Anime Ninja Gaider going down the toilet

[LivingOne]

http://www.edge-online.com/features...japanese-industry-one-rotting-limb-at-a-time/

Capcom legend Keiji Inafune looked around the 2009 Tokyo Game Show and issued a bold condemnation of the state of play in his home nation. “Man, Japan is over,” he said. “We’re done. Our game industry is finished.” The problem he saw was the failure to appeal to a global audience, without which Japanese studios could never hope to match the success of their western peers. In the intervening four years, Inafune has left Capcom, set up on his own studio, and here, at the 2013 Tokyo Game Show, he’s showing off Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. It’s a Tecmo-published action game in a very Japanese series that’s being overseen by Team Ninja and developed by a western studio, with Inafune calling the shots. It’s time, then, for him to put his money where his mouth is.

And this man, who claims to understand the tastes of western players, is putting his money on zombies. “I wanted to do a ninja game, and thought it would be cool to merge ninjas and zombies,” he tells us. “That would be a fun game and, of course, the top ninja game out there is Ninja Gaiden. I thought it would be cool to have a rival character for Ryu Hayabusa, and that was really the start of Yaiba. I proposed that to Tecmo Koei and Team Ninja, and they were open to the idea. And, of course, I have plenty of experience with zombie games as well as action games, so that combination of Team Ninja and me, we knew that would make a strong title.”

But Team Ninja isn’t developing the game. Inafune hopes a western studio will be better equipped to make games with more global appeal – after all, Capcom liked Dead Rising 2 developer Blue Castle Games so much that it bought the company, renaming it Capcom Vancouver, which is currently making Dead Rising 3 for Xbox One. Inafune’s choice, however, is an odd one: Spark Unlimited, developer of such non-gems as Turning Point: Fall Of Liberty, Legendary and Lost Planet 3.


“Spark was my idea; I brought them to the table,” Inafune says. “What was important was to find a studio that was willing to learn. It doesn’t matter what the [studio’s] past scores, the past sales, were. You can’t judge the studio just by that. And I worked with Spark while I was at Capcom, so I know them, know what they’re capable of. I know they are open to these kinds of collaborations, very willing to learn and very dedicated to improving their craft. And with that dedication and that open-mindedness, that’s how you get a good, original game.”

The combination of zombies, an established IP and a poorly regarded developer may not sound either good or original, but there are a few deviations from the various formulae in the mix here. Ninja Gaiden’s realistic visuals are gone, and in their place is a thickly inked, cel-shaded style that gives a fitting comic book look to a game that takes the series’ bloodlust to ridiculous new levels. Normal frontman Ryu Hayabusa has a limited, if crucial, role, killing the titular ninja Yaiba Kamikaze. Our new protagonist is subsequently brought back to life as a cyborg by a corporation that promises him the power he needs to take his revenge, but only on the condition that he’ll first handle a pesky zombie uprising. But the biggest departure of all is the combat, which casts off Ninja Gaiden’s punishing precision and replaces it with a much simpler system. The shuffling undead in Yaiba are no match for the smart AI of Gaidens past, and it seems combat here will be about managing enemy numbers rather than intelligence. Inafune assures us there will be plenty of depth for hardened players to mine, but the presence of QTEs is troubling, as is the drift away from pure action towards puzzle-solving and platforming.

There are some fresh ideas: rather than being collectible, weapons are fashioned from the limbs of Yaiba’s fallen foes, with one hulking zombie’s arms forming a makeshift pair of nunchucks. It’s pleasingly gory, too, with fountains of claret splashing against the camera lens and frequently obscuring the action. Yet it’s hard to shake the disappointment that, for all his bluster, Inafune’s apparent solution to the Japanese industry’s woes involves zombies, a studio with a poor track record, and sacrificing depth at the altar of spectacle. With this coming so soon after the lacklustre Ninja Gaiden 3 – which also sought an expanded audience by paring back complexity – maybe it’s Ryu Hayabusa, not Yaiba, who’s the dead one.

 

[Infinitron]

Interesting typo in the thread title.

 

[LivingOne]

Interesting typo in the thread title.

It wasn't a typo

 

[dnf]

Wapanese shits only caring about money...

 

[Roguey]

Shitty gameplay married to an obnoxiously misogynistic protagonist. A complete waste of a game.

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

It's funny how Inafune is talking about westernizing a series that was made mostly for non-Japanese markets.

How shitty was Ninja Gaider 3? Even IGN gives it 3.0

Pretty abysmal. Hayashi's ports/remakes of Itagaki's titles were pretty much decline on all fronts, so there was little expectation for the first original title with the new maestro at the helm of Team Ninja. But Hayashi went below and beyond expectations making a mess of a game rife with content that belonged in budget shovelware and lacking any of the polish and precision the series was known for. It's a bad game...like Final Fight: Streetwise bad.

I don't think the Yaiba spinoff can damage the series more than Hayashi already has (and will likely continue to do).

Shitty gameplay married to an obnoxiously misogynistic protagonist. A complete waste of a game.

While I have no doubt that Yaiba will be stuffed to the brim with juvenile attempts at comedy, like those shown of in the demo, it might be a bit early to deem the main character misogynistic. And the gameplay may rise to the level of mediocre.

Oh wait, didn't notice who I was replying to. Carry on.

 

[Roguey]

While I have no doubt that Yaiba will be stuffed to the brim with juvenile attempts at comedy, like those shown of in the demo, it might be a bit early to deem the main character misogynistic. And the gameplay may rise to the level of mediocre.

Oh wait, didn't notice who I was replying to. Carry on.

Misogynistic as all hell.

 

[Duraframe300]

I'm not sure if I can give that trailer/dialouge the dignity of being called mysgonistic rather than something a retarded 9-10 year old would think of.

I can't comprehend how a grown human being could have written this.

 

[Krash]

I actually laughed when the truck crashed between the giant legs. Maybe It'll be so bad it's good?


nah

 

[Fat Dragon]

This series was over the moment Tecmo fucked over Itagaki and he left the company. Enjoy Ninja Gaiden Black and 2, and forget all the others even exist. Nothing good ever comes from giving western devs a japanese game series, you'd think the japs would've figured this out by now.

And fuck Inafune, he's largely responsible for the state Capcom is in today, he's the one who convinced the owners to start "westernizing" all their games. And when it didn't work out and Capcom crashed and burned he jumped ship and let everyone else at Capcom take all the blame.

 

[Rake]

Misogynism is the very least of the writing's problems.

 

[Tehdagah]

Hayashi's ports/remakes of Itagaki's titles were pretty much decline on all fronts (...)

No, Sigma was better than Black and the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 1.

But Hayashi went below and beyond expectations making a mess of a game rife with content that belonged in budget shovelware and lacking any of the polish and precision the series was known for. (...)

Hm, sorry. You can't use the term 'precision' to describe a series with horrible camera system.

Enjoy Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Sigma 2, 3 Razor's Edge and forget all the others even exist (...)

Fixed

Misogynistic as all hell.

Oh no, crude humor with sexual innuendos is hateful!

 

[Fat Dragon]

Enjoy Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Sigma 2, 3 Razor's Edge and forget all the others even exist (...)

Fixed

 

[Edward_R_Murrow]

No, Sigma was better than Black and the definitive version of Ninja Gaiden 1.

Gutted mission mode (no Awakened Alma or Niccae/Istaros fights), less variance in difficulty levels, poor rebalancing of enemies (what they did to multi-Berserker fights in Sigma was a shame), overuse of bloom, a few bugs/glitches, and the addition of poor-quality keep it from being the definitive version.

To be fair to Sigma 1, there were some good ideas in it. Jump-shots with the bow, quicker access to higher difficulties, and Weapon Master Mode were positive additions. But too much of the core experience was unnecessarily compromised in the transition.

Hm, sorry. You can't use the term 'precision' to describe a series with horrible camera system.

How is the system horrible? It's a typical action-gaming camera control setup what with the right-stick rotation and one button to recenter the camera. And in NGB/NGS many enemies have reduced aggressiveness when off-camera, as is typical in the genre. Yeah, NGO's camera was not well designed, but all of that was rectified in Black. I think the "Ninja Gaiden = bad camera" meme has been going far too long.

An argument can certainly be made that there are encounters in which the camera isn't perfect (second Hydracubus fight on Hard+ becomes...hectic), but overall the camera is solid. Bad cameras are those in titles like Onimusha or Metal Gear Rising.

Fixed

I can sort of understand preferring Sigma 1 and while I found Razor's Edge to be total shit (like the base game), I suppose some might find it enjoyable.

But Sigma 2? Nah son, that's wack. The thing that made Ninja Gaiden 2 was the frenetic pace inspired by packs of enemies going balls out on Ryu. It simply wasn't fun at all to fight reduced quantities of enemies given ludicrous HP-bloat and one-shot grabs to compensate for the reduction in numbers.

Misogynistic as all hell.

See, when I watch that video, the adjective that springs to mind would probably be along the lines of "juvenile", "crass", "trashy", or "puerile". But then again, I don't view the world through the lens of identity poliTTTics, so everything isn't misogynistic/LIEBRALS/NWO/reptilians/commies/KOCHTOPUS/etc.

 

[Machocruz]

This has to be parody. It's like they got the dev team together and asked " Are their deeper depths of puerility that can be mined in this genre? Is there a level below 'rock bottom?." Yes there is, and they found it. Right below humongous Igataki chest globes, Kratos edginess, and DMC4 dick jokes.

 

[Hobo Elf]

Not misogynistic enough for me manly tastes

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Never played Ninja Gaiden. Hope this Inafune faggot stays away from Dark Souls.

 

[Gerrard]

going

I thought it already did?

 

[LivingOne]

Well,yes I should've put an 'again' at the end admittedly

In general though it seems to apply to most action games recently.Even the ones that don't disappoint,like Platinum's,still seem to have something lacking compared to NG/DMC1-3.Like the gimmicky bosses in Bayonetta or the presence of overpowered finishers with invicibility frames(though that applies to NG too).
I thought the Dishwasher games were cool tho'.

 

[Machocruz]

DMC and NG were more elegant, imo. I think Bayonetta is one of, if not the best 'stylish action' games this generation, but I have to admit it's overrated. It is not better than DMC3 or Ninja Gaiden Black. It's very mashy compared to those, and has a lot of redundant moves; and like I said in the Lords of Shadow thread, I'm not into huge combos. Wailing on the same enemy for 50 hits is boring time sink. God of War 2 is my favorite of the series because of the hammer that necessitates timed, precise hits. Even DMC4 combat looks so much cooler than the mashers. Even though Bayonetta is physically stronger than Dante, it feels like you're administering death by a thousand papercuts, or jabs, in fighting game terms, while in DMC the moves feel more individually powerful, like you're linking special moves in a fighting game, with a few normal chains. And the speed is just right so that it's fast but each move has a chance to stand out (which makes them look even more powerful), as opposed to being a frantic string of blink-and-you'll-miss-it maneuvers.

But the masses seem to think that moar combos make a combat system better. I've been told that KoA has superior combat to Souls games, because juggles yo!

 

[Brzęczyszczykiewicz]

Yaiba: "I'm so edgy that I'm round."

 

[Whisky]

what the fuck

 

[Necroscope]

 

[pocahaunted]

The music... the dialogue... the gimmicky arm... Fuck, that's cringeworthy.

 

[lightbane]

So, if Dante's Inferno was a parody of God of War, then this has to be one for Ninja Gaiden games, it's the only explanation. Also, the cyborg-vision is copy-pasted from Metal Gear Rising.