Ninja Gaiden[a] is an action adventure hack and slash video game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for the Xbox. It was released in March 2004. Players control Ryu Hayabusa, a master ninja, in his quest to recover a stolen sword and avenge the slaughter of his clan. It was inspired by Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden series, and is set in the same continuity as Team Ninja's Dead or Alive fighting games.
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Ninja Gaiden develops its narrative thread through the actions of its player-controlled protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa. Viewed from a third person over-the-shoulder perspective, in typical action-adventure fashion Ryu starts the game with basic, low-level abilities and weapons that can be upgraded as he progresses, by discovering or buying items. In keeping with his ninja persona, his character can interact with the game environment to perform acrobatic feats, such as running along and jumping off walls, swinging from pole to pole, or running across water.[2] The game world is made up of several distinct regions,[3] most of which are connected via the city of Tairon, which functions as a hub.[4] Access to these regions are obtained by fighting enemies, finding keys, or solving puzzles, inspired by the mechanics of The Legend of Zelda video games.[2][5] Dragon busts scattered throughout the regions provide the means to save player progress, permitting gameplay to be resumed at a later time.
Ryu Hayabusa, the "super ninja", is the protagonist of Ninja Gaiden,[22][23] and the primary player-controllable character in the game. Itagaki believed that creating extra player characters might distract his team from focusing on Ryu's development, despite this, Rachel is a playable character in the Sigma version of the game.[24][25] Ryu has a long history with Tecmo; he was the star of the 1990s Ninja Gaiden series, and has been part of the DOA roster since 1996. His roles in these games played a part in his popularity among fans and the video game industry.[26][27] Ninja Gaiden provides a backstory to Ryu's appearance and character as seen in the Dead or Alive series, being set two years before the first DOA game.[20][26]
Rachel is the leading female character, and tragic heroine of the game. She and her twin sister, Alma, are afflicted with a blood curse that turns humans into fiends.[28] Believing that there is no cure for their condition, Rachel seeks to kill Alma to redeem her sister's soul. The relationship between the sisters and the Greater Fiend Doku, who cursed them, serves as a plot device to drive the game forward,[29] with Rachel occasionally needing to be rescued by Ryu. Although not a player-controlled character in Ninja Gaiden, in a few sections of the Ninja Gaiden Sigma remake she is controllable.[30] Two other characters assist the player in the game. Ayane, a young female ninja and one of the DOA regular cast members, acts as a guide throughout Ninja Gaiden by supplying advice and objectives to the player. Muramasa, a bladesmith, has shops scattered throughout the game world where players can purchase useful items and upgrades for Ryu's weapons. Muramasa also gives quests and relates back-stories and other crucial information; for example, he tells Ryu how he can obtain the item required to upgrade his Dragon Sword to its full potential. Players have the option to customize the appearance of player characters, with selectable costumes for Ryu and hairstyles for Rachel.[30]
The Ninja Gaiden games gained a reputation throughout the gaming community for their difficulty and attention to detail.[26][135] Although they appealed to gamers who, like Pro-G's Struan Robertson, wanted a "bloody hard, but also bloody good" challenge,[113] it was feared that casual gamers would find the learning curve daunting. IGN warned that gamers with lesser skills might not "get as much out of this game as others due to [its] incredible difficulty",[112] and Edge commented that "Tecmo's refusal to extend any kind of handhold to less dedicated players is simply a failure of design, not a badge of hardcore honour", and "it's impossible to believe they couldn't have found a way to increase the accessibility of the game without undermining the gloriously intractable nature of the challenges it contains."[128] EGM found the challenge to be "rewarding" as it "motivates you to actually get better at the game."[121] Clive Thompson focused on Ninja Gaiden in his Slate article examining the motivation for playing difficult games. He contends that extreme levels of challenge can be initially very frustrating and may cause a game to be abandoned in disgust. However, where a game also rewards a player's perseverance by teaching the skills required to overcome its challenges, that player will have the motivation to finish the game. Ninja Gaiden, in his opinion, strikes the correct balance between challenge and reward; completion brings "a sort of exhausted exhilaration, like finally reaching the end of War and Peace."[136] In 2012, CraveOnline included it on their list of five "badass ninja games", calling it "the pinnacle of action gaming at the time, holding onto that crown for an entire year until God of War released in 2005" and "a true video game classic, and maybe the best ninja game of all time."[137] That same year, G4tv ranked it as the 83rd top video game of all time, also calling it "the best ninja game ever made and one of the all around hardest."[138]
Like Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden Sigma has received positive reviews, currently holding an average score of 87% at GameRankings and 88/100 at Metacritic, based on 58 and 46 reviews respectively.[97][100] Critics varied in their views on the technical aspects of Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Although the gaming site 1UP.com called the updated graphics "a gorgeous reworking of the modern ninja classic,"[104] Pro-G said that they were average by next-generation standards and showed occasional "tearing, jagged edges, and mismatched collision between bloodstains and walls."[91]
Ninja Gaiden is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja for Xbox, released by Tecmo in 2004. Players control Ryu Hayabusa, a master ninja, in his quest to recover a stolen sword and avenge the slaughter of his clan. It was inspired by Tecmo's 1990s Ninja Gaiden series, and is set in the same universe as Team Ninja's Dead or Alive fighting games.
Ninja Gaiden develops its narrative thread through the actions of its player-controlled protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa. Viewed from a third person over-the-shoulder perspective, in typical action-adventure fashion Ryu starts the game with basic, low-level abilities and weapons that can be upgraded as he progresses, by discovering or buying items. In keeping with his ninja persona, his character can interact with the game environment to perform acrobatic feats, such as running along and jumping off walls, swinging from pole to pole, or running across water.[1] The game world is made up of several distinct regions,[2] most of which are connected via the city of Tairon, which functions as a hub.[3] Access to these regions are obtained by fighting enemies, finding keys, or solving puzzles, inspired by the mechanics of The Legend of Zelda video games.[1][4] Dragon busts scattered throughout the regions provide the means to save player progress, permitting gameplay to be resumed at a later time.
Ryu Hayabusa, the "super ninja", is the protagonist of Ninja Gaiden,[21][22] and the only player-controllable character in the game. Itagaki believed that creating extra player characters might distract his team from focusing on Ryu's development.[23][24] Ryu has a long history with Tecmo; he was the star of the 1990s Ninja Gaiden series, and has been part of the DOA roster since 1996. His roles in these games played a part in his popularity among fans and the video game industry.[25][26] Ninja Gaiden provides a backstory to Ryu's appearance and character as seen in the Dead or Alive series, being set two years before the first DOA game.[19][25]
Rachel is the leading female character, and tragic heroine of the game. She and her twin sister, Alma, are afflicted with a blood curse that turns humans into fiends.[27] Believing that there is no cure for their condition, Rachel seeks to kill Alma to redeem her sister's soul. The relationship between the sisters and the Greater Fiend Doku, who cursed them, serves as a plot device to drive the game forward,[28] with Rachel occasionally needing to be rescued by Ryu. Although not a player-controlled character in Ninja Gaiden, in a few sections of the Ninja Gaiden Sigma remake she is controllable.[29] Two other characters assist the player in the game. Ayane, a young female ninja and one of the DOA regular cast members, acts as a guide throughout Ninja Gaiden by supplying advice and objectives to the player. Muramasa, a bladesmith, has shops scattered throughout the game world where players can purchase useful items and upgrades for Ryu's weapons. Muramasa also gives quests and relates back-stories and other crucial information; for example, he tells Ryu how he can obtain the item required to upgrade his Dragon Sword to its full potential. Players have the option to customize the appearance of player characters, with selectable costumes for Ryu and hairstyles for Rachel.[29]
Like Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden Sigma has received positive reviews, currently holding an average score of 87% at GameRankings and 88/100 at Metacritic, based on 58 and 46 reviews respectively.[140][141] Critics varied in their views on the technical aspects of Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Although the gaming site 1UP.com called the updated graphics "a gorgeous reworking of the modern ninja classic,"[103] Pro-G said that they were average by next-generation standards and showed occasional "tearing, jagged edges, and mismatched collision between bloodstains and walls."[91] 2ff7e9595c
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