthwhile as a full priced game which "has, in effect, been available for years in one form or another" while Eurogamer said Sigma lacked the "wow factor", compared to the advancements found in God of War 1 and 2. EGM mocked the controller-shaking to power up a ninpo as a "foolishly tacked-on Sixaxis functionality" and "silly". Rachel's implementation as a playable character was dampened with IGN wishing they could "get back to Ryu's sections simply because he's more fun to play", though DailyGame said her slowness brings "much-needed respite for newcomers and provide something new for experienced players."[95]
The games have become quite well known throughout the gaming community for its difficulty[96] which is both a blessing and a curse. While Ninja Gaiden appeals to gamers who like Pro-G desire a "bloody hard, but also bloody good" challenge, casual gamers seem to find the learning curve daunting. IGN enthused about Ninja Gaiden Black's difficulty but cautioned those with lesser ability will unlikely be able to "get as much out of this game as others due to the incredible difficulty of most of the new content."
One common criticism of Ninja Gaiden and its offshoots, is with the camera placement. While the default camera controls are adequate for most fights in centering the action on Ryu and his surroundings, there are certain fights where the camera is locked on a certain object (usually a boss), or loses track of Ryu. Although reviewers acknowledged the rotational control of the camera implemented since the Hurricane Packs is an improvement, it is of no help when the camera angle is locked.
Legacy
Ninja Gaiden spawned two re-releases, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. It and Ninja Gaiden Black has accounted for 1.5 million copies sold to consumers, while Tecmo has shipped 500,000 copies of Ninja Gaiden Sigma to the retailers as of August, 2007.[97]
The game's story is to be continued in Ninja Gaiden DS: Dragon Sword, and further on in Ninja Gaiden 2, both of which are to be developed under Tomonobu Itagaki.
Merchandises
Tecmo produces several merchandises for its own products, and Ninja Gaiden is no exception. Its online shop carries mostly apparel in the form of caps, wristbands, t-shirts, etc. The original soundtrack of the game has also been released to the music industry.
Kotobukiya was contracted to produce PVC figures for the collectible industry. The statues are in the 1/6th scale, ranging from 10.6 to 12.4 inches tall. As of now, only statues of Ryu, Ayane, Kureha, and Rachel have been produced.[98]
References
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{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ IGN staff (2001-06-29). "Ninja Gaiden on PS2?". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Nutt, Christian (2003-08-23). "Tomonobu Itagaki on Ninja Gaiden". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Boulding, Aaron (2003-06-25). "Ninja Gaiden: The Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Berardini, César (2003-12-05). "Ninja Gaiden: Tomonobu Itagaki Interview". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kaiser Hwang (2003-12-03). "Ninja Gaiden: The Weapons". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Bramwell, Tom (2003-12-08). "Tecmo confirms Ninja Gaiden slippage". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Smith, David (December, 2003). "Ninja Gaiden Delayed Into 2004". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Smith, David (February, 2004). "Final Ninja Gaiden Release Date". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ninja Gaiden Commercial (flv, mov) (Television commercial). Tecmo Ltd. 2004. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Braxton, Arnold (2004-03-04). "Tecmo unveils the official Ninja Gaiden Website". PopCultureShock. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ z36 (2003-12-19). "Ninja Gaiden New Line of Merchandise". DreamStation.cc. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Ninja Gaiden expansion pack now available for download". SPOnG. 2004-08-11. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Rachel: It's hard to believe they were ever humans, isn't it? Ryu: Human? Rachel: Anyone with susceptibility to the curse, whether they are a saint or a sinner, can succumb to it and become a Fiend. Team Ninja (2004-03-02). Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). Tecmo.
- ^ Ryu: So, the Greater Fiends have a soul, don't they? Rachel: [...] There are only three of them, Doku, my sister and another who guards the Emperor. Team Ninja (2004-03-02). Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). Tecmo.
- ^ Ryu: I'm looking for a Greater Fiend named Doku. Do you know him? Rachel: Why are you looking for him? Ryu: I'm going to kill him. Team Ninja (2004-03-02). Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). Tecmo.
- ^ Spirit Doku: Receive the curse, become a Fiend. Team Ninja (2004-03-02). Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). Tecmo.
- ^ Dark Disciple: Gamov, so the Dark Dragon grows in power with each killing. Team Ninja (2004-03-02). Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). Tecmo.
- ^ Gamov: Don't you see? The Dark Dragon is now truly an evil blade. His Excellency the Dark Disciple has been waiting for this very moment! Team Ninja (2004-03-02). Ninja Gaiden (Xbox). Tecmo.
- ^ a b Sean Nagasawa (2004-08-02). "Ninja Gaiden Review". GamingWorld X. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) "Not too many videogames can say their fighting system is perfect. Ninja Gaiden has earned the right to say this, because Ninja Gaiden literally has no problems with its gameplay. You will find out right away how easy it is to use the combat system featured in Ninja Gaiden, but also how hard it is to master. [...] The loading times are quite short and infrequent." - ^ Ron Burke (n.d.). "Ninja Gaiden". Gaming Trend. Retrieved 2007-08-23. "One big factor for a title as beautiful as this one would be loading times, but Team Ninja has you covered. The loading time for a new level is very brief and it loads the entire area...or so it seems. That is where Team Ninja pulls off a little Ninjitsu magic of their own. As you enter a room there is a short transition where Ryu walks through the doorway, I suspect that there is a little burst loading done at that point. It is fairly seamless and it ensures that you are only loading an area once."
- ^ A. Zachary (2004-08-16). "Ninja Gaiden". Mygamer.com. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) "At its core is one of the best combat systems ever devised, wherein moves (and combinations thereof) are executed just as they would be in a fighting game like Soul Calibur but are more often directed against waves and waves of enemies, rather than just one opponent at a time." - ^ Alex Kidman (2004-08-02). "Ninja Gaiden". CNET Australia. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) "This gripping feeling is accentuated by the game's controls, which are both fluid and responsive, whether in the pure platform-like sections (think Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, especially when Ryu's running along walls or flipping himself out of pits) or the core of the game's challenge, the combat sections." - ^ Ludwig Kietzmann (2006-03-23). "Ninja Gaiden Black". Digital Entertainment News. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) "No, the best way to make up your mind regarding Team Ninja's epic action opus (and its Black expansion pack) is to examine your feelings on it as you're busy leaping over enemies, running on walls and lopping snarling heads off. It's very likely that, during those moments, you'll come to the conclusion that the game is perfect, or at least as close to perfect as any game has managed in this generation. [...] More importantly, the controls are absolutely spot-on, responding immediately to your commands to the point where it feels as if there's really no hunk of plastic tethered to a cable between you and the on-screen action." - ^ Hilary Goldstein (2004-07-28). "Ninja Gaiden: Intercept". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Smith, David (March, 2004). "Tecmo Announces Master Ninja Tournament". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Fudge, James (2004-04-15). "Master Ninja Tournament Soon (Xbox)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2004-07-27). "Supreme Master Ninja Overlord's free trip to Tokyo!". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ GamePro staff (2004-06-24). "Tecmo Adds New Downloadable Content for Ninja Gaiden". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ z36 (2004-05-30). "Ninja Gaiden - Master Ninja Tournament for Xbox Live". DreamStation.cc. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Xbox-HQ staff (2004-08-01). "Master Ninja Tourney : 1st Round Controversy". Xbox-HQ.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Goldstein, Hilary (2004-05-26). "Master Ninja Tournament Heats Up". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Coleman, Stephen (2004-08-03). "Master Ninja Tournament Registration Extended". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Berardini, César (2004-07-26). "Master Ninja Tournament for Europe Announced". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Berardini, César (2004-09-15). "Master Ninja Tournament Finals Details". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Master Ninja Tournament Breaks Records Again with Highest Registration Numbers" (Press release). GameSpot. 2004-09-03. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Carle, Chris (2004-09-25). "TGS 2004: Ninja Gaiden Master Tournament World Championship". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ GMR Magazine staff (December, 2004). "Tokyo Game Show 2004: Master Ninja Tourny Concludes". GMR Magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Tecmo Announces Third and Final Master Ninja Tournament, Hurricane Pack: Volume II" (Press release). GameSpot. 2004-09-24. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Anoop Gantayat (2004-02-13). "Ninja Gaiden Demo Busted". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ IGN staff (2004-01-20). "Ninja Gaiden Demo Disc". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Gibson, Ellie (2005-05-23). "Ninja Gaiden: BLACK info". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2005-09-14). "Tokyo Game Show - Complete Essential Game List". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ninja Gaiden Black Ships to Retailers" (Press release). Tecmo. 2005-09-21. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Tecmo Announces Free Retro T-Shirt As Ninja Gaiden Black Pre-Order Incentive" (Press release). Tecmo. 2005-09-01. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
{{cite press release}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Mielke, James (2005-05-13). "Ninja Gaiden Black from 1UP.com". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Robinson, Andy (2006-09-20). "Ninja Gaiden pulls a flying kick on PS3". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2006-09-20). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Heads to PS3". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2006-09-22). "TGS: Sony Announces Five New PS3 Titles". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2007-06-01). "No Sigma For 360". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Mcwhertor, Michael (2007-04-23). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Gets Collectors Edition". Kotaku. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Plunkett, Luke (2007-04-25). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma CE European Details...Announced". Kotaku. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Purchese, Rob (2007-04-24). "Sigma Special Edition iffy for Europe". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ninja Gaiden Sigma Japan TV Commercial (flv) (Television commercial). Tecmo Ltd. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Ashcroft, Brian (2007-06-12). "Win Signed Ninja Gaiden Sigma Poster". Kotaku. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ William Haley (2007-06-12). "Free Stuff for the Week of 5/26/07". Destructoid. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Wyman, Walt (2007-09-22). "TGS 06: PS3 Ninja Gaiden Detailed". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^
de Vries, Nino (2007-09-22). "Ninja Gaiden PS3 Bound". Playstatic. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Burman, Rob (2007-04-20). "Eidos Unleashing Ninjas in Europe". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2007-08-03). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Downloadable Content Announced". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Bramwell, Tom (2004-03-12). "Ninja Gaiden has NOT been censored for Europe". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2004-03-08). "Ninja Gaiden censored in Europe". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Bramwell, Tom (2004-04-21). "Ninja Gaiden stripped of decapitations". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Fahey, Rob (2004-04-21). "Confirmed: Ninja Gaiden censored for European release". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2004-04-22). "Tecmo Gaiden head-loss confirmed". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ SPOnG staff (2004-03-12). "Ninja Gaiden Content Cuts - The Truth Revealed". SPOnG. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Greg Kasavin (2004-02-26). "Ninja Gaiden for Xbox Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Greg Kasavin (2005-09-20). "Ninja Gaiden Black for Xbox Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kevin VanOrd (2007-07-02). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma for PlayStation 3 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Hilary Goldstein (2004-02-27). "Ninja Gaiden Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Erik Brudvig (2005-09-19). "Ninja Gaiden Black Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Chris Roper (2007-06-29). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Patrick Kolan (2007-07-04). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma AU Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ TokyoDrifter (2004-03-01). "Review: Ninja Gaiden". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ JohnnyK (2005-09-21). "Review: Ninja Gaiden: BLACK". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ The Watcher (2007-07-03). "Review: Ninja Gaiden Sigma". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ EGM staff (2004-05-09). "Reviews: Ninja Gaiden". EGM. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ EGM staff (2005-09-16). "Reviews: Ninja Gaiden Black". EGM. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ EGM staff (2007-07-03). "Reviews: Ninja Gaiden Sigma". EGM. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Tom Bramwell (2004-03-16). "Ninja Gaiden". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kristan Reed (2007-07-06). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Struan Robertson (2004-11-11). "Ninja Gaiden Review". Pro-G. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Will Freeman (2007-07-10). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Review". Pro-G. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ninja Gaiden". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Ninja Gaiden Black". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Ninja Gaiden Sigma". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Ninja Gaiden - XBOX". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Ninja Gaiden Black - XBOX". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Ninja Gaiden Sigma - PS3". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ Thorsen, Tor (2005-11-11). "360 to play 200-plus Xbox games". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Niizumi, Hirohiko (2005-11-16). "Xbox 360 backward compatibility lacking in Japan". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Sinclair, Brendan (2005-11-17). "European 360 backward compatibility detailed". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Martin Ray (2007-08-15). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Review". DailyGame. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ See Penny Arcade for a concise summary of fan reaction: "A Brief Index of Difficulty"; see also Tycho's newpost comment: "Shit damn Ninja Gaiden is hard, it's so hard that your friends will die. It's also completely great - once you've gone a few levels, just start a new game real quick and take a look at the guys you thought were bad-asses before. Those guys are feather pillows compared to the beasts and murderers you rub up against later." Tycho later [1] commented: "When you first start playing Ninja Gaiden you might be overwhelmed with its difficulty - that was certainly true in my case. In fact, it was difficult to the degree that it was utterly demoralizing and it ended up on the shelf underneath something else so I wouldn't constantly be reminded of my deficiencies."
- ^ Ihtsham, Usman (2007-08-17). "Ninja Gaiden Sigma Sold 500k copies". PlayStation Universe. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Kotobukiya USA staff (n.d.). "Ninja Gaiden ARTFX Statues". Kotobukiya USA. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
External links
- Official site for Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox
- Official site for Ninja Gaiden Black on the Xbox
- Official site for Ninja Gaiden Sigma on the PS3
- SnapDragon's Videogame Achievements - Giving a personal account of his Master Ninja Tournament experiences
- Thread on Tecmo's official forum which discussed the Master Ninja Tournament and its controvesies
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