Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

by gSathe

Ummm…

I think that was my exact response the first Ninja Gaiden game. I can’t say that I loved it, but it was definitely interesting. And also annoying enough that I gave up on it after a point. I didn’t have anything more to do with the series for a long time. And then I picked up a copy of Ninja Gaiden Black, and this time, I fell in love. I still play it, when I feel particularly masochistic and filled with self loathing. If you’re a fan of the series then you know that aside from being gorgeous to look at and great to listen to, it’s also an inordinate amount of fun.

Which is strange, because if you play the way us ordinary mortals would then you’d end up dying at least once every five minutes. With a save point usually coming once every hour. If you’re lucky.

But the gameplay is amazing, the combat dynamic unbelievable. When you start playing the game, you might treat it like a button masher and go clomping across the screen. But the game doesn’t really have so much of a learning curve as a cliff on this issue. You have to know what the different buttons do and how the combos work, and you have to plan out your strategy carefully every time you go into combat. It’s a bloody difficult game, but it’s not unbeatable or unfair, and so if you work at it, each simple combat that you handle successfully leaves you with a feeling that’s - joyous.

There’s usually a story in there too, which could be fun enough if you want to listen to it. I never did, and I think I enjoyed Ninja Gaiden plenty anyway.

So when I heard that there’s a version of the game for the DS, you can understand that I was both delighted and distraught. After all, the gorgeousness of the game IS a big factor in selling it to me. But if that’s something you were worried about, then cease and desist immediately young reader! The game is as pretty as you could ask for, and sounds just as lovely as you’d like it to.

The DS is flipped on its side (like a Ninja flipping out?) and everything happens on the touchscreen, and the action doesn’t use any buttons except for blocking - which can use any button, including the D-pad, so you shouldn’t have any issues holding the DS in a way which feels comfortable, and the rest of your interaction takes place entirely using the stylus. Which means that to attack someone you slash the stylus through them, to throw a shuriken or fire your bow you tap the screen. Flick upwards to jump, again to double jump, and slash through while in midair to carry out a cool combo slashing at lightning speed through the enemy. Ninpos are a little more complicated - click an icon, get a character floating in front of you and trace it out yourself to cast. This takes you out of the action a little but honestly, for now at least the novelty of it is very satisfying.

 A lot of thought clearly went into the control system for the game, just like a lot of technical wizardry went into making the game look and sound as wonderful as it does. It feels fluid and natural, and is intuitive enough for the most part though there are a few areas where it feels a little clunky. Still, considering that they just took the controls in a completely new direction and managed to give us a game which maintains the visual appeal of the big consoles, it feels fair to forgive a little clumsiness in the controls, which doesn’t even happen often.

You’re not really mashing, and there’s a lot of flexibility on hand when you’re in combat. There’s other stuff to do too, action puzzles, and interacting with the townsfolk, but really, it’s a Ninja Gaiden game and it’s about the combat, and that’s been handled really well, so even if you’re not a fan of the series you’re not going to be disappointed with this game.

In fact, the only complaint I can make with the game is that it feels like it was made for a wider audience than the people who’re already fans - there are far too many save points, which fix up your health and ninpo magic, and the bosses are just too pointlessly easy to deal with. Don’t get me wrong - it’s still not a breeze to play the game, particularly once you stop playing on the standard difficulty setting. But it isn’t the lovefest for masochists that Ninja Gaiden is known as.

Still, it is a great game, with a fantastic interface and possibly the best looking and sounding game on the DS, it’s hard to think of any real reason why everyone shouldn’t own a copy.