Jiraya: The Magical Ninja impressions

At a press event held just prior to the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, Capcom has announced a new PlayStation 2 action game called Jiraiya: The Magical Ninja. The game's characters have been designed by Susumu Matsushita, the man responsible for the character design in Capcom's Maximo series.

Not a lot of actual gameplay was shown at the event, but the basic concept of Jiraiya is to deliver a quick and thrilling action game. As a ninja, players will be able to execute various ninja moves, including the ability to walk on water, hang from ceilings, and disappear in a puff of smoke. You will also be able to summon beasts, which is a pretty big part of the gameplay. Your beasts will fight alongside you, and you can earn new beasts by beating the game's boss characters. The bosses, part of an evil organization known as Ojamato, are designed to be slightly reminiscent of other popular characters. You'll face a kabuki-style boss, a boss based on Dracula, and more. The game takes place on land most of the time, but you'll also fight enemies from inside a boat or on a plane.

The game can be played simultaneously by two players in a cooperative fashion, and it sounds like you'll have the option of both taking on ninja roles or having one player play the ninja while the other controls a beast. The game has a cooperation gauge that fills as you execute combos. When it's full, Jiraiya can execute a special cooperative attack with whichever beast is currently in use.

Jiraiya: The Magical Ninja is being developed with a wide audience in mind, meaning the game should be accessible to kids as well as adults. The game is currently planned to be released in Japan sometime in 2004. No release details for North America have been announced at this time, but it's expected that it will, eventually, make its way across the Pacific.