Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden follows the story of Ryu Hayabusa. Ryu's clan has been slaughtered and now he is out for revenge. Ninja Gaiden is a excellent remake of the classic. Ninja Gaiden's graphics are mouth watering and it feels like you are watching a movie. The villains are no pushovers so it will take a while to finish it and the bosses just get bigger and harder each level. there are a huge variety of weapons and costumes.the villains are cool, the bosses are amazing and the combos are fascinating. Ninja Gaiden 1, Ninja Gaiden 2 and Ninja Gaiden 3 for nes can be unlocked. Plus with being online enable you can vs people, you can get more costumes and weapons . What more could you want. Ninja Gaiden is a Great game and should not be missed!

I played this game as a kid on the original Xbox and I got very far along. However, I don't believe I beat it. The action was face paced and intense. The villains ruthless and the bosses were unforgiving. 17 years later I found and purchased a used copy of the Ninja Gaiden Black version. It plays full screen (16:9) at 4K UHD on Xbox Series X. No jagged edges. It's crisp clear with clear cut lines. Aside from the dated textures and CGI cut scenes this game looks better than ever before. To my surprise it had Dolby Digital audio too.

It's an amazing game. If you're up for a challenge you'll enjoy the gameplay. The key is to upgrade your weapons and to know which enemies and bosses to use them against. No boss is impossible. If it feels that way, it's because you haven't not identified the bosses fighting style or attack pattern. Once you crack the code and develop your strategy you really level the playing field. That's when you get to enjoy the game. You can button smash to an extent but it's best to be strategic with your actions.

Ninja Gaiden Black (2005) is the best version per the creator of the game. The 2021 Remaster collection contains the different and, often described as, inferior Sigma games. Buyer beware and choose wisely.

Ninja Gaiden was originally an arcade beat-em up, then became a side-scrolling action title, and after sequels and spinoffs, simply disappeared after 1994's Ninja Gaiden trilogy, which was a collection of the three NES games. Afterwards, the main character, Ryu Hayabusa, became one of the fighters in the Dead or Alive games. Now, a decade after his last solo title, we finally see Ryu in another game of his own. Is it worth the wait? Somewhat, but not really.

First the good. It's obvious that the graphics are winners here. After all, Tecmo's Dead or Alive games are are quite graphically impressive. The story is also quite good, those who expect stuff on par with the NES trilogy's cutscenes will not be disappointed. It's just that when it boils down to the actual gameplay, the game falls apart. It seems simple enough, as it's similar to games like Devil May Cry and Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, with exploring huge areas in 3D, as well as gigantic bosses, but in the end, things fall apart for the reasons that can plague many action games: 1., the controls, especially the faulty XBOX ones. They're just screwed up, for example, the main attack button also happens to be the same as the action button. Not only that, but the controls themselves can screw up. You may try to make Ryu run across a wall, but instead he'll try to run up the building. Second, the one thing that haunts about 99% of all 3rd-person games: The camera. It's just AWFUL. It will often screw you up in the direction you don't want to go in, or make it impossible to tell what enemy is hitting you at what time until half your lifebar is depleted.

So in the end, we have a decent, at best, action game, but far better than the horrid NES original. But it's not perfect. People wanting something to rival Ninja Gaiden 2: Dark Sword of Chaos will be disappointed. Proceed with caution.

Definitely so, indeed.

This is one of the best 3rd person action-games ever. And totally brings the Ninja Gaiden-trademark into the 3d-world of gaming. The controls are smooth, the story is sufficient and the action is great. Ryu Hayabusa is back and whipping. The game has great replay-value, and it's difficulty is just right. It's hard, but aren't games supposed to be quite hard? (At least I think so, though many may disagree).

Anyway, this is the game for you if you seek a fast paced actiongame for the X-box, with great controls, decent camera and a superb grafical presentation. Oh my god! Ninjas are cool again... who thought that would ever happen since the Turtles stopped airing.

OK first off I'm not comparing this game to any of its predecessor. The reason being is that I haven't even played them before. So I'm purely reviewing this game alone without having to make comparisons.

This game itself, does not rely on just plain good old graphics to keep gamers happy. In fact NG has a good deal of other elements incorporated into it which makes the overall game that absorbing to play. For instance the story telling. Storywise this has got to be one of the most engaging, and adventurous type of story I've ever set my eyes upon. The presentation and the delivery of these story sequences are beautifully presented with little flaws seen. Its amazing how Itagaki can build upon that sense of anticipation when watching one of the cut scenes. The CGi sequence itself are amazing to watch. Not only does it look good but it also presents the story in a rather fashionable and elegant form. Again this captivates the audience's attention and urges them to play more.

The combat and gameplay itself is rather fluid with little restrictions imposed on the main character. When I say restrictions I mean the whole movement of the main character, is it fluid and 'free' enough so that you as the player have complete control over Ryu's movement? When I play NG I feel that I have complete control over Ryu. It almost feels like I am him. In some games that I have I played the main characters are stiff, feels like they are controlling themselves rather than me controlling them. However this is different. It really is a tantalizing experience. The combat itself is fast with little framerate drop. I didn't notice a huge framerate drop when I play the game, even when the battle heats up it still maintains that constant speed, and this is what I want to see in other video games. I want to play a game where I can see everything clearly, have an idea of what to do next without having to suffer these kind of framerate drops. NG shows little signs of these drops and again it makes the experience of playing a video game that more exciting and refreshing.

However the problem with this game is that it is way too fast even for the camera to catch up. Camera angles and the positioning of them is an issue in this game. You would want to have a visual perception of your enemy. So that means I should be able to see my enemies around the screen. Having the camera looking up at you doesn't really help. However I'm glad that they implemented the camera centering function which enables you to center the camera in whatever position you are in. This is a very useful function as I've used it many times in the game. I can see what Itagaki is trying to do. He is trying to maintain the balance between camera gameplay and camera cinematography. In other words he wants to have camera angles that are in good position just for you to be able to play the game efficiently, as well as maintaining the overall style of the game. He wants to actually make the gameplay experience a cinematic experience as well. Which is a nice idea, a refreshing idea however in terms of gameplay it fails in that area.

There are complaints about the game being just a bit too hard even for casual gamers. True there are people with different level of skills however I found the difficulty just right for an enjoyable experience. It enables you to play the game fully enough so that you understand how the combat works, the different combos that you should use in certain situations and it helps your mind to adapt to the environmental and situational changes in the game. This game, to me, is a good way to hone your skills and be prepare for any games with such depth in combat.

I have yet to play Ninja Gaiden Black but I heard there is added features into it for example, new cut scenes, new weapons etc. I would suggest playing that version instead as it is an enhanced NG game. Gameplay should be the same I hope but that game is mainly for the new added features. Overall imo NG by itself is a game that all xbox owners should feast their eyes upon and play it at least once in their life. It is absolutely astonishing and I can't wait for NG2. This time with enhanced graphics.