GameSpotting

Tyler Winegarner
Associate Producer, GameSpot Live

Now Playing: Final Fantasy X (PS2), Golden Sun (GBA),Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Eagerly Awaiting: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PS2), The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)

Ninjas!

I think it's pretty safe to say that everybody likes ninjas. Everybody. I mean, what's not to like? They're masters of three or four martial arts, they fight with swords and throwing stars, they dress in all black, they can jump really high, and in some cases, they can fly. They are silent, kill by stealth, and are friends of animals. They are bound by honor and shrouded in mysticism, yet live among everyday people. Anyone you know could be a ninja, and you would never know, perhaps until it is too late.

It should come as no surprise, considering this, that ninjas have been the target of many a video game over the years, but so few of these games seem to have captured all of the elements of the formula. Perhaps in some cases the game's format didn't allow for it; in others, the technology might not have been present to represent ninjas in all their glory. But, sure as we'll always have Nazis to look forward to fighting in video games, it seems we'll always have some sort of opportunity to be a ninja.

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In Ninja Gaiden, you could do ninjalike things such as take out motorcycle-helmeted, club-swinging thugs.
One of the first honest ninja games was the Legend of Kage for the NES. In this game you could jump really high, throw throwing stars, and fight other ninjas in the forest with swords, and a fire-breathing monk had it out for you. Your ultimate goal was to rescue the princess and bring her back to safety, after she had been kidnapped by, of all things, a ninja. Not all ninjas have good intentions. Another prominent entry on this system is one of our longer-standing franchises, Ninja Gaiden. Ryu Hayabusa had mystical powers and could climb on walls, fight dogs, cut anything and everything with his sword, and run and flip really, really fast. He was charged with a mission to find out who killed his father and why his father fought to his death. Ultimately, in Ninja Gaiden, you were also rescuing a girl, but that's more of a subplot than anything else. It is also introduced in this game that sooner or later, ninjas fight denizens of the demon world. No, not the Demon World that came out on the PC last year, but demons that come from a demon world.

Shinobi, on the other hand, was the ninja title from Sega, and as such it established a few other titles. As Joe Musashi, your mission was to rescue the city's children. It was quite a bit like Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, but Joe Musashi never throws his hat and has no power over his enemies to make them dance. A pity. Joe Musashi's later missions included rescuing his kidnapped lover and ultimately avenging his ninja clan. Joe doesn't face enemies from the demon world until very late in the series, in the recent installment for the PlayStation 2. To keep the record straight, he's not even Joe Musashi anymore, but another ninja named Hotsuma. He still faces down a wide variety of enemies such as dogs, soldiers, samurai, ninjas, kung fu masters, giant computers with lasers, and cars. Joe could throw throwing stars, jump really high, and unleash ninja magic on his foes, but he didn't move particularly quickly and couldn't climb walls. However, in his third installment, he was befriended by a dog that he could sic upon his foes if need be. He did get some hot new moves in the most recent installation, such as being able to climb on walls and rapidly dash from one spot to another, covering ground very quickly.

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The early Tenchu titles made it feel a lot like you were driving a truck.
It wasn't until the Tenchu series, which had its start on the PlayStation, that game designers finally remembered that ninjas killed by stealth, not by walking in the open streets mutilating everything in their path with a quick and mighty sword. No, in the Tenchu series you would hide on rooftops, move silently, skulk in shadows, and kill only those you needed to. The concepts introduced in this game were well thought out and served as fresh introductions to the ninja game genre. However, when it came down to out-in-the-streets combat (which was at least once a mission, since the boss fight was always a straight-out fight), controlling the ninja felt a lot more like driving a truck--a truck that could use ninja magic, execute deadly sword combos, and scale roofs with a grappling hook, but a truck nonetheless. Movement was really clumsy and unforgiving, and you'd often wonder, "If I'm controlling such a skilled fighter, why doesn't he turn around a little faster when there's somebody stabbing him in the back with a spear?"

With the release of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, things might finally be looking up for the ninja in video games. It seems to have finally captured all angles of the formula, like skillful fighting, stealth killing, use of mystical powers, and demonic foes, and it even makes use of some keen throwbacks to classic Japanese cinema. Though it may provide the authentic ninja experience, it might make you wonder from time to time: Did the guardsmen of feudal Japan often find the need to mutter aloud their love of gardening?

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