Ben-DutkaNinja Gaiden is a legendary name in the realm of video games. To present the world with an antihero whose goal it is to destroy the famed Ninja Gaiden protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa, is a unique, intriguing approach to this series. Implement a totally over-the-top visual presentation that, due to its ultra-violent cel-shaded style, reminds one of Splatterhouse , and you’ve got the potential for a hugely visceral, highly entertaining hack ‘n slash experience. Unfortunately, the developers sadly opted for teeth-grinding stupidity and mechanical frustration.
The graphics might be the best part of this in-your-face extravaganza, simply because the designers obviously put a ton of effort into the animations and effects. Some of the enemy drawings are just plain wacky, and I loved the gut-wrenching plethora of blood and guts that constantly assaulted the screen. It’s not really my thing, but I’ve come to accept (and better understand) the difference between Japanese and Western cultures. In other words, if you’re an anime fan, you’ll likely appreciate Yaiba ’s extremely colorful and brutal depiction of ceaseless action.
The audio suffers from amateur-ish acting, punctuated by a somewhat repetitive and even annoying soundtrack. I won’t say the score doesn’t fit the action – because for the most part, it does – but many of the selected pieces don’t necessarily enhance…rather, they start to grate. As for the acting, I have to acknowledge that the actors had little with which to work, as the writing is absolutely atrocious. Basically, someone just tried to use as much disgusting language as humanly possible and when that happens, the actors are tossed to the wolves. There’s just nothing you can do to not sound immature and idiotic. Great, splashy effects, though.
Puerile, adolescent, and unbelievably grotesque imagery are the cornerstones of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z . At no point is it necessary – or even helpful – to include terms like “blood-boner” and “knob-head.” Half of it doesn’t make any sense and the other half is just utterly incomprehensible. There’s a story in there somewhere and there are a few interesting concepts, but it’s buried beneath an onslaught of stupidity. I’m all for creating a viable atmosphere, one that enhances the immersion and keeps you riveted. However, it’s clear they just went way too far and the result is a bloody mishmash of only mildly amusing viscera.
Yaiba obviously isn’t supposed to be likable, and that’s fine. As an antihero, we’re not really supposed to like him. But it really does seem as if Japanese storytelling is lagging far behind Western scribes in the world of video games. These characters – especially the one-track-minded Miss Monday with massive breasts and zero actual charm – are mired in ridiculous stereotypes and the worst part is, this isn’t tongue-in-cheek. They’re trying to be serious. The dialogue is dumb and we don’t care about the characters because every last one is frustratingly one-dimensional.
This is the way video game characters used to be; it’s not necessarily the way they are now . However, perhaps it’s unfair of me to focus so much on the story and atmosphere, as this game is really all about the action. Things do get a little better when you start ripping through scores of enemies with a variety of deadly weapons. From the handy flail to the explosive rocket launcher, there will always be a wide assortment of melee weapons and firearms. The combat is fast and furious and it can be wildly entertaining, provided you’re willing to accept a lot of technical missteps.
The fixed camera is often a serious problem, for instance, because you’re often attacked by enemies that are completely off the screen. Again, we come across an outdated issue that I thought we left behind last generation…or rather, two generations ago. Furthermore, while this franchise has always prided itself on its difficulty and rewarding the diligent and skilled, Ninja Gaiden Z just tries to fill the screen with as many foes as possible. And given the speed with which everything happens, blocking and countering usually isn’t advisable. Just mash away and hope for the best; you really don’t need much in the way of dexterous talent.
Then there’s the inclusion of the “chemistry set,” which is a great idea in principle but falters when it comes to execution. It’s cool to set the entire battlefield ablaze but in reality, it just makes everything that much more dangerous. This is another irritating element that could’ve, had it been approached with a more tactful mind, been an excellent addition to the constant flailing about. Then you’ve got the inclusion of some platforming, parkour-style mechanics that could’ve further enhanced the experience, but due to that poor camera and iffy contextual commands, it becomes another failed attempt at diversity.
I did like the executions, though, just because they’re so absurd, you can’t help but laugh at the extreme ridiculousness of the maneuver. The only reason this game doesn’t score below a 3 is because it’s not completely broken, and there are times when you’re gleefully smashing through freaky foes that are just begging to be destroyed. Besides, I always say I enjoy playing as powerful characters, and Yaiba is indeed quite powerful. And I suppose Miss Monday’s gargantuan chest size will be appealing to those of a certain age; specifically, teen males. Gotta hit your target audience, right?
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is marginally entertaining but due to critical technical flaws and a style that is almost too stupid to be tolerable, it’s not worth your time. I understand that fans of Japanese presentations (ala anime and the like) might be less turned off than me, but stupid is stupid. It’s not dependent upon cultural preference or style; it just is what it is: Brainless. It’d even be okay if it was brainless, if the gameplay was tighter and more rewarding, and the humor and story weren’t so insultingly insipid and shallow. You can get your kicks with some bloody battle but other than that, I’d definitely recommend saving your money.
The Good: Highly visceral presentation with great effects. Combat is fast and accessible. A few decent gameplay concepts.
The Bad: Audio, especially the acting, is a big disappointment. Control is hampered by a terrible camera. Several mechanics are seriously flawed. Outrageously awful humor and a poorly constructed story. Over-the-top brutality and mature content just comes across as puerile.
The Ugly: “If the Japanese want to catch up to Western developers, they need to stop producing crap like this.”
Um… ouch?
Definitely, I called this one, knew it was gunna be a load of horsepoop, bring on ninja gaiden 4!
Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised. When you make such a huge deviation from true NG format, well… the results speak for themselves.
How can you screw up ninjas and zombies?!
Last edited by Xombito on 4/2/2014 11:32:17 PM
You mean if the japanese want to catch up with the western games, they need to make Titanfall and shooting games.
The game sucks by the way lol
You suck by the way
ugghhh… just when you thought the franchise took a helluva hit from ng3. Appalling but fortunately this'll probably be ignored and soon forgotten.
Sad part is, stuff like this is what I mainly associate with Japanese devs. Lollipop Chainsaw, Bayonetta, Dragon’s Crown, that kind of thing. Only here with a worse result than usual.
I wasn't part of the console world back when they supposedly made great stuff.
Except the difference is that those games are great. Well, Lollipop was just good but whatever.
Lollipop was all tongue-in-cheek; the developers never took themselves seriously for a second, so it was an on-purpose cheese-ball B-movie zombie slasher flick. And it was hilarious.
Bayonetta featured one of the single best fighting mechanics of the entire generation.
Dragon's Crown is a WONDROUSLY unique, side-scrolling RPG, like Golden Axe only with a full role-playing system behind it.
It's REALLY unfair to compare this crap to any of these three games, and also unfair to imply that Japanese developers don't ever make great stuff anymore.
It may not be fair to compare from a strict quality perspective (as I hint at in my post too), but they do share many similarities: It's something about the simplicity of the underlying game, and the way it is presented.
If they were movies they'd be the cheeky, shallow, cheap flicks with huge hooters thrown in for marketing purposes towards a teen audience, released straight to DVD.
It's just so… Trashy. Immature. Unintelligent. Sorry, but it is.
So even if they embed some good mechanics here and there it just doesn't change the banality of the package much. They will forever be seen as bargain bin fillers, cause really; That's where they belong.
A fan of this stuff will of course now consider me as some prude, square, dry adult taking himself too seriously. But lord knows I can enjoy a juicy pair of bounciness now and then.
But just like I must admit that I don't particularly respect the directors of the said trashy B-movies, I don't really feel the need to respect the creators of these creations. And, well… This is typically what I've seen from Japan this generation.
Last edited by Beamboom on 4/3/2014 1:08:23 PM
Huge hooters is good.
I think you really need to play games like Bayonetta and Dragon's Crown before you can compare them to trashy B-movies.
Trashy B-movies subsist on campy crap. I mean, it's all stupid and adolescent from top to bottom; big-breasted bimbos, juvenile dialogue, cheesy action, etc.
That's not true at all in the case of the games we're talking about here. They may have that cheesiness on the surface, but they have fantastic – and even unique – gameplay mechanics that are as good as or better than any systems Western developers have devised. B-movies can't compete on any level at all.
You really need to actually try and play Bayonetta and Dragon's Crown. One features such a ridiculously in-depth action mechanic that it makes God of War look like a six-year-old's button-mashing extravaganza, and the other is a full role-playing game embedded in a beautifully drawn side-scrolling adventure ala the old Golden Axe and Dungeons & Dragons arcade games.
Ben's right about that, even if you don't dig the surface of Japanese games its sorta unfair to get on their case for that when they are doing new things with gameplay mechanics that are fresh and fun compared to mainstream games.
It's very easy to pass too harsh a judgement based on the trailers. You're right Ben, I should play those two games before doing so.
It must be said though, the packaging of those two games is enough for me to feel silly if someone saw me play it in my livingroom. It becomes like claiming "oh but I read Playboy for the articles – I do!" kinda thing.
And a side-scroller in todays time and age…? It doesn't impress me much. Maybe from an indie dev, but not in an argument about the state of Japanese games.
Last edited by Beamboom on 4/3/2014 3:07:16 PM
There's something fun about playing something (and enjoying it of course) that would cause embarrassment if an outsider saw you playing it. Guilty pleasures are a good spice to any hobby.
I have to agree with Beamboom, I've played and even finished Bayonetta and never got what people like so much about it. To me it just plays like any other action/fighter game with a cheesy, campy b-movie style, and well that was the good part of the game IMHO, I'd give it maybe a 5/10.
Disclaimer that's in my rating world, not the typical game review where you need a 8/10 to be considered "ok to good", but simply 5/10 as in average.
I had the same experience with Bayonaise at first, but that's if you treat it as a button masher. But there's actually something deep and cool there if you do it right.
Crabba: You obviously didn't bother to explore that fighting mechanic.
So what's so extraordinary about Bayonetta's fighting mechanic then?? I obviously played it enough to complete the game…
Granted I'm not a huge fighting game fan who bothers to learn every single little move by heart and replay it 500 hours to the extremes, but I didn't see anything special about the gameplay.
shame this could of been a really good guilty pleasure.
i wish they hadent gone for the cell shaded graphics it really does just ruin the game.
its uber violent and gory, yet they try to make it look like a kids game!
WTF!?
might as well give f*cking hostel or the hills have eyes cel shaded graphics!
reminds me of happy little friends and salad fingers, man that sh*t was so sadistically f*cked up!
Better than I expected, based on my brief playtime last year.
On an unrelated note, why no mention of Natural Doctrine coming West, Ben?
Really sad what they've done to this franchise. I remember Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 being fantastic.
wow i remember getting Ninja Gaiden Sigma when ps3 first came out and loved it.
Very, very sad.