Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Gore Comparison

  • By markypants, GameSpot
  • Posted Jul 14, 2009 6:05 am PT

Recently, we managed to get our hands on preview code for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the PS3. Sigma 2 producer Yosuke Hayashi has gone on record as saying that the game will be less gory on the PS3 than the Xbox 360 original, telling GameSpot "Since last year, the number of games featuring high...

Recently, we managed to get our hands on preview code for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 for the PS3. Sigma 2 producer Yosuke Hayashi has gone on record as saying that the game will be less gory on the PS3 than the Xbox 360 original, telling GameSpot "Since last year, the number of games featuring high levels of violence increased. So rather than do something the same as everyone else is doing, we decided to make it different." We checked out both versions of the game to discover if Ryu Hayabusa really has been censored on the Sony system.

sigma2

Though both games start off identically, when the action kicks in it does seem like the Xbox 360 version has the edge in terms of epic bloodletting. The graphic decapitations and limb severing are still in the PS3 version, but the vast sprays of blood have been toned down. Instead of seeing the red stuff pouring out of every wound, there is a purple mist that emanates from your fallen foes.

The difference is most noticeable in the sliced legs and head losses that frequently happen in the game, and gore lovers will no doubt miss the no-holds barred feeling of the 360 version. However, if you're not a gore fanatic, then you should be able to live with this, and at least in terms of gameplay, the PS3 version is identical to the Xbox 360 original.

Many people will also be wondering about the graphics in the PS3 version, but we're impressed with what we've seen from our preview build. Even at an early stage, Sigma 2 is looking like a visual treat on Sony's console. The environments are a feast for the eyes, and both the traditional Japanese huts and bustling skyline behind it show great attention to detail and look beautiful on PlayStation 3. We even noticed some awesome lighting effects in Sigma 2, with a cherry blossom tree at the start of the game looking vibrant and colourful, particularly in the gorgeous pink leaves that fall to the ground.

While Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is still rock hard on the PS3, we can't wait to have another chance to play through the game. It's released on Playstation 3 this September, so keep your eyes on GameSpot for more on the game in the upcoming months.

25 Comments

  • inversepolarity

    Posted Oct 28, 2009 7:19 pm PT

    Im with you guys, I might be hanging up my Dragon Blade aswell! I loved the original game and also ninja gaiden black, probaly the greatest non shooting action game ever. Not only was the fighting as in depth as any beat'em up but it also had awesome platforming, adventuring, slight puzzles and rpg elements (as in powering up weapons and and move list more so than 2). Now don't get me wrong i loved ninja gaiden 2, the action and fighting was ramped up considerably, but this seemed the only focus for the game which made it feel considerably a lot more linear. Instead of improving on everything that made the first game a classic. Now that tecmo are toning down the violence aswell for sigma 2, i dont have much faith for the guys doing justice to a 3rd game. I hope they make a 3rd game, I hope they surpass the level design, exploration and platforming of the first game (which was almost like 1 big awesome map that linked together) hell even put them scarabs back in to find they're the only collectables in a game i enjoyed looking for in the chance i'd unlock something awesome. Keep the speed and brutality of 2. Any chance of complete story co-op. Multiplayer death match? It would be perfect. I can only hope.

  • VynylMassacre

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:59 pm PT

    I am willing to bet that the recent merger or Tecmo with Koei or whatever they are called is to blame. Has anyone played Dynasty Warriors? It is akin to if they would have made Braveheart with happy fireworks instead of blood. One last sentence: So much for any Mature Content in ANY future Tecmo title.

  • VynylMassacre

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:57 pm PT

    If Tecmo wants to appeal to children, then they should appeal to children. This was not a child's game. You can't have you cake and eat it to. I know I have written a lot here, but I am very very upset. I waited a year for this stupid game. I don't own a 360 anymore, and I felt that I didn't need to if my favorite titles were going to appear on both systems. I hope this game doesn't sell, the way that Mortal Kombat on Snes bombed like a plane. TECMO: IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO THIS KIND OF THING, GIVE US A PATCH TO CONTROL GORE. I WANT A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL GAME WITH UPGRADES, NOT CENSORED CRAP.

  • VynylMassacre

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:54 pm PT

    I am not buying this game. Period. I hate that I have to write this. I bought the first Ninja Gaiden on regular Xbox the day it came out. I have been a fan of Ryu since the 80's. I am hanging up my sword. Team Ninja (Or should I say Team Ninja DOGS), this is lame beyond lame. Games like Mortal Kombat and Ninja Gaiden are SUPPOSED to be gory and adult oriented. Adding in some girls in bathing suits doesn't make this a better action game. Sorry. And "partial nudity"? Wtf is that? Either one is nude, or one is not. Rachel in a leather suit isn't partial nudity.

  • VynylMassacre

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:50 pm PT

    The reason Ninja Gaiden on the New Systems was cool is that it presented a brutal game in a fantasy environment. There are very few games that do both. If you play a "fantasy" game, you are ready to see stupid color effects rather than blood. Not with this series. These games were along the lines of violent animes like Samurai X, or the ultraviolent movies that inspired Kill Bill. "Sigma 2" feels VERY watered down after one has played Ninja Gaiden 2. I think that anyone who is defending this watering down is really just as disappointed as myself, but has "sour grapes" syndrome.

  • VynylMassacre

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:46 pm PT

    To respond to "Midnightnightshade" below: I am also a 30 year old gamer, an artisti, and an educated person. I think that the censoring of this game is just plain lousy. Team Ninja seems to have it in for PS3 users. We have to wait and wait to get their games, and now they are censoring them. Have you PLAYED this demo? More realistic? Are you kidding me? In the REAL version of this embarrassment, you could slice off an arm, and see a bone and muscles. Now, you can slice off an arm, and watch it magically vanish in a puff of purple smoke, leaving a black socket. The arm is nowhere to be found, there is hardly ANY blood. You get red slashes when you hit an enemy like something one might see in Soul Caliber.

  • VynylMassacre

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 7:40 pm PT

    They have completely castrated a great game. Blue glowing jello when you cut off someone's arm?! Where is did the arm go? Is this f****ing Pokemon? The WORST part of Ninja Gaiden Sigma was the boring and poorly designed Rachel add-on. Now, Team Ninja has decided to take out the gore, ALA Nintendo Mortal Kombat 1991, and given us more poor extra character crap. What is this, Ninja Gaiden for children? This game might as well be rated T . When will developers learn to leave good games alone? Leave 'em alone! I wanted a port of Ninja Gaiden 2 with some new features, not an edited mess. I am boycotting this game now that I have played the demo. I would rather go buy a $19 copy of the REAL game for Xbox than give these schlocks $60 for censored anime- inspired garbage. This version might be nice for a 16 year old who wants to look at cartoon boobs, but I am a 30 year old gamer. I wanted this one for gore, combos, and content. Not cartoon boobs. I can look at real ones whenever I want to.

  • Vargasr

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 11:22 am PT

    man... Why the gore? why the gore? ...

  • was2

    Posted Sep 19, 2009 1:29 am PT

    If you live in a glasshouse
    Don’t throw stones

  • was2

    Posted Sep 19, 2009 1:26 am PT

    Ninja gaiden 3 soon come multiplataform .. this will be the last sigma ??

  • melisa06

    Posted Sep 15, 2009 8:04 pm PT

    Very cool haha...Thank you
    sesli sohbet
    sesli chat

  • ck02623

    Posted Jul 22, 2009 12:43 pm PT

    I don't know why it's really that big of a deal. Not to sound like a jerk, but isn't it a little sadistic to be upset that the game doesn't have fountains of blood spraying everywhere?

  • jvsexy

    Posted Jul 18, 2009 8:54 pm PT

    Lol...he said Temco....its Tecmo !!
    And you really cant compare the first stage of NG2 coz both look good anyway. Compare the later stages such as the Green Tunnels - where you had to fight a giant worm. And also the 3rd stage I think, where its raining.

  • cloud345

    Posted Jul 18, 2009 7:17 pm PT

    i think that there should be an option to have all that blood, or to have it toned down. But thats just me.

  • aDhAmMe13

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 10:44 am PT

    I always wanted to buy Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Don't know why I didn't...

  • player_leo

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 6:10 am PT

    Alright, they still bleed pretty well in Sigma2 and there seems to be blood when you slash enemies. So its not too toned down where all bad guys are bleeding stars and rainbow from each hit.

  • Excedra

    Posted Jul 15, 2009 4:50 am PT

    There should be a sigma on the 360.

  • avatar_genius

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 7:08 pm PT

    I love Sigma on the PS3 and NG2 on the 360 and am looking forward to Sigma 2 on the PS3, I know it will be good.

  • Kyuubi_Vegetto

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 6:50 pm PT

    dRuGGeRnaUt
    looks like sony is aiming at a more "casual" (read: younger) audience, and a teen rating..

    It's going to get a teen rating in spite of the fact it still has somewhat copious amounts blood being let along with enemy npcs having heads and limbs removed makes sense also this is Tecmo's call not Sony's.

    dRuGGeRnaUt
    but removing violence from a game doesn't make much sense to me..

    Removing violence would be if Tecmo decided to remove the instances where Ryu is dismembering & mutilating his enemies not removing the amount of blood enemies shed after the aforementioned actions that's more toning down the violence level.

  • Midnightshade29

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 2:32 pm PT

    there is still gore there, hell it looks like a lot more gore than in the original sigma... i don't recall decapitations and flying limbs in sigma 1. I don't recall that much blood in sigma one. The grpahic look much better, more refined and sharp. The sigma engine was fantastic on the first so the updated version of it should be great. Judging from the action this game is going to rock. It still has gore...the only fools who are going to make a big deal about this are 13-15 year old kids, and xbox fanboys who want to bash the game, as you know they will....insecurities is all that is. Being a 30 year old gamer, this looks just fine. It still has gore and decapitations and it looks more realistic this way, as there isn't fountains of blood in real life. I can't wait for this, day 1 purchase confirmed. (of course i say that and do that for all ps3 exclusives since mgs4....as they've all been highly rated!)

  • dRuGGeRnaUt

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 11:58 am PT

    looks like sony is aiming at a more "casual" (read: younger) audience, and a teen rating.. wow i hope this isn't a new trend.. that would suck.. I personally don't think violence makes games any better, but removing violence from a game doesn't make much sense to me.. i mean imagine Gears of War and instead of blood when you chainsawed someone, you got purple rainbows of love..
    ..game = win
    ..changing game to sell to more "tweens" = epic fail

  • ne0man

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 11:40 am PT

    Thats great for Ninja Gaiden on the ps3, they get rewarded for the wait! But by now it might feel dated since the 360 version was already too close to the xbox original.
    there's a slight mistake there. on the xbox 360 the game was called simply Ninja Gaiden 2. This: "when the action kicks in it does seem like the Xbox 360 version of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 "

  • Spikedjester

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 11:37 am PT

    Yeah I mean gore, sucks its out, but not even close to the end of the world. There are more rewarding features being added then there are good features being taken out IMO

  • Kyuubi_Vegetto

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 10:04 am PT

    In B4 complaining (again) about how the lack of gore ruins the game.

  • high_flier429

    Posted Jul 14, 2009 6:33 am PT

    Gore or not, the co-op is what I am anticipating most.

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