Ninja Gaiden Sigma

"Ninja Gaiden Sigma is, perhaps, the most in-depth modern action game you can experience."

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is, at heart, a remake of Ninja Gaiden Black, which was a remake of the Ninja Gaiden game on XBOX, which, in turn, was a sort of "rebirth" of a classic NES trilogy (that, unsurprisingly, spawned multiple versions on other platforms). In the early nineties, the Ninja Gaiden trilogy revolutionized the action platformers of the day, offering a difficult game that introduced many edgy concepts into the world of gaming. It should be no surprise, then, that the latest of many re-imaginings of the classic game carries the same depth and flair.

The setting of this tale takes place in a world both familiar to our world and different at the same time. You assume the role of Ryu Hayabusa, a ninja on a quest for revenge after his clan was utterly decimated by the Vigoor Empire in search of some very powerful artifacts. Armed with the legendary Dragon Sword, this story of vengeance will bring you straight to the heart of the Vigoorian homeland as you battle against rival ninjas, armed-to-the-teeth soldiers, and eventually monsters known as fiends.

While this game offers an extremely rich setting, even having a mythology for the world itself, the story takes a backseat to the rest of the game. The plotline, while not necessarily confusing, is very vague with details. There are some scenes involving a short amount of dialog between the characters, you never really get immersed into the world. I, for one, wished they really put forward more effort into fleshing out the story, because what you do get to see is quite interesting, even if it leaves you with the impression that it was tacked on for motivation's sake.

The quality of the voice-acting leaves room for more to be desired, as well. However, the rest of the game's aesthetic value is quite amazing. Animations are fluid, areas are detailed, and the sound feels like it was taken straight from an action movie.

Luckily, the focus of this game lies in the gameplay, and it really shines. While many people will take it as a button smasher of sorts when first starting out, it quickly becomes apparent that this is anything but. While those "smashers" out there might get along by some amount of luck, the game has a fairly in-depth system that relies on a combination of multiple, upgradeable weapons with specific button combinations to perform some amazing feats, environmental maneuverability in the light of the Prince of Persia series, and your own defensive capabilities. An emphasis is placed on your ability to out-maneuver your enemies by running over walls or dodging their attacks, as well as being able to turn their own efforts against them through the utilization of the blocking and reversal functions.

The difficulty of the game is astounding for newcomers of the series, and luckily there is a "hidden" easy mode that becomes available to you after you die quite a bit within the normal difficulty mode, in a way similar to what was introduced with the Devil May Cry series. Enemies don't let up during gameplay, even on the lowest difficulties, and with a myriad of unlockable difficulty modes - from the easiest to the most insane: Ninja Dog, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Master Ninja - you're sure to be challenged often as time progresses.

To offer a change of pace with the frantic gameplay, however, is the inclusion of a secondary character named Rachel. This buxom-babe is quite different from the frantic style of play with Ryu. She doesn't move as fast and is armed with a large warhammer of sorts. Gameplay with her requires you to play far more defensively, and, at times, strategically. It's a welcome change of pace, however, as her levels aren't insanely long yet offer a nice break as they're scattered sporadically throughout Ryu's main quest.

If you manage to tackle all of these difficulty modes, however, and still feel the need for some crazy, ninja action, there's also a type a mission based mode where you're thrown into various encounters and asked to come out on top. While not fundamentally different from the core game, there's a lot of missions to choose from, and offer you a quick fix of action if you so desire it.

Within each of these modes - story and mission - you're given a ranking that can be uploaded to the internet and lets you see how you compare to your fellow gamers. It's a nice touch for those with a bit of a competitive edge, but might not be enough to garner extra replays if you're already feeling bored with the game. As you progress through the games and difficulties, you'll unlock better items in your journeys, as well as extra costumes to play as throughout the game.

Even though there aren't too many reasons to replay the game if you're already bored with it, the game itself is probably one of the most complete single-player action/platformer experiences out there, especially if you're a competitive gamer. An in-depth battle system, coupled with the fact that being a brutal ninja is just plain cool, this game is a must-buy for any fan of action gaming, even if you're already familiar with the previous iterations of this classic title.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/07