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This game had me....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: October 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Laughing, crying, infuriated, irritated, satisfied, disgusted, confused, engaged, enraged & so filled with hate from the difficulty of it that I wanted to kill myself.

So if you're into disfunctional women, get this game.

Great graphics, interesting gameplay, much too hard

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 11 / 17
Date: March 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After playing the first two chapters of this game, I had to really consider how important it was for me to spend the many hours it would require to finish this bear of a game.

Having been raised on video games since the first Atari console, I have played most of the great games across many different genres and systems. At first glace, Ninja Gaiden has all of the hallmarks of what is necessary to make a fantastic action title. The premise of a ninja fighting against tremendous odds under the banner of revenge hits all the right bells with action gaming fans. Throw in truly spectacular graphics and a bevy of cool moves and you have what you hope will be a satisfying game experience.

The problem with this game is in the level of skill that is required to advance through the different chapters of the story. Each new area of discovery is not only met with harder and harder foes to fight, but the boss encounters leave me questioning who exactly can finish these levels?

Lest I disappoint any action gamers reading this review, Ninja Gaiden is worth a try. If at all possible, however, rent the game first and try it out before you pay the almost $50 purchase price. You may find that you either love the challenge of hitting the right combination of buttons exactly right each and every fight, or you might feel that such hard work should be left for school and/or the office.

After all, we play games to have fun, not get frustrated - don't we?

The team made it hard on purpose

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: September 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I read the other reviews and many of them are quite unbalanced.
On one side there are the hardcore players, who give it 5/5 for the exceptional graphics. On the other side, there are the casual players, like me, who had an extremely hard time with it.

The truth is that both categories are right. This game has exceptional graphics, probably better that any other similar game. On the other hand, it is very hard to play. Lots of presistence is required ... One very important aspect of this game is that, unlike other fighting games, it is not a button masher. If you try to beat the enemies by pressing the buttons
fast and hard, you will simply fail, which, I admit, can be EXTREMELY frustrating. This game requires not only an exceptional coordination but also a strategy, in each fight.

However, most probably you won't be able to discover the strategy right away, and you will need to try again, again again,again and again. Reading the instructions on the web can be helpful. This is another annoying thing, the game is so hard that any help - in fact cheat - is more than welcome. The team that made it probably had a hard time implementing the system and then they didn't want anyone to be able to play it. I can understand them, but this is not an excuse.

Finally, I must say that this game is worth buying. Time to time, if you want to kick some butt (or the other way, it depends), here you go.

Old is New, just as tough

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There's an old adage regarding hype that states, essentially, the more you hear about something before you actually see it, the more disappointing it will turn out to be when you do. The end result of this is that even a very good end product can feel flat, so ridiculously high were the expectations.

I'm not sure why sometimes this applies and sometimes it doesn't. When Panzer Dragoon Orta was announced for the Xbox, I remember a massive cheer of joy coming from both the hardcore gamers and mainstream fans alike. When it was finally released, I was shocked and a little dismayed to read reviews that were more along the lines of "Mmm, it's pretty good" than the unchecked gushing that had accompanied previous coverage of the game. What confused me even more was that, when I picked it up, it turned out to be even better than I had hoped for, both as a massive fan of the Panzer series and just as a fan of action games in general. What gives?

My guess is people had already projected all their own personal expectations on the game, so much so that there was no way it was going to make everyone happy. Had people been given a more clear-cut picture of just what to expect, I think opinions may have untangled themselves a bit more. At the least, there'd be a lot less used copies of the game for sale a week after its release.

So, when the extremely-hyped Ninja Gaiden was released, I was all set to view the game in an unadulterated light. I'd set aside a Sunday and gone back to play the original NES title through to completion (not easy!) and bone up on my Ninja Gaiden history. In short, I wanted to know what I'd be getting into with this game. Would it be the modern-day equivalent of the innovative original, as Team Ninja's head Tomonobu Itagaki was loudly promising? Would it turn out to be a pretty-but-shallow cash-in on a beloved franchise? Somewhere in between, maybe? I felt prepared to make an accurate judgment on what was supposedly going to be a landmark title, so I headed out on its release date and picked it up.

After finishing the game a week later, I've come to the conclusion that this is one of the best action games I've ever played in my life. Period.

I'm going to basically eschew any discussion on game mechanics or basics regarding the game itself, because those are readily available all over the place for this title. A good summary; the graphics will knock you flat, the music isn't irritating, the voice acting is fine, the game controls like a dream, and yeah, the camera can be a pain until you get used to it. A zoom-out feature would have been nice. It's also not going to win any plot awards, so don't expect to become particularly attached to the characters.

When all is said and done, unless you're a fan of honest-to-God, straight up Action titles, then this game isn't going to do it for you. It doesn't matter if you were a fan of the original - I've already read one review on a high profile website sniffing about how the game style was too different the NES version, which the reviewer claimed to have been very good at - you've got to be a willing fan of action games right now, in the modern day, playing by modern day rules. More importantly, you've got to be willing to prove it if you want any enjoyment from this game beyond the menu screen. If you can't get over the fact that there's a third dimension in your Ninja Gaiden, however well implemented, then save yourself the cash and just play the original. There's nothing wrong with that.

This game isn't geared towards the mass market any more than Panzer Dragoon was, and if anything it makes far fewer concessions in terms of the commitment it requires from the player in order to enjoy it. Ninja Gaiden is difficult, make no mistake, but not in the "I have to memorize this level to get through it easily" sense (a la Contra on the PS2). Had that been the case, then perseverance is a simple matter of trial-and-error, and eventually, anyone could finish the game if they were patient enough.

Not here. Simply stated, you can't get through the levels easily, regardless of foreknowledge of enemy placement or anything like that. This is a game that expects the player to be able to keep up with the solid but rapid learning curve, and if they can't, the game will gleefully slap them around - usually really hard - until they either "get it" or toss the controller through the screen. In Ninja Gaiden, there isn't what is usually referred to as a "suck factor", that is, the game doesn't get any easier depending on how many times the player has died attempting a certain stage.

Provided you see all of this as a good thing, then welcome to the best action title in many years. Ninja Gaiden is one of the few games that can genuinely challenge a player without seeming frustrating. If you're stuck somewhere, it's almost always a matter of either taking a different approach, or learning to become better in order to get past. The game is hardly ever "cheap", and the few times that it is, it's a purposeful swipe at the player, as if to say "Yeah, we'll throw three boss battles in a row at you with no save point. If you want to save, start trekking back to the beginning of the level. We'll wait here. Wuss." You can't help but grin at that.

In addition, the entire Ninja Gaiden NES trilogy is on the disk as a bonus...But expect to work for them. Like everything else here, it's something to strive for, not something they give you.

Isn't it better that way?

It's the hardist, most frustrating game in the world. I loved it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Okay, before I say anything else it's this: This game is not for kids. Not only will it give their young innecent minds nightmares of demonic blood craving creatures, but they could also not last more than 2 seconds playing the thing.

In fact, at first I could hardly last 2 seconds playing the thing. I died very easily.

To tell the truth this game is maddingly hard. You truely have to have fast reactions and actual skill in this game. You die, you try agian, you die, you try again...eventually if you try hard enough, you get past a chapter and beat the impossible boss by a hair...you jump out of your chair do a little victory dance to releave a little tention, relax your friction burnt thumbs, sit down, start the next level and start dieing another houndred times. It's frustarating behond belief and yet I loved the challenge.

To be honest, we need more games like this. It been years since I've actually struggled at a game and I still haven't finished it, but you always feel like you deserve it when you win. Until I played that game I didn't even relieze how much I missed that feeling.

Anyway, the action is awsome, the graphics are unbelievable, the characters are ruthless. The story doesn't make much sence, but I didn't care. I am actually usually very critical of storylines, yet for Ninja Gaiden I really didn't care (probably because after all the time and effort it took to move on in the game made you somewhat carefree when you finally saw any of the story).

One of my top favorite Xbox games. I'd recomend it to anyone over 16.

Deserving of all the hype.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If there was any one game to compete with Halo 2 last year for the Game of the Year title, Ninja Gaiden was it. I've never seen a game with so much quality put into it before. From the character models, to the visuals, to the phenomenal FMV movies, to the excellent controls, Ninja Gaiden has it all...dispite having a name that doesn't really make sense. To be blunt, if you like games, you had better try out Ninja Gaiden.

The first thing many people go on about, is the difficulty. Really, it's not that hard. I've played much harder games than this. Maybe they're just not good at the action genre, or maybe they don't get that you can't go through the game just hitting 'x' over and over again. You'll -need- to mix it up a lot, including blocking attacks, countering, and using combos with different weapons. If you can understand that, then you'll be able to get into the game easily. And believe me, it's worth it to learn all the different moves. The first time I hit a guy 17 times with the nunchaku, switched over to the Dragon Sword, tossed him up in the air with it, did a 360˚ spin drop, then decapitated him as he was about to get up, I wondered what the heck just happened, and did it again. But Ninja Gaiden gives you the role of Ryu Hayabusa. A ninja from the Hayabusa clan who seeks the Dark Dragon Blade, a sword of pure evil and destruction. Along the way, you'll fight demons, soldiers, the undead, mutants, and more. And guess what. The enemies here are actually smart, and don't hesitate to attack you when your back is turned. It's about time a developer out there makes the enemies smart. I don't know how many times I almost got killed off by just one generic soldier at the beginning of Chapter 3. It was silly, but I never wanted to quit. The game's that addictive. And the boss fights...hoo boy. I haven't been annoyed with some of them (read- the two Electric Worms) since the final boss in Blinx the Time Sweeper (who almost gave me an aneursym). Upgrading weapons, deciding which item to buy and which one to wait on, learning new moves with the weapons, all of this just adds more to the gameplay. Who knew that a boat oar could be the strongest weapon in the game? And then there's the Hurricane Pack downloads, which are only for the true masters of the game. Making some weapons weaker, some enemies stronger, boosting the price for items in the shop, and more. I've honestly seen someone cry over not being able to beat a level on this thing.

Ninja Gaiden does have a few flaws here and there though. One being that, for me anyway, combat got repetitive from time to time. You can seriously breeze through a few of the earlier bosses with just the same move- jump towards them and hit 'y'. This move almost always hits its target. Even during the final boss fight, all I did was this move, and I managed to not get hit a single time. Another con is that the camera can be a jerk. The right thumbstick, when moved, goes over to Ryu's view, a first person mode where you can look around. You can't actually rotate the camera around him, which is a shame. I hear they fixed this in one of the Hurricane Packs, but I don't have Xbox Live, and can't say much for if it's true or not. Also...that's all actually. There's nothing else bad I can say about the game.

The graphics? What can I say? Team Ninja must've signed a contract with the devil, as they look better than things do in real life. Everything runs at 60 frames per second, and it looks beautiful. No no no, you don't understand how great the game looks. You know how when a magazine or site shows pictures from a game and it looks nothing like the finished product? Yeah, Ninja Gaiden looks the exact same in pictures, and as you play it. The attention that went into detail here is amazing. Even the tiny things like Ryu's body weight shifting to his front leg when attacking had me in awe. The only bad thing here is that sometimes there is a bit of slowdown, but it's usually when there's tons of enemies on screen and you're using the most impressive of attacks. And even then, it doesn't happen often. But you need to know about the loading times. Or lack of. The game is constantly running, a lot like how Halo was, and has quick two-second loading times when entering new areas. Actually, I take that back. The only time these loading times appear are when you enter Murasama's store. Not once did the "Now loading" text in the bottom corner of the screen pop up when I opened a door to another area. It was already done. This is one pretty game, plain and simple.

The soundtrack is mostly techno and rock, a great combo. All of the tracks are strong, and fit the settings they're used for. The voices are in English by default, and aren't too bad. Up until I heard Ayane that is. My precious Ayane from the Dead or Alive series would've been better off without lines here. Her English voice is terrible, and once I heard her talk, I immediately switched the language over to Japanese. This was better, and the previous voice actors from the DoA series were back. Cool bit of info- Takeshi Aono (Katsuhito from Tenchi Muyo!) does the voice of Murasama, the swordsmith. When I saw his name in the credits, that automatically made the game even cooler. The guy's a legend in voice acting. Finally, the sound effects are all equally good. Sword slashes sound how they're supposed to, when Ryu's impaled on a spear, it sounds painful, and Ninpo (the game's version of magic) actually made my tv's speakers shake a little. Crank this sucker up when you play it.

There isn't much more that I can add that hasn't already been said. Ninja Gaiden is nearly a perfect game, and I can't even imagine how they're going to improve the sequel. Place this one up there with the likes of Panzer Dragoon Orta and Knights of the Old Republic for Xbox masterpieces.

Simply Put, TOO FRUSTRATING

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: April 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I like to think of myself as a patient man. I read the reviews of this game and I'll admit it,I dismissed the reviewers that complained about this title's difficulty as whiners without the patience and/or tenacity to appreciate a challenge. How wrong I was. This game is an exercise in futility and frustration that would send even a zen monk on a red-faced, seething tyrade of hatred against the cruel developers. Yes, it is beautifully rendered (though I think previous reviewers might have overstated it's beauty; the cutscenes are amazing, but the in-game graphics are simply avarage), the storyline is intriguing and when a stretch of gameplay lasts more than five or so minutes (rare; repeated deaths followed by endless repeating of the same stretch of game is more the norm) one can almost appreciate the game's intent. I've given up somewhere in the 5th level, however, as rival ninjas repeatedly hurl seemingly inescapable bombs at me. I have a headache. This is not what I call amusement; it's torturous and I give up.

Useless Game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 24
Date: March 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Let me start off by saying that I do not play many action games, and even fewer action games on a consol so my review is for those like me who are getting blinded by all the action gamers giving this game 5/5 stars. This has to be one of the most annoying titles ever made. I don't care about the difficulty, it's not that hard... just takes time for understand just what you have to do at any given point. What I hate is the awful game choices that Tecmo made. Like the very annoying respawning bad guys. The way the later levels are designed you have to back-track and search around a big level and you will end up fighting the SAME bad guys over and over again. That is just stupid. The second thing I really hated was the total lack of places you could save. This is such a cheap move by the makers, as they didn't want to actually make a long title, so to increase length they made it so you have to play the same sections over and over and over again until you get it right. 20 hours of gameplay my hinney. You chould beat this game in one sitting if you could save whenever you wanted! And the X button, what a JOKE! Let's make the quick attack button the same as the interact button that way when you are fighting near a door you will ALWAYS trigger it and step through. Coupled with the re-spawing bad guys makes this even more annoying. You fight 4 or 5 at a time, kill 2 or 3, accidentally hit x at the "wrong" time and leave, only to return to fight the original five again! This happens all the time, trust me. The rooms are small and the trigger for the doors is pretty hard to miss. Who cares, I ask you, about pretty graphics if the game sucks? Can anyone say Quake 3?

Hurts so bad its good!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is extremely frustrating and will drive you crazy but you can't stop playing it. This game is easily one of the most difficult and addicting games at the same time. The graphics are the best I've seen on a console and the gameplay is terrific. I don't understand what the complaints are with the camera, sure it can at times go haywire put all you have to do it pull on the right trigger to recenter it. The camera really isn't a problem as long as you recenter. As I said it is difficult and doesn't get easier. The boss fights are intense but once you figure out their weaknesses they are really not that bad. This is not a game for the casual gamer but if you like a challenge this one is for you.

WHEN WILL THE PRICE DROP

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHEN WILL THE PRICE GO DOWN>...... IF YOU DONT THINK THIS GAME IS AWESOME, JUST LOOK AT THE OTHER REVIEWS!!!

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