Ninja Gaiden
By TheWugg
Well, they both agree they're mammals...
Ninjas are predominately known to be of two schools.
The first, more widely known, ideology that they are a people highly trained in the ways of stealth and espionage. In fact, the origin of the word ninjutsu can be broken down simply into nin, meaning "stealth", and jutsu, meaning "art", or "science".
The second, less widely accepted (yet growing in popularity) ideology is that they some form of psychopathic engine of pure destructive force. The popular website Real Ultimate Power states that one of the ironclad facts about ninjas is that "The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people". Allow me to simply say that what this theory lacks in credibility, it makes up for in lack of credibility!
Enter the dragon sword...
Ryu Hyabusa, the star of Tecmos hit game Ninja Gaiden, belongs firmly in the latter school. The "super" ninja star (honestly, no pun intended) of the game is far more likely to slice his way through an entire tank battalion than sneak around a lowly guard, and the game is all the better for it.
Allow me to reitterate for the people who are still caught up on the fact that the game has the word "ninja" in the title; this is not a stealth game. Heck, this isn't even a stealth-action game, this is pure, unadulterated, nunchaku-to-the-wall action.
Okay, so you've heard the game is hard...
The buzz surrounding Ninja Gaiden ever since its release has been that the game is hard, and that's not far off the mark. In many ways, this game marks the coming of a new age to us cynics busy watching the industry; the game makes a gutsy, against-the-grain statement that you can create a game that sells well without pandering to the lowest common denominator with regards to skill level.
Of course, playing Ninja Gaiden for the first time, a lot of people may be disheartened and be tempted to leave this title alone. However, I can say with total honesty that the first two to three levels offer something akin to a trial by fire, rather than the friendly-yet-exceedingly-dull tutorial levels prolific in the current generation of games. For that point on the game reaches a relative plateu on its learning curve, but never quite levels out completely, thus offering a consistant stream of challenges for the player to grapple with.
So if you're modest about you gaming skill, or worried about your controller remaining functional brought about by a fit of "non-standard use", perservere - this is one title that's worth the frustration of dying a couple of times and the odd temper-tantrum.
But third person cameras make me ill...
Frustration at anything other than the gamers own ineptitude will probably be directed at the third person camera that Ninja Gaiden sports. The truth of the matter that this is the only perceptible nick in an otherwise shining surface, and it's really not the fault of the game rather than the entire genre, since the good people at Team Ninja did their best and provided a highly functional and practical camera. For some people that's not a good enough excuse, so if you're one of the people that shun games because they're in third person, then you're going to miss out on a corker of an action game, you poor, poor, misguided soul.
The story of a thousand cuts...
The presentation is a typical Tecmo/Team Ninja affair, with an overall excessively high standards as far as gameplay and graphics and sound, yet with a somewhat flimsy and weird story.
It's something to do with enemy ninja clans... demons... monsters... and guys with guns... and you've gotta fight them all basically with a wide array of sharp edges... you'd think they'd even up the odds in their favour with something like a tactical nuclear strike - after all, Ryu is a super ninja. There's also a token curvaceous blonde (another staple of the Tecmo/Team Ninja pairing), and a couple of random, two dimensional, bad-guy personalities whose sole reason for being is so that you can beat the fear of a god into them and their minions.
Ayane, whom fans will recognise (along with Ryu) from Dead Or Alive fame makes something of a cameo appearance, but fails to offer much in the way of plot development.
It might sound like I'm really ripping into the game here, so I have to hasten to add that I didn't mind any of this, and it didn't sour the experience at all really; what it amounts to is poorly painted background scenery behind a meticulously choreographed gripping action scene.
Sloth-like reflexes need not apply...
The action in Ninja Gaiden comes out fast, furious, and pulls no punches. The influences from the Dead Or Alive games, beyond using a couple of its characters, are quite evident. People proficient at inputting DOA3s string combos will feel right at home, but instead of wailing on his opponents with his bare fists ala DOA, Ryu will take to them with his dragon sword, or a myriad of other weapons that are to be found throughout the game, each with their own style, attributes, pros and cons. Mastery of at least a handfull of powerfull combos is recommended, since the average encounter for a super ninja seems to be upwards of five enemies at any one time. To counter the numbers disadvantage, Ryu has a number of tricks up his sleeve, like the ability to run up and along walls, to jump off an enemies head, counter attacks, magical "ninpo" attacks, and to charge up the essence of fallen foes for an ultimate attack - a feat that looks so impressive that Ryu might as well be carving the word AWESOME into solid rock.
Ryus enemies are no fools of course, human opponents will square off and exploit their numbers advantage, grapple him if he's blocking all the time, whilst the more animalistic enemies will rush in and attempt to overwhelm by numbers, and all opponents will seize the opportunity to get in a cheap shot at Ryu while he's busy with someone else.
The final cut...
There's not an awful lot not to like about Ninja Gaiden in the end. In fact, if you've been holding out getting this title because of some sort of prejudice towards something this game involves, be it difficulty or aversion to third-person cameras, you're selling yourself and your gaming life short. Ninja Gaiden is like a rare delicacy that some will consider an acquired taste - my belief is that you ultimately don't have to like it, but you simply must at least try it.
The good is this: It looks great, it sounds great, it's challenging, it plays great, it contains the three Ninja Gaiden games released on the NES, and it oozes a general greatness.
The bad is this: If you're some kind of pansy, this game might not be your cup of tea.
