Ninja Gaiden

Written by Nick Doukas  on March 19, 2004

Second Opinion: Dammit Cartman, stop making up powers!!

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The really amazing thing about the combat in Ninja Gaiden is Ryu's unbelievable mobility. Seriously -- you can block, counter attack, and bang out an intense combo almost instantaneously. You also have the ability to roll or jump away from enemies, so even if you're surrounded (something that happens quite often in this game) you can always leave your foes scratching their heads as you bound off of a wall and end up behind them. As I mentioned earlier, you'll be able to find more powerful weapons, and unlock new techniques (usually from downed enemies, and in the form of scrolls) which is essential in keeping Ryu one step ahead of the bad guys.

Which brings us to the difficulty. Make no mistake -- NG is one of the harder games to come down the pike in quite some time. What's important to understand here is that while the game is intensely challenging, it's never cheap or unfair. You simply can't button mash your way through this title. It is essential that you use every technique in your arsenal, and learn to block and counter attack properly. Team Ninja has equipped Ryu with everything he needs to succeed, and rest assured, if he doesn't have it at the beginning of the game, he will later on -- just when he needs it. While the game does focus mostly on fast paced combat, it's certainly much deeper than that. The ability to collect essence, the unlockable skills, the strategic placement of newer, more powerful weapons, and the added appeal of upgrading your current armaments are more akin to an adventure/rpg than a pure action game. The game also features some very cool platforming elements and interesting puzzles to keep things fresh, and these serve to break up some of the combat you'll generally be facing.

The camera in NG works well, though it's certainly not flawless. Again, the importance of utilizing the right trigger to center the camera is imperative, and by lightly tapping it, it's very easy to keep the view aligned properly. Even in the thick of combat, it does a pretty good job of keeping the action focused. Though even during the times that enemies are offscreen, you'll always have the option to use combos that hone in on the nearest threat. The camera couldn't have been implemented in any other way Ц the combat is too fast and furious for a slow moving, standard 3rd person camera. Most complaints you'll hear are from lazy gamers who don't want to be bothered manipulating the view Ц but that's a whole other article.

Ninja Gaiden has plenty of secret areas and some branching paths, so it's important to remember to explore each area thoroughly, and always look for the less than obvious, out of the way places on the maps. It's likely that something special is hiding up there, even if it's seemingly unreachable at first. Remember, Ryu is highly flexible and insanely acrobatic, so try everything you can to reach those hidden areas. NG also features Xbox Live content. While it's not playable online, there are tournaments planned for the near future, and you'll be able to check your score against other people from around the world.

Ninja Gaiden's narrative is pretty neat, and the characters and plot twists do a plausible job of presenting reasons for all the blood-letting action at hand. The voice acting is pretty solid as well, though it's nothing that will totally blow you away. The gorgeously presented cutscenes however, will do exactly that, and the full CGI sequences are just about the best yet seen in gaming today. Simply beautiful.



Ninja Gaiden is an amazing action game. It does everything just about perfectly, and then some. The difficulty is pretty staggering at first, but as you unlock new combos and learn the nuances of combat, you'll find yourself transformed into an incredibly effective killing machine. The boss battles are seriously tough, and you'll no doubt have to spend some time learning how to take each one of them down, but the sense of accomplishment you'll feel after a particularly tough fight is out of this world.