Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1

After playing the demo of I-Ninja that came package along with the incredible Soul Caliber II, I wasn't quite sure what to make to the game. It seemed to have potential, but I wasn't quite sure if it was the sort of thing that would keep my interest all that long. It took a little convincing, and that was thanks to the fine PR folks that work for Namco, but I finally decided that I would go ahead and at least give it a look. Sure, it wasn't a role-playing game, it wasn't from the survival horror genre, and it wasn't a racing game, but there had been other titles that I had less than a positive initial feeling about only to learn after playing the title that it exceeded any and all expectations that I had about it.

I-Ninja is from that new take on the platform genre, taking the classic elements and then blending in more 3D gameplay, something that has been a major part of the gaming industry for years now. Ninja himself, the main character of the game, has discovered a mysterious stone known as the Rage Stone, an item that he managed to get his hands on after defeating a dragon while trying to free his sensei. The power of the stone however is much more than he had anticipated, and he accidentally kills his master, but fortune smiles upon him, and sensei returns as a ghost in order to help Ninja learn more about his new abilities and locate the remaining rage stones. These are going to be highly helpful as the evil Emperor O-Dor has invaded the area and imprisoned the populace, and it seems that only a ninja is going to be the right man for the job to bring peace back to the realm.

In some ways, the story behind I-Ninja plays on just about every martial arts film ever made. I think just about every one of us has seen some poorly dubbed Hong Kong action film in the mid-afternoon of a blustery Saturday, and most of the time, some less than skilled novice fighter has had his master slain, by whatever means. Generally, the choice is revenge, but there are those occasions where the dead return to instruct their former pupil. That's exactly what is here, but in more of a comedic form. Really, the story isn't something that's very complicated, so its easy for younger players to get into, and is somewhat of a parallel to other games in this same vein. Titles such as Sonic the Hedgehog, the Mario series, and even Spyro the Dragon come to mind as games that really didn't have much behind the story themselves, but gave us characters that were easily likable almost right from the start.

Also like these games, I-Ninja for the most part is a platform title where running and jumping makes up the primary part of the action. There are however a few twists and difference to make I-Ninja stand out just a little bit from the rest, something that's highly important and thus, avoids it getting the word "clone" tagged on someplace. For what it's worth, one of I-Ninjas more interesting features is that he can run along walls, something that is important if you're a ninja, a brings back fond memories of one of my favorite martial arts films, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Ninja may not be Ziyi Chang, but he certainly has his wall running going on, and it help with the pacing quite a bit, making the game that much more fun to play.

Much like a ninja, you've got plenty of weapons and accessories as well, and what ninja would be caught dead without them. Shuriken's are one of the most important weapons of all, and Ninja has them. Unlike Shinobi though, Ninja cannot only throw them in the usual view, but there's a nice zoom option, giving you a better opportunity to take out those pesky enemies. Ah, but there's an even better shuriken, but its only a power-up, so you won't have permanent access to it. Let's say you have an area full of enemies, and while it may be fun to run in and beat them senseless, you do know martial arts after all, you can instead use your Ninja Shuriken, a giant throwing star becomes your weapon, complete with you riding atop it and mowing through enemies for a brief time. Ninja also has darts, but they aren't nearly as fun as those trusty stars.

As far as the controls go, like most platform games, this one is fairly easy to pick up on. Initially, you'll have a tutorial to play through in order to further get a grasp on the games overall controls, and some of them, mainly the timing with some of the jumps, can in fact be a little bit tricky at first, but once you start getting into the games pacing, they become incredibly easy. The camera also tends to flow decently with the game, although there is no way to control on your own, outside of selecting different camera modes. It's not one of those free flowing cameras modes like is the case with Mario or Spyro, but again, it serves its purpose without too many errors.

Admittedly, I-Ninja is a lot more fun that I had originally believed it was, despite the simplistic story and very cartoon inspired graphics that go for a bit of a super deformed look, something that many anime fans should be fairly well versed in. The problem with the game though is that it tends to be far too easy, especially if you've logged countless hours in your lifetime playing games. It's not one of those titles that's going to have you chewing your nails trying to figure out how to get through sections, but it also isn't one that's going to have you tossing the control aside in frustration, which is too bad really.

With a majority of titles geared towards the teenage and adult market, I-Ninja is one of those shinning stars that is going to appeal to a couple of different types of gamers. For younger children, it's fast paced enough to keep their attention, and parents aren't going to need to worry about them running around with shotguns and chainsaws, maiming innocent bystanders and law enforcement agents alike. It's a fairly innocent game, and parents that adhere to the gaming code more than likely won't have too many problems with their younger children sitting down unattended and playing. Those that are still new to gaming and have been turned off by titles that have complicated controls layouts and stories that require far too much attention, this is one of those games that's easy going, and easier still to loose yourself within. However, those, like myself, that have played what would be considered by most to be far too many games will have fun at first, but it's a novelty that quickly wears off and will probably have you looking through your collection of titles fro something else to play. It's not a bad effort though, and again, will have a core audience that is going to love the game. While I may not find it to be something that holds my interest for too long, it's also a game that I wouldn't mind seeing more of in the future either.

-mike-