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I-Ninja

We throw new boy Ben Parfitt in at the deep end with this perplexing PS2 exclusive.

You’d think that the guys at Sony would be fairly confident by now that they’ve got the video games market tied up. In reality they could fill the remaining days of the PS2’s lifespan with distinctly average branded releases and still reach the finish line before the Xbox and Gamecube have made the first bend. This market dominance, however, hasn’t stopped them pursuing an aggressive marketing strategy that’s robbing UK gamers of access to some fairly decent titles. Gamecube and Xbox owners can enjoy games like Kill.Switch, and indeed I-Ninja, across the pond but thanks to Sony’s UK exclusivity dealings, only UK PS2 owners will be able to sample these titles.

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You have to question not only Sony’s strategy in paying for exclusivity of what are, in all honesty, pretty average games which would never be enough to sell the platform individually (no doubt Sony has an eye on the impending war of the next generation of consoles) but also the strategy of the software houses. In a market environment dominated by multi-format titles, exclusivity deals saw the like of Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia perform dismally over Christmas. I-Ninja’s appearance solely on the PS2 is also a shame because in many ways it’s a great little game. Gamecube owners would undoubtedly feel right at home with this cheerful platform romp whilst any Xbox platform lovers would surely lap it up.

The PS2 is home to several quality platformers too and I-Ninja was always going to have to impress to stand out form the likes of Jak II and Ratchet and Clank. First impressions are very promising and within the opening 30 minutes of action you will have already sampled several types of play. This initial variety makes for an entertaining opening, whether you’re catapulting yourself around high speed runs with your chain, grinding along Tony Hawk’s style rails or rolling large balls around twisting courses. In fact, if there’s one thing that struck me about I-Ninja it was how heavily influenced it is by Sega’s later platforming titles. High-speed sections are reminiscent of Sonic Adventure and the ball rolling obviously inspired by Super Monkey Ball. This is no bad thing; the rolling challenges handle just as responsively as the aforementioned simian masterpiece and the high-speed chain-swinging runs actually work far better than anything I’ve seen in a 3D Sonic title.

As you’d expect from titles appearing at this stage in the PS2’s life cycle the game looks just great. The environments are lush and vivid and though they could possibly benefit from a little more variety, they are always pleasing to behold. Namco should also be credited for resisting the urge to cash-in on current gaming trends. Cel shading? Forget it. GTA3 style interactive freedom? No thanks; the five hub-worlds you visit throughout the game are merely that – hubs from which you can access the levels. Stealth elements? Well, okay, a couple of stealth levels do rear their ugly over-exposed heads, but in general these elements are well handled and serve to add to the variety on offer.

I-Ninja is also a game that will make you laugh from time to time. Whilst some repeated catchphrases do begin to grate a little over time (“You want some more?”) there are a handful of laugh-out-loud moments. Humour is not only provided by the dialogue – boss battles are quite inventive (though perhaps a little easy – I beat each on my first visit, including the final boss). The ludicrousness of the first boss encounter in particular will certainly be enough to raise a smile with all but the grumpiest of gamers.

The controls are intuitively mapped to the Dualshock 2 and from the off seasoned gamers will most likely find the buttons doing exactly as you would expect them to do after a quick glance at the manual. Wall running and wall climbing handles well, and you’ll quickly be leaping around like a Prince in a Persian palace with little effort. Combat is simple but very well handled; there are only a handful of combos to learn and all are easily executed without ever becoming mindless, demonstrating just the right balance.

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1. Looks a lot of fun - especially with that crazy, stylised ninja character.

   Jason Friday, 7 May 2004, 04:19:9