Tomonobu Itagaki's masterpiece, Ninja Gaiden Black, is simply one of the best games of this console generation.
Black puts you in the boots of Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja whose village is massacred by a greater fiend known as Doku. Ryu’s village protects the dark dragon blade, a blade of pure evil with unfathomable strength. Doku’s motive for attacking your village is instantly revealed from the first moment you come face to face with him. He firmly grips in his hands the dark dragon blade. It is up to Ryu to avenge his village, and get back the dark dragon blade. In short, the game takes the basic ‘revenge’ story premise. Throw in other characters and a plot twist, and you have the main idea of Black’s story. Though it may not be entirely ambitious, it keeps the game moving at an even pace.
The game’s story is told through beautifully rendered CGI cut scenes. This is perhaps Black’s strongest production value, its visuals. The game is just stunning to look at. The environments, textures, enemies, all look fantastic and animate just as good too. Black’s graphics are not only gorgeous from a technical stand point, but from an artistic one as well. What is also important to note is that even with graphics that obviously push the Xbox to its limit, the game still runs at a smooth 60 frames per second, regardless of the number of enemies on screen. Black is a game that has definitely honed the sword that is the Xbox, to its sharpest.
Black’s sound design is on par with its graphics. Each environment has its own music that fits well. The game’s soundtrack is nice not only because it is fun to listen to, but also because how varied it is. Music ranges from upbeat techno during boss fights, to the echoing orchestral choir of the Monastery. The game’s sound effects are great too. Whether it be slicing an enemy’s head off with the dragon blade or doing a dance of death with the lunar, all the sound effects are convincing.
In an action adventure game, no matter how beautiful the graphics, no matter how epic the story, no matter how varied the soundtrack, it all comes down to the game play. In this, Black delivers in every aspect. Its fast-paced, fluid game mechanics are easy and fun to pick up, but challenging to master. Speaking of challenging, there cannot be a better word to describe the game. This game is difficult. Your enemies are aggressive and can usually deal a lot of damage. But perhaps the most difficult part of the game has to be its boss fights. The game’s bosses (which there are many) are all worthy adversaries that once defeated; leave a true level of satisfaction. Black sports a large variety of weapons, each with their own combos and moves. Realistically speaking, you’ll find yourself using some moves more than others, but it’s always nice to see that you have to memorize certain moves, rather than just mashing buttons away. Black is entirely unique because it has the feel of an action adventure game, but the depth of a great fighting game.
Simply put, Ninja Gaiden is one of the best action adventure games of our time. It’s a stunning work of art that manages to distinguish itself from modern games to date with its old school sense of difficulty, its next generation visuals, and its high level of replay value. The very fact that it’s priced as a platinum hits title means that there is no reason why any gamer with an Xbox cannot own this gem. Even as we enter the next generation of gaming with the Xbox 360, Ninja Gaiden Black will always be remembered as one of the best games of Microsoft’s first console.