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A Tour de Force... but not for everybody...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you are at all interested in Ninja Gaiden, you've already read about how fantastic the graphics are, how beautiful the sound is, how smooth and responsive the gameplay is, how deep the combat is, and how tight and slick all the production values are. All these things are true. There is one other very important item you need to know about Ninja Gaiden...

It is hard. Not just hard for the great unwashed masses of random gamers my friend, but hard for you too. Once you get more than about twenty minutes into it, there simply are not any easy enemies or battles and a lapse of concentration in any fight can be fatal. Are you easily frustrated? If so, this is not your game. Are you the sort who never knows when to stop pressing "Continue" after yet another bloody death? Then Ninja Gaiden was made for you, because while this game is much harder than your typical, modern day videogame, it is hard in a completely fair way. The enemies you fight are vicious and deadly, but the fact is that Ryu Hyabusa is just that much more deadly. Once you begin to learn the timing and the moves and how to execute them, it is simply awe inspiring to see just how cool a Ninja can be.

It has to be stressed that the combat system is incredibly deep and well polished. To beat the game you will be forced to learn the smallest details and how to exploit them. You simply cannot progress by mashing buttons. This game is really more of a 3-D fighting game than an Action-Adventure game, although there are puzzles and item collection, and a surprisingly significant amount of Prince of Persia style platforming to keep it in the genre it has been advertised as belonging to. Think Dead or Alive 3, but now imagine you have weapons and the combat engine is actually better and that you will need to run along some walls to get from one enemy to the next.

Speaking of DOA3, this game actually adds a lot of flavor to the Tecmo universe for fans of their various series. Ayane, a popular DOA character, makes an appearance in this game as a much younger lass than we meet her in the DOA games (maybe too young even, considering the sort of attractive presentation she's given). The main character is, of course, Ryu Hyabusa, who I had previously sort of ignored in the DOA series...well, no more. Overall, the game sparks enough thematic interest in the Tecmo Ninja universe by serving as a sort of a Pre-quel to the DOA games that I actually dusted off DOA3 recently. I found the game much more enjoyable being able to imagine some of the previous adventures of some of the characters.

If Ninja Gaiden has one feature that isn't stellar it is, you guessed it, the camera. The camera is the standard make-or-break feature in a 3rd person action game and while they made some mystifying choices when putting the camera system together, the fact is that the camera is good enough. It is not perfect, but it gets the job done well enough to not get in your way.

So what's the bottom line? If you are tired of the jello-spined games of the modern era and yearn for the days of yesteryear when videogames were meant to break controllers, this is about as much of a "must own" as Halo. Anyone who loves challenging games will love this one. It is a long game, with a great deal of replay value. The main title itself will easily eat thirty to forty hours if you want to find everything and try to perfect your scores. As a bonus, the game contains three earlier Ninja Gaiden games hidden away. All told, there is easily enough game here to justify a purchase. However, if you aren't so sure you want to deal with such stiff competition, then it is probably better to rent first, but do at least rent it.

Wow! Hard as Nails but Very Fun!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Okay, the news is out: Ninja Gaiden is HARD! Expect to be *very* challenged when attempting to play this game. You will need to learn all of the extra combo moves and special combat techniques, become proficient with all of the weapon types and magic, and be very capable of using your environment to your advantage. The enemy typpes and encironments are diverse and present a variety of changing, shifting challenges, requiring you to be at th top of your game at all times in order to avoid being killed. So the game requires quite a bit of attention, focus and, well, dedication in order to advance.

Why bother with that? Well the game is extremely fun. The artwork and graphics are great, the action is stimulating, the puzzles, acrobatics and secrets of the game reward the diligent gamer. Clearly one of the top titles for the X-Box, if you like action-adventure games of the Japanese style -- or if you are looking for a challenging adventure game --, Ninja Gaiden fits the bill extremely well. Don't expect to beat the game over a weekend, though ... the programmers have pretty much made sure you can't do that!

Marvelous graphics, addictive gameplay... stunning game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I rented this game for a weekend, and in the first couple of hours I played I was convinced: "I HAVE to buy this game". First of all, the graphics are the best I have ever seen on a console game, both in-game graphics and the animated scenes (oh, Rachel...). Second of all, it really makes you feel as a ninja. I think it pretty much has all the moves a ninja can do... and combined with a nice plot, it makes you get in the game... although you'll get out of it many times... you get killed frequently and it takes a lot of game time to really master all of the ninja moves. What they say is true, this game is a tough one, but really worth the unmoveable 50 U$ tag.

Besides the difficulty, the only con I could find is that is has very few save slots (10 in total, and in my case since 4 persons play in the house, it is just not enough).

But then again, is one of the greatest games I have played.

Frustrating at times....worth the effort

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

stunning visuals....chellenging game play....but it gets easier as the game goes on....i love it.

Can you take it?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Let's just get this out of the way - this game is hard. Not "the controls make no sense" hard. Challenging hard. NES hard. Frustratingly hard. But, if you have the skill or the patience (or both) for Ninja Gaiden, you will be rewarded by one of the best games to come out for this generation of consoles.

Ninja Gaiden combines stunning graphics with smooth fighting-game controls and third-person run-and-slash, with a healthy dose of rediculous, over the top story and setting to form the pinnacle of action games. And it's not short like many 3D action games are these days. No, it's perhaps too long, but the game is still quite worth it, and doesn't get boring as you have a good assortment of enemies and environments, and your upgradeable collection of weapons gives you something new every once in a while.

The last thing that must be mentioned is the downloadable content. Users of XBox Live can download a harder difficulty mode with an upgraded game engine, and a "boss rush" style game mode that's nearly impossible. The new additions are great, but I can't imagine myself making much progress in them.

To conclude, if you like 3D action games, and you don't mind them being insanely difficult, get Ninja Gaiden. If you don't like 3D action games because you've never seen them done right, try Ninja Gaiden. It's the example others should follow.

Marred by flaws, but still...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

In a nutshell, Ninja Gaiden is one the most intense and addicting hack-and-slash games ever made. Slaughter groups of enemies in seconds, perform physicallt impossible (but extremely cool) acts of acrobatics, and buy a vast cornucopiea of weapons to kill with.
First, there's the postitives. And trust me, there are plenty. The games combat system is inredibly refined and fun. Everything- the walls, your throwing stars, even the enemies themselves- can be incorporated into your killer combos. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be severing necks and running up walls like no other. The pure unadulterated fun that is fighting in NG will have you booting up the game multiple times just so you can slice some serious heads off.
Then there are the negatives. The only problems with this games are the difficulty and the camera, and often the two are related on some level. Sometimes you will have just ended a devastating series of sword slahes only to find Ryu and the camera facing the wrong direction. This will result in more than a few pointless deaths, as you simply cannot fight back if you aren't facing the right direction. The difficulty of the game, on the other hand, often "acts on its own" if you know what I mean. The game starts off easy enough, but by the second level this game is hard bordering on the insane. In the second level you- on foot- must battle a stream of samurai with spears mounted on horses. It takes these guys about three hits to kill you, so you simply can't get hurt or you're doomed. And this is the SECOND LEVEL, on NORMAL difficulty. Get my drift?
But even with the obscene difficulty that may see you breaking your Xbox over your head in frustration, this game is so maddeningly addictive that I can't bring myself to give it a bad score. Rent this game first to see if you like it, but even at that, you probably will.

Not THAT bad...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: September 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

ok, ninja gaiden is hard, it will kick the crap outta u, blah blah blah... but the camera is not the real problem (i only died once from it) and yeah the save points are a bitch, but the real problem is... the end of the level.
i'm not saying it's hard, i'm saying it's ridiculuos. you reach an aztec maze (but i thought we were in japan) filled with only one enemy, those spooky fish, who can't be blocked or attacked by any weapon but the dragon sword or ninpo. you'll find urself racing jamming on Y and B until u reach the next level: a tower were the halls are filled with spooky fish and the rooms are the typical kill till the door unlocks puzzles.
other than that it's an ecsellently crafted game with awsome fighting and an awsome story.

When will it come out.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 14
Date: February 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Whats up with this game? First December, then Febuary, now March. Whats going on? I saw this game for the first time on DOA Beach Volley Ball. I had to have it. Please come March 2 don't let the date change!

The life of a ninja ain't easy...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: August 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game isn't easy, but I wouldn't want it to be. It was so beautiful to look at, that even when I was getting my rear handed to me on a platter, it was worth it. But as you play through a few levels, you start to aquire the new moves and the instincts that really make taking down the hordes of enemies an artform. By the time I got halfway through the game (many, many days later), my skills had improved so much that I looked foreward to taking the next boss to task.

Save points are a little sparse in the beginning, but they become plentiful as you cover more ground. The story doesn't really make much sense (did I just die in that cutscene...and what does that bird have to do with it?), but the atmosphere created is enough...now if I can just find enough of those golden scarabs to unlock the classic versions of NG!

Amazing in every way possible!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Wow this game is the best game I've played on the XBOX! The graphics are great, the gameplay is great, and the controls are easy to remember! However this game is not for kids, with all of the gore, blood and the horseriders stabing a spear through you. The only bad part about this game is that it's very hard to bet. The bosses are totally cool. The bosses aren't the same the whole game, some are humans some are skeletons and all that. I have never played a ninja game where you have so much control over your charecter, you can decide when to kick and when to use your sword or whatever you have. Another bad thing is the camera veiw, if you walk into a corner and you press the R trigger the camera makes it hard to see and you can die alot from that. THIS GAME IS NOT FOR CAUAL GAMERS IT"S VERY, VERY HARD! But otherwise it's a all around great game!

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