 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Tecmo |
| Publisher: | Tecmo | |
| Genre: | Action | |
| ESRB: | Everyone | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Wii Remote, Classic Controller, GameCube controller | |
| Buy Now: |   |
1989 was an important year for Tecmo, as it saw the release of both Tecmo Bowl and Ninja Gaiden on the NES after stints in the arcades. Both games laid the foundation for extremely successful franchises for years to come, and solidified the company’s position as one of the most respected publishers in the industry. So it’s fitting then that both games were quickly re-released on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console, with Ninja Gaiden being one of the best values on the Virtual Console to date.
Ninja Gaiden is definitely not for everyone, simply because it embodies old school difficulty in its finest form. The first couple of Acts (there are six in all) are relatively easy, but this is just to get you used to the gameplay and prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. The 3rd and 4th Acts are where things start to get interesting, and by the time you reach the 5th Act, you’ll be dying and replaying the same areas over and over again with regular frequency. Towards the end of the game you’ll find yourself progressing slightly farther in each area on every turn, memorizing enemy spawn points and attack patterns until you finally make that near-perfect run and move on to the next area. While this is certainly frustrating, it’s also extremely satisfying when you finally do conquer that seemingly impossible area and move on to the next, and the gameplay itself is so fun that you probably won’t care most of the time.
Each Act is broken up until several different levels, which themselves can be made up of several different areas. Progress to each of these different areas within a level is saved when you die, unless of course it’s your last life and you see the dreaded “Game Over” screen. Even then it’s not a total loss; although you do lose your progress within the level, you are allowed to restart the game (just press Start) at the beginning of the same level an infinite number of times. Since the original game provided no way to actually save your progress (short of leaving the NES powered on), this is definitely one game where the Wii’s save state functionality for VC titles is very welcome. It’s also another reason why the high degree of difficulty is a little more palatable in this re-release.
This sort of structure may make the game seem easy, but it’s anything but that. Enemies are relentless, often attacking from several different directions at the same time. Enemy placement in later Acts is sadistic, as they’ll often arrive at just the right time to do maximum damage or knock you off a platform into a hole. Some enemies even come at you continually if you stand right on their trigger area; for example, a bird will swoop down at you, and after you kill it another will come in its place using the exact same attack pattern if you fail to move on.
Posted: 2007-05-29 19:14:45 PST