I-Ninja

"I-Ninja O-Kay"

There was a brief moment in the video game industry, not too long ago, when many, many new characters were being introduced. Sphinx, Jade, Tak, Ty, Billy Hatcher, Ninja. Maybe it's just me, but it seems this doesn't happen very often. It is easier to make money off an established franchise. In any case, it's nice to see Namco release something totally unexpected. That would be I-Ninja.

Graphics:
I-Ninja is a game of cute and friendly visuals when the actual game isn't necessarily for kids, kind of like Wind Waker and Conker's Bad Fur Day. If the main character, Ninja, was more realistic, I guarantee the game would lose a lot of its charm and, more importantly, fun. But while the graphics are presentable, they don't go beyond that and offer nothing special. Yet the animation is fluid and believable and the different levels are quite large. In some areas, there's a slight jolt in the framerate, but never at moments where it's a real problem.

Sound:
Apparently Billy West, famous voice actor, does all Ninja's dialogue. Truth is, I wasn't too impressed. Ninja comes across as kind of annoying, but the kind of annoying you grow to accept and love. Ninja's master/trainer, on the other hand, is hilarious, and the interactions between him and his pupil are very funny. The music has a slight kung-fu feel to it, but really lays it on thick with the techno/rock. It isn't bad by any means and is a great compliment to the action. The main theme, which carries throughout, is kind of catchy, too.

Gameplay:
When I first started playing I-Ninja, I was very pleased to see such a wide variety of gameplay styles. You'll do a fair amount of running, jumping, swinging from chains, running up walls, grinding on rails, and the likes, but that's not the end. The game throws in various other tasks, most notably in boss battles where gears shift and you'll either take control of a missile-wielding submarine or a boxing robot. In some levels, you'll even jump onto a barrel or attach yourself to a ball and roll around a la Super Monkey Ball. Unfortunately, things begin to take a dive for the worst in the last half of the game. The last few boss battles result to normal platformer fare, and the last several levels just become tediously long hack-and-slash routines. It's like they ran out of ideas and started going with the run-of-the-mill platformer blueprint. If they really did just run out of ideas, they could have at least spaced out the good ideas so they weren't all compacted into the first few hours of the game. I should also mention that levels are quite linear, but I didn't find it to be much of a problem. It really kept the game in-line and action-oriented.

The game is set up into five different areas which branch off into the actual levels. Each level has different objectives needing to be met to earn grades. The more grades you have, the stronger you become and the more stuff you can access. This upgrade system works really well, but how you go about it is the worst gimmick yet. Unlike in Super Mario where each time you enter a level to obtain a new star, the level is slightly different or you're sent to explore other areas, I-Ninja's levels do not change and you find yourself doing the exact same thing you did last time. I'm not joking.

Controls:
The fighting system is quick, slick, easy, and rewarding. It starts to seem redundant, but chopping enemies to pieces (literally) over and over and over is surprisingly satisfying. All the different moves mentioned above feel quite natural. However, a lot of your cool abilities are contextual, meaning you can only use them at certain times. The L and R buttons are used for the chain and darts, but sometimes I had difficulty getting these functions to work properly (they slipped). One thing I must make special mention of, though, is the use of the rumble. It is so subtle and done so well, you'll actually feel what the character feels.

Frustration:
What becomes upsetting about the game is the sickening requirement of replaying old levels. It's not fun. In fact, it becomes very frustrating because the whole time you're thinking, "Jeez, I've done this already!" Some of the mini-games and boss battles are pretty tough, but it's more challenging than it is frustrating.

Lasting Appeal:
I-Ninja is very short to begin with (only a few hours long). Then they added that tacky gimmick of replaying old levels, doing the same routine to earn more grades. Sometimes it's kind of fun to play an old level a second time, but not a third-- or a fourth. Getting all the grades opens up a special Battle Arena, but it just gives you a chance to tackle all the enemies at once. Nothing fancy.

Overall:
I must commend Namco on their efforts to establish a new platformer. I-Ninja is bursting with a variety of gameplay, made better by a wacky and amusing presentation. Everything handles incredibly well, too. Unfortunately, the appeal and wonder of I-Ninja slowly begins to fall apart, and the final moments felt like it had been rushed. Because the game is so short, too, I can't recommend buying this. But I-Ninja is such a game that you must play it, so if you like action and platform games, give it a rent.

Points:
+ Large variety of gameplay
+ Amusing
+ Nice control
-- Level replay gimmick
-- Last half of game, no good

Score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/04, Updated 11/07/04