One of the most kickass games ever-- an insanely underrated gem.
First of all, anybody who's criticized the gameplay or content has obviously played only the demo version of the game. (I'm not naming any names, but...you get the point)
Moving on to the actual review...
STORY (7/10)
In I-Ninja you start off with a very basic story: you must retrieve the Rage Stones from a number of bosses and eventually face the Emperor O-Dor himself in the final showdown. Yep, nothing special, but thankfully, the story is not a central point to the game. As you progress, you'll complete levels to get Coinage, earn Grades, and kill stuff. You can then use these stats to upgrade Ninja like this: Coinage for unlocking bonus levels, kills to power up your sword (katana, soul sword, etc.), and Grades to rank up your belt (white belt, yellow belt, etc). You also gain rage abilities along the way for killing certain bosses.
GRAPHICS (9/10)
I don't rate graphics based on how realistic they are, but rather on how well they work with the game or how pleasing to the eye they are. In this case, the graphics are cartoon-style and it fits the game PERFECTLY. Plus, animation is great as well.
GAMEPLAY (10/10)
The greatest variety of gameplay I've ever seen in a game; why can't more games do stuff like this nowadays? One minute you're racing down a track in "Eye Bowling," and the next you're boxing with a huge robot, classic Super-Punch Out!! style. Of course, these minigame-ish modes aren't all that there is to the gameplay; when you control Ninja normally, you have access to a few normal attacks as well as some simple combos all in addition to the rage abilities I mentioned earlier. It ain't no Devil May Cry when it comes to the melee combat, but that's not the point of the game: again, the game aims for variety. Plus, the combat is still challenging and fun (especially during the boss fight with Malakai--still my favorite boss battle). Final judgement: absolutely awesome gameplay.
SOUND (8/10)
The game's main tune is repeated throughout the game in several styles, along with some other catchy tunes as well. There are a couple of great tracks on there, so there's nothing wrong with the music. As for sound effects, they're great too. It never got to sounding too repetitive. Only flaw: some of the voices are annoying as hell.
CONTENT (9.5/10)
5 hub worlds with innovative and enjoyable boss fights plus plenty of missions to complete. The only catch is, at some point you'll have to go back and replay some old levels. There's always some new twist to it though; you might have to find a certain amount of Red Coinage to unlock the Grade for that level rather than just racing through to grab it. I wish that these extra modes could have been more organized though, like if you could select which mode to play for that level and each level had the same modes (exceptions: boss battles, unlockable levels and Shoot the Ships) But, as it is, it's still good. I found that even if I was stuck on a frustrating level, I'd eventually manage to finish it anyway. There's plenty of fun to be had with the missions, although, as I said, the extra modes could have been revised a bit.
CLOSING
The game kicks ass. You can even pick it up for just a few bucks now, so do it! (Note: Playstation version is better. Sorry, but the XBOX version crashed once and sometimes the game slows down erratically. Never had problems on the Playstation.)
FINAL: 9.5/10