You mess with the best you die like the rest... This is a must buy...
In what appears to be a final send-off for the NG series on the current Xbox, Team Ninja and Tecmo have put together Ninja Gaiden BLACK - a standalone booster pack (how’s that for an oxymoron?) that throws Hayabusa back into the mix with new difficulty levels, new missions, and more of that finger-wrenching, brain crunching gameplay. And oh yeah, it’s coming at ya’ for a shade under thirty bucks.
Gameplay
The biggest news that makes Ninja Gaiden BLACK worthy of a spot in your gaming cabinet is the inclusion of what is known as the Ninja Dog. Ninja Dog is Team Ninja’s cool way of designating a difficulty level for mere mortals. If you’ve played the original Ninja Gaiden, you’ll be well aware of the fact that this might be the hardest game ever concocted. If the difficulty level in NG just didn’t sit well with your level of hand/eye coordination, then you’ll dig Ninja Dog’s level of “ease”. Ease was wrapped in quotes, since this word is very relative in Team Ninja land. Sure, Ninja Dog is easier, but not easy, plus you’ll have to put up with some humiliation as well. IT will be evident - through on-screen text - that you are “abandoning the way of the ninja.” If that isn’t a big enough blow to a gamer’s ego, Ayane makes apparent fun of Hayabusa’s manhood in a cut-scene too. And if that isn’t enough, you’ll have to wear the Team Ninja version of the Scarlet Letter, but this one is purple, and in the form of a purple ribbon that makes Hayabusa a much more powerful player character.
Of course there are still the Hard, Very Hard, and Master Ninja difficulty levels in Ninja Gaiden BLACK for the truly hardcore. There are many reasons that Master Ninjas will want to revisit Ryu in Ninja Gaiden BLACK, but the most compelling might be the Mission Mode. Mission Mode is a fifty phase journey smattered across ten different sections, with the goal simply being “to defeat all challengers.” If the Mission Mode wasn’t hard enough, Ninja Gaiden BLACK adds insult to (thumb) injury by making gamers beat the normal game in any difficulty to unlock it. Team Ninja does, however, reward the loyal by automatically unlocking Mission Mode when a save from the original Ninja Gaiden or Hurricane Pack data is recognized. The Mission Mode will always keep you on the tips of your tabi’s, since enemies never come in consistent waves, and are always of varying strength. If you are bold enough to make it to the 10th section, you will actually be partaking in the Hurricane Pack II in its entirety. Little touches such as choosing a unique outfit and being able to upload your stats to Xbox Live round out this excellent addition to the thirty buck Ninja Gaiden BLACK.
Platform:
Xbox
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Publisher:
Tecmo, Ltd.
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Developer:
Team Ninja
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Genre:
Action
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Release Date:
9/20/2005
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Game Features:
Offline Players: 1
Online Scoreboards
EDTV 480p Support
Widescreen 16:9
Dolby 5.1 Surround
Xbox Exclusive
In terms of the basic gameplay, there are several upgrades that are noteworthy. Firstly, and for those of you that haven’t delved into the Hurricane Pack content, the right stick can be quickly clicked to change from auto to manual camera mode. In fact, the camera appears to have been reworked slightly, and didn’t let me down once; yep, I earned every ass-beating that I received.
You’ll notice a bevy of new minimatics which are, of course, jaw-dropping coming from Team Ninja, and some additional voice-over data which also helps to push story a bit more in Ninja Gaiden BLACK. On the couture side of Ninja Gaiden BLACK, Hayabusa has a total of five costume choices for Ninja Gaiden BLACK, and they are all flammable. How do I know? Well, the new red ninjas live up to their fiery outfit colors by throwing incendiary shurikens that stick in Ryu and burn like a disco inferno.
Perhaps what might be the best inclusion to Ninja Gaiden BLACK - at least for blue-haired gamers such as myself - is the arcade-perfect ROM from the Ninja Gaiden coin-op. What? You didn’t know there was a coin-op version of NG? Itagaki is sitting somewhere in the world, displeased with your ignorance.
Overall Gameplay Impressions:
You’re not at the store picking Ninja Gaiden BLACK up right now? Seriously, do yourself a favor and plop down the thirty bills for Ninja Gaiden BLACK. Team Ninja like to have “closure” with their game series, meaning that they feel it’s always necessary to improve on what some may already consider perfection. This explains the Hurricane Pack, and also explains DOAU. Ninja Gaiden BLACK is the DOAU version of the Ninja Gaiden series, and improves on the original in every way. Instead of picking up the original in a bargain bin (if you can find it. And while I’m at it…you don’t have it already? Shhh! Don’t tell anyone.), grab Ninja Gaiden BLACK for thirty new, and experience the pinnacle of action gaming on the Xbox.
Graphics
Aside from some new cut-scenes, costumes, and enemies, Ninja Gaiden BLACK looks like its ancestors, which is a really, really good thing. A super-high resolution allows the Team Ninja creations hurricane spin out of the TV set and into gamer’s laps. The art direction is a bit bizarre (a mixture of ancient martial arts and a sci-fi/horror flick), but it somehow works after the action is kicked into high gear. The cut scenes are some of the best you will ever see too. The graphics on the original arcade ROM? You’re right. They look a little dated.
From particle effects to character models to background detail, Xbox games rarely look better than Ninja Gaiden BLACK.
Audio
Audio is one area of Ninja Gaiden BLACK that won’t floor you, but those familiar with the earlier games should already have expected this. This Japanese title gets lost in the translation both literally and figuratively for the most part. The soundtrack is a bit like a broken record and sounds like instrumental hair rock from a long time ago. The sound effects are perhaps the strongest portion of the track, but these are by no means stunning. The voiceover doesn’t always make sense, and neither does a portion of the text, but you still may choose to go the non-translated route for some additional JDM authenticity.
The Bottom Line
I know I’ll sound like a snake oil salesman with my next query, but…if a title existed that combined one of the best games ever with additional improvements, new difficulty levels and modes, and a coin-op ROM for fifty dollars, would you buy it? Of course you would, but Team Ninja isn’t going to sell you Ninja Gaiden BLACK for fifty dollars, or even forty dollars. You get Ninja Gaiden BLACK and all its goodness, PLUS a manual, PLUS a German-engineered carrying case all for the low, low price of $29.99! Call now, operators are standing by. Better yet, journey to your favorite gaming hole and pick Ninja Gaiden BLACK up. It’s worth the trip