Having been in the video game market since 1988 with their arcade and Nintendo Entertainment System releases of Ninja Gaiden, the Ninja Gaiden franchise has stood the test of time with the same protagonist (Ryu Hayabusa) and similar action-adventure / hack and slash video game mechanics. After all this time, Team Ninja have made the move to diversify from their usual pattern with the series by introducing a new protagonist (Yaiba Kamikaze) and incorporating a zombie outbreak into the mix.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden follows the ninja Yaiba who wakes up at the beginning of the game having been restored from the brink of death by an organization that has refitted him with robotic components to replace those he had lost during a battle with Ryu Hayabusa. On the hunt for Ryu to seek revenge upon him, he also seeks for a way to put an end to the zombie outbreak that has begun greatly impacting humanity. Games based around zombie outbreaks are nothing unique, and unfortunately Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden didn’t really deliver anything distinct to set it apart from the other dozens of games based around the premise. But to give credit where it is due, the game does have a quirky sense of humour that made the storyline fairly enjoyable to follow at the very least.
Ultimately it would be unrealistic to expect a brand new character to receive the same level of development as a character who has been present in a series for more than two decades now. To their credit the development team managed to get most of the basics right and as a stand alone game the use of characters were adequate. However Yaiba ended up being fairly unmemorable who needed more time and attention to be properly developed.
One of the best elements to Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden is the non-minimalistic cel-shaded appearance that makes playing through the game feel like you are doing so through a completely interactive full-colour comic book. Despite looking cluttered and messy some of the time, the game world and characters and full of colour and detail which helps support the quirkier and distinct approach to visuals that Team Ninja seemed to be aiming for. If it were not for the amount of time you could spend fighting a jerky camera, I would say that it was almost perfect in terms of my personal tastes. The visuals are complimented well by solid music and English voice acting.
As a seasoned player of game franchises such as Dynasty Warriors which have typically reviewed pretty well on The Otaku’s Study, I don’t have too many objections about “button mashing” games provided they are done well and offer some form of challenge. Provided you don’t go in with your expectations set too high, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden can make for a fun albeit fairly short playthrough with a decent combat system. However it falls slightly below the mark set by other recent Ninja Gaiden games and contains little that sets the game apart from other action-adventure hack and slash titles currently available on the market.
Progression in Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z primarily follows a linear path with minimal deviance from it, where between navigating the game environment you will be thrust into battle with a group or swarms of (usually) zombies that you are required to defeat before making your way to the next area. The battles primarily see Yaiba attack using three different types of weaponry, the sword (Square / X) as an all-around weapon, a punch (Triangle / Y) as a slower but more powerful attack and through the use of a flail (O / B) that executes less powerful attacks but at a much greater range.
Executing particular zombies will also grant Yaiba access to a number of limited-use weapons that are much more creative and enjoyable to use than the default items but have terrible durability that may leave you questioning why to even bother acquiring them. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden also throws in a rudimentary elemental system that gives attributes (fire, electricity or bile) to certain enemies and zombie weapons that can give you or the enemy the capacity to turn the tide in battle. It was a clever system that worked well given the combat system they implemented, but could have used a bit more to make it more of a primary feature than a secondary feature.
While there is a simple levelling / skills system that gives the player some control over how Yaiba develops his abilities through new combos and additional perks available for purchase, most of my own playthrough seemed to be spent mashing the same four buttons with little incentive to delve into the combo system or additional gameplay systems. There was the occasional fight that managed to stand out from the mix of generic zombie swarms, but I don’t think it stood up to the challenge earlier Ninja Gaiden games have managed to provide.
Upon completing the game you are awarded with a side-scrolling adaptation of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z for your efforts which pays homage to the classic instalments in the series. While nothing innovative, it proved to be rather enjoyable if not only for that retro vibe complemented by old-school visuals and music.
In my opinion it is commendable to see that Team Ninja have not decided to just release another instalment in a franchise that has stood the test of time, instead offering an alternate experience that brought some new and interesting ideas to the table. While the pleasing visual style and quirky story elements were appealing, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden struggled to offer anything that stood out in terms of gameplay, making it a rather average hack and slash overall.
The complementary mini-comic book produced by Dark Horse Comics in collaboration with Team Ninja and Tecmo Koei was a nice perk however.
A review copy of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z was kindly provided by Mindscape (Australia) for the purposes of this review.
