Ninja Gaiden

Developer: Temco/Team Ninja Release Date: 3/04

List Price: $49.95

Pros: Ground breaking graphics, engrossing game play, excellent replay value. Great player AI. Fun to play despite difficulty. Xbox Live support for online play.

Cons: Extremely difficult even on "Normal" setting. In-game camera problems. Decapitation, blood, and occult/pagan themes.

ESRB Rated: M (Mature) Consoles: Xbox

Mixed feelings but a great action game.

Review by George Bailey

2004 promises to be a great year for video games and the first of the great games is here. Nina Gaiden is probably the ultimate in Ninja action-adventure games in terms of shear game play value and graphical excellence. Although as good as it is it may not be for everybody; certainly not the causal gamer as even on its easiest setting the challenge is over the top in difficulty. Ryu Hayabusa has arrived for the Xbox and can take his place right along with the Master Chief in the pantheon of gaming heroes.

The story is a basically one we have heard before. Somebody's sword gets stolen so it must be returned. Ryu must fight his way from different areas, giving one the sense of not only passing through different cultures but different eras of time, from low-tech to high-tech. The musical score is probably the weakest point and is largely boring and forgettable, while the sound effects are spot on. The voice acting is serviceable, but not outstanding in any way. Xbox live support is available but only if you want to play the Master Ninja competition after the game has been completed. Two earlier versions of Ninja Gaiden are available for unlocking after completing the game.

The Play and The Mechanics
As you might have heard, it's a tough game. Some have said it's tough, but fair--I used to agree with this statement until I ran into the later boss battles. With some hard games you get a sense of futility, and I get that in the some of the boss battles, some of which are quite easy and some that will leave your hands sore for days afterwards. Just take on Alma and you'll know what I'm talking about. It took me hours to be beat her but I don't think it was skill as so much luck. You can also buy upgrades to skills and weapons to give yourself a fighting chance. You'll end up with over 2 dozen combos to pull off. It is not a game that's a simple button masher; this is a game you have to master and it takes time and skill to do so.

The game play is a bit everything to get through the 16 levels. In each level expect some sword fighting, some puzzle solving, and some backtracking to get something like a key and then the final boss fight at the end. The difficulty of the game arrives around the boss fights. The bosses are you typical, watch for a pattern and then exploit it, as the bosses in Nina Gaiden don't behave that way. Their movements and attacks are a bit random. Having said that, there is a main pattern of boss attack--you dodge-boss pause-you counter attack. Do this over and over to victory but be forewarned, it might take a while to win. Still it can be done if you are patient.

Another element of the game is upgrades. Not only to your Ryu's health, but weapon upgrades, combo upgrades and so on. You'll need to upgrade the health potions to survive the many boss and ninja battles. You can also get the "essence" of a ninja defeated in combat, which will also upgrade serve as a health upgrade.

The controls are excellent and it plays a bit like Prince of Persia (see my review here) but much smoother and refined. As in Prince of Persia, Nina Gaiden has lots of jumping, wall running, and pipes/ledges climbing. But unlike that game, it's much more realistic and you get a sense of the Ryu's weight. It's also easier to make the jumps and much more fluid. The X and Y buttons are your main buttons to use for attacks and there are dozens of different combos to learn and earn along the way.

Yes, there are camera problems. It gets kind of crazy. It's a major problem that can be seen in boss battles where the camera issue becomes a major liability. A quick hit of the "R" button and things get righted, although this is something I don't find myself doing much in the heat of battle. This is a part of the game that could have been done better, although I don't feel it's a major hindrance to enjoying the game. You can still get through it despite this flaw. This is what happens when you don't do the classic control set-up from Halo--one thumbstick to see, one thumbstick to move. It's not perfect but it could be much worse. Super Mario Sunshine comes to mind as a good example of a bad camera. It swung around so much that it almost made you feel dizzy. And then there's the worst camera of all time, the one in Dino Crisis 3 where your field of view was from the front only. So we must count of blessings with camera in this game for as bad as it is, it could be much, much worse.

One issue that hasn't been addressed with the game is the use of occult oriented (demon oriented) potions. Ugh! What's the good guy doing using that stuff? I found it to unnecessary to use these potions to get through the game. The player can place more emphasis on building character skills and weapons to finish the game if they find themselves offended at the use of such things.

The Graphics
To say that Nina Gaiden has good graphics is a major understatement. This is the Xbox game that sets a whole new standard in graphical quality not only on the Xbox, but also for any console. The excellence starts out in the first level and never lets up. The amount of detail, even in the most minor places where no real action takes place is striking. This must be the first 3D game, with a third person view, that actually shows the character walking up a flight of stairs-not floating above them. Sure there is some graphics clipping here and there, but it's very minor. The frame rate is the important thing and it never lets up and is as smooth as butter throughout.

And it's not the fact that everything looks great, the textures are varied and superbly mapped, the animations are life-like, and the lighting is real-it has a sense of atmosphere and place that the artists and animators of Team Ninja created to breath life into the game. A granite texture on a rock or grave headstone not only looks like the real thing; it has a sense of hardness and heaviness associated with the object. All of the other textures look great be they wood grains, bricks, grass, or stone. The foliage looks outstanding too, complete with leaves that fall out of the trees.

Not only are the interior and exterior environments great but the characters you do battle with all marvelously rendered as well. The main character Ryu himself is a masterfully detailed model from his natural gait when walk/running/fighting to his detailed costume and weapons. It's all very cool and real. I was quite impressed the first time I saw him go into his blocking stance. He crouches, holds the blade handle with his left hand while the palm of his right hand is placed on the butt of the handle. I don't know anything about Ninja sword handling but it sure looked authentic to me!

The enemy characters are just as detailed and genuine in their animations and combat tactics whether they ninjas, samurai, spirits, soldiers or boss characters. The uniforms and accruements are very realistic and the joints are well articulated. They are very smart as well and will dodge behind things for protection or use blocks to protect themselves. Also, there are horses in the game. They are very well rendered and animated although Ryu never gets to ride any. It's rare to see horses as I would assume animating four legs and making it look good are difficult.

Odds and Ends
I am aggravated with the developers. This could have been one of the greatest Xbox action games ever, but they ruined it with a sloppy camera and difficulty level that borders on the ridiculous. Yes, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. This is largely due to the difficulty, the gore that can't be turned off, the camera problems, the poor musical score and the occult references. It has a lot of great things in it for gamers but it has its flaws that are glaring. The game play and graphics are the high points of the game. I highly recommend gamefaqs.com to get through the difficult areas--if you can. It's the only game that I've ever played that repeatedly kicked me in the butt that I've ever liked...well, most of the time...

3/5

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