12/05/05 >> Ninja Gaiden Black (Xbox)
Genre: Fighting / Action
How do you take something extremely good, and make it even better? It's pretty simple; just add more of it. That's pretty much what's going on in Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden Black for Xbox. The original game was released back in 2004 after many years in development. It seems like it was time well spent because Ninja Gaiden was lauded with plenty of praise, and it's easily one of the best games on XBox. After its release, Team Ninja incorporated the Hurricane Packs, which introduced new weapons and even tougher enemies. Unfortunately, these awesome features were only available to Xbox Live subscribers. Luckily, Ninja Gaiden Black (which will be referred to as "NGB" from here after) adds those weapons, enemies, and even some new features like costumes and even 50 extra mission modes. These new features make NGB well worth checking out again.
If you didn't follow Ryu Hayabusa's tale back in 2004, here's one more chance to find out why this super ninja stirring up a big mess. Basically, our hero's village was attacked by an army of evil demon samurais. They are after the Dark Dragon Blade; an evil sword that seemingly grows more powerful with each death. This sword has been sealed and left under Ryu's protection. However, Ryu is too late as he finds his home completely pillaged and destroyed. He seeks revenge and retribution against those who mercilessly slaughtered everyone he knew. It's pretty typical stuff for an action game. However, there are a few new added scenes that have been added for explanation's sake. It's not really a big deal because they are short.
Gamplay
The combat system is where this game really shines. Those who played the original NG will know exactly what to expect. But for those who never experienced NG will easily get frustrated. At first, the game seems damn near impossible. The game never really eases you into the combat and it throws wave after wave of enemies at you. But, if you stick with it the game's system is actually very rewarding and satisfying. Each weapon has a set of fixed commands that need to be inputted in a specific sequence. For instance, Ryu starts out with the Dragon Sword. To perform a few basic combos, you would press X,X,X or X,X,Y. There is a command list that offers other combo possibilities. As you progress on, you can strengthen your weapons so you can perform more attacks. All defeated enemies drop yellow essence balls (sort of like the Onimusha games), which count as currency to upgrade weapons. Also, as Ryu gets further into the game, he'll come across different weapons like Lunar (a long staff) and Flails (nun-chakus). Each weapon can be upgraded so you can perform some pretty impressive looking combos.
For those who still are having a hard time with the normal difficulty, there is an option to play the Ninja Dog difficulty, which is somewhat easier than normal. Ninja Dog is not available from the start though. Taking a tip from Devil May Cry, you need to die at least three times in order to get this level. If you do decide to play this level, the game will properly heckle you for you're lack of skill. However, if you’re a master ninja, the normal difficulty will be a cake walk. But hard mode and very hard mode presents an interesting new challenge. Taking another tip from Devil May Cry, harder enemies will appear in the early stages of the game to give you a run for you're money. Some of these new enemies were enemies that were featured exclusively in the hurricane packs.
Unlike Devil May Cry, none of you're skills or attributes carry over to the next game. This is sort of disappointing, but it provides a pretty stiff challenge nonetheless. If you manage to get yourself through very hard, you unlock a new difficulty not feature in the original called master ninja. Just like the name implies, you must be pretty masterful at this game to get through even the first few levels. The difficulty is so insane that only one game tester supposedly got through the game.
If there is one thing I must applaud NGB for, it would have to be the incredible AI. I have never seen AI like this before in an action game since Devil May Cry, even if the former is considerably better. Even on Ninja Dog and Normal, the enemies are incredibly fierce, aggressive, and brutal. We're talking enemies that constantly attack in groups. They never let up for a moment. Each enemy has several attacks that keep you on you're toes at all times. If you spend too much time blocking, the enemies will promptly grabs you and impale you or slit you're throat. You might wonder how it is possible to get through an action game with ridiculously good AI. The great thing about the game is that you will eventually end up getting all the techniques that you need to readily combat your foes.
The first two chapters are a little tough because Ryu is a bit underpowered. But, once you acquire counter attacks, and learn how to use them effectively, the game should proceed relatively smoothly. Learning how to attack, defend, roll, evade, use magic, and wall jump at the right times is really the only way you're going to get through this game. Like I said before, the combat is very rewarding and satisfying. I really can't find anything wrong with NGB's engine. But if I were to nit-pick, I would say it's only fault is it's system is a tad restrictive. While the game does offer some free form combat, many of the moves can only be performed by what is said on the command list. Not really that big of a problem, but a little more freedom would have been great.
Graphics and Sound
Team Ninja always seems to know how to make some very pretty Xbox games. Ninja Gaiden in no exception. The character models, the animations, weapon's trail, special effects, and the combat all reek of high production values. There's a reason why this game took so long to get released. By the way, this game is very deserving of it's M rating if you ask me. Blood and decapitated heads spills everywhere with each slice of your sword. Let's not forget some of the brutal looking throws the enemies can perform on you. The only thing I disliked about the visuals was some of the environments. They get dull, drab, and repetitive after a while. But NGB does have its moments, and you'll be wowed by some of the beautiful scenery.
This game sounds just as beautiful as it looks. The game is accompanied by an ambient score which seems to reflect the mode of the game perfectly. Not to mention you can even listen to these tunes in the options menu. The sound effects are top notch too. I know it's probably a bit disturbing, but I especially liked the sword effects. Each slice that hits an enemy sounds painful and sharp enough to rip through steel. The one thing that sticks out as a sore thumb in the audio department is the voice acting. Just like most other action games, the English voice acting is downright horrible. Horrible might be a bit harsh, but they certainly won't win you over. You have the option to switch over to Japanese VAs, which are much better and more fitting too.
Replayability
So much to do, and so little time. There is tons of stuff to do in NGB. Not only do you have the original game with more challenging difficulty levels, but you have the hurricane pack enemies to fight against. You can also unlock the original NG arcade version after beating the game on hard. You can unlock several different costumes to doll up Ryu also. However, the most significant addition is the 50 new mission modes. The missions have you fight off hordes of enemies, or beat a boss from the original game. But it's not that simple. Remember the first boss Murai? If you thought he was tough in the original game, wait till you face off against him in mission mode. Not only do you have him to contend with him, but his minions who are just as aggressive as he is will join the fray. These missions put you up against insane enemy combinations. All of these provide a hell of challenge. You'll probably spend a lot of time on these missions alone just trying to beat you're high score or just trying to get through them.
Whoever said "less is more," couldn't have been more wrong. More is more. NGB easily proves this. You have tons of stuff to do in one of the best action titles available on Xbox. Anyone who has an Xbox should check out this game. Anyone who is even remotely into action games will fall in love with this title. Those who missed out on the original have no excuse this time around. Not only do you get so much extra content, but all this retails at an MSRP of $29.99. It's a win-win situation. I don't really think I need to say this, but anyone who did check out the original NG, shouldn't hesitate to play NGB. Ninja Gaiden is probably the smartest $30 you'll spend.
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Game Score: 9.1
Reviewed By: SBN4
