Ninja Gaiden First Impressions

[BHvrd]

I just got the Ninja Gaiden demo, and the first thing I must say is DAMN this game is hard. When I first started the game up I of course didn't know how to do much, though running along walls and basic sword moves are fairly intuitive and easy to pick up.


After a few wall jump manuevers and some wall running the first ninja's showed their mugs. I quickly sliced their heads off with one button, and thought WOW, that was cool, and easy. A couple more wall manuevers and i'm inside a cave. I jump and kill about 6 respawning ninja's. Just thoughtlessly pressing buttons, and cutting off heads. Hmm, well, next....


I then get to a building and enter. I get into a room and get ambushed by a gang of ninja's. I fight them all in a button mashing state, and kill them all, but hey wait a minute, damn my health is low! I drink 2 potions "only have 3" and continue on...


The next room is even worse. More ninja's than the last, and a special looking white ninja that's harder. I die. Damn, this game is kinda hard I think.


I restart and get to the same point, but try a little harder. I get to the next scene. EVEN MORE NINJA'S! I kill them. Damn, look at my health! I use enough to get me by "I hope". Get to the next room, and I die, ok wait a minute, I gotta do something here, this just isn't working.


Third try.....i'm kicking ass. I'm learning that you can fight and kill ninja's without even getting hurt...if you're quick enough, and vary up moves, and most importantly block.


Before I know it i'm jumping off walls, heads, doing flying slashes, throwing shrukins, and the like before I know it. I think, hey, this game might be more than a button masher...


and it is.


This game is kick ass so far and I love it. The camera is the only thing i'm not so thrilled about at the moment, but with timing and precision i'm learning that I can make it all look good, damn good in fact. This game is a bit deceiving at first, and seems as though it might just be another button masher, but looks as though it's gonna be a deep old school hardcore experience.

That's my first impression, anybody else played this yet?

[PyroPenguin]

I played it at a friend's house and it seemed to play a lot like Devil May Cry. I just hope it isn't as easy and overall crappy as DMC. I really like the Ninja Gaiden series and i hope this is a great addition to it.

[Packerfan66]

Oh no not like DMC! I loved the first DMC but all the other games that copycat that game suck. Especially Rygar which is also made by Tecmo. I really hope this game is a little different then Rygar. I trust Gamespots ratings and they rated it pretty high.

[BHvrd]

Man, the more i'm playing this game the more i'm loving it. This is true gaming mana. Best game i've played on Xbox since Halo, of course my opinion is still in early stages, but mama mia.

Get prepared to be frustrated. This game don't play. There's one part where you have to beat a huge room full of ninja's and if you fall in a pit anytime you have to go back and fight them again. Enemies respawn in this game if you leave an area and come back. It makes for frustrating yet careful gameplay mechanics. You just gotta be good, and damn, i'm just loving this game.

The best way to describe the gameplay is it's like Genma Onimusha only alot faster. ALOT faster!

Also the camera is ripped straight out of Phantasy Star Online. Basically if you aren't tapping that back R button to straighten up the view then you are gonna get bad angles. So if you've ever played PSO you know what to expect. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a camera control like from Mario 64 "free", only a look function. So far though as long as I hit that R button it looks nice, and feels like i'm controlling it. Damn heart pumping game this one.

*goes back to playing*

[hezeuschrist]

I played the demo for a minute at Gamestop, and it was fun as hell even though i got slaughtered. Just jumping around, throwing darts and doing massive combos was incredibly cool.

The first thing it reminded me of was Devil May Cry, and I loved DMC. It's certainly not a clone of DMC, from what I can tell, and it might even be enough to get me to buy an Xbox (after the price drop, of course).

[MarkMan]

The game is not THAT hard. You have to be SURE to use the block button. MAKE SURE you use it.

The roll from the gaurding position is also a life saver. The first batch of Ninjas can do NOTHING to you while you're blocking.

It was a great demo btw. Can't wait til I get my hands on the early release Tecmo is sending out. :)

[8-Bit Master]

I just played the demo for the first time last night. Its an incredible game with awesome graphics and play control. The sheer amount of ways to interact with the environments is mind-boggling. The game absolutely forces you to block though, which isn't a bad thing. If you don't block you will die quickly.

I'm probably going to pick this one up when it releases.

[BHvrd]

TeamXbox Review: The game clocks in at over 20 hours, and will be even longer for most gamers. Throw in 2 additional difficulty levels, the original 3 NES games, and the upcoming Master Ninja Tournament, and most gamers don’t have enough time to complete everything Ninja Gaiden has to offer. Ninja Gaiden is a prime example of what great work can be accomplished when priority is placed on putting out a game when it’s finished, rather than when the projected deadline states. Even Sho Kosugi would be jealous of Ryu Hayabusa’s skills. This should be an instant addition to your Xbox library.

Looks like i'm gonna be doing the Gaiden for the next couple of months. :D

[lendelin]

The game is on my must-buy list since it was announced; I don't have demo disc for it, though (at best Buy? Gamestop??)

Is this game really as good as the game mags say? I also read a fantastic review at IGN. It seems that Tecmo produced a worthy sequel to the fantastic 8-bit games. Can't wait to play it, that means when it drops to $20 :)

Thank goodness it's a challenge, an easy Ninja Gaiden game would be blasphemy.

[BHvrd]

The game is on my must-buy list since it was announced; I don't have demo disc for it, though (at best Buy? Gamestop??) Got my demo with Xbox Magazine.


Is this game really as good as the game mags say? Yes, it's truly Ninja Gaiden in 3D. It plays and feels just like the previous games, plus some. It also has a certain flair that resembles the arcade version "since you can toss enemies when jumping over them.