Can We Expect More Ninja Gaiden Games? Can We?

all I can say, the new Ninja Gaiden games dont feel like you are playing with a real ninja. Hayabusa lacks something that the original had.
Maybe because he wears a motorcycle threads.

@uzivatel: I'm annoyed by it from a purely theoretical stance. Say you own both consoles and it comes out on one of them. You buy it and then find out months later the same game is being re-released with coop and new characters added. It doesn't matter that it's on a new console so much as that you have to buy the entire game again at full price just to get the extras.

For me Coop is a big deal too, I don't have a PS3 nor did I buy ninja Gaiden II for my 360 but if it'd had coop I would've :p

I don't mind console exclusives nor multiplat but these 'oh here's the game again with lots of cool stuff you want several months down the line but you have to buy the whole thing again at full price' annoy me.

A NG game without Itagaki is like a MGS game without Kojima: Technically possible but a soul-less husk.

Sigma was done without his creative input and it shows, a lot of the charm was taken out, the puzzles were dumbed down or completely removed and the new additions lacked the flair of the original creation.

Burguois, Teabagger of Olde

A fresh take on the series might be a good thing.

akif24

@bakagaijin: Okay, I phrased that poorly.

@Shinta: I'd love to, but it's not really a feasible option. I guess that's probably why I feel this way.

@conditionals: Heh.

@bakagaijin:

husband? husband is when a man cooks for his wife, or a dinner party for his wife's friends, and the meal is so good that the friend gives money to them.. "husband" isn't a word that should be associated with something as basic as a mere legal spouse.

@levo: Exactly. No. Just No. Just because cross-overs like Marvel vs Capcom and things like Freddy vs Jason work, I don't think Ninja Gaiden would work. Since you know, it's like one guy and some boob jugglers, it simply wouldn't work.

All I can say is the people at Tecmo need to be considerate to Tomonobu Itagaki for even ressurecting the Ninja Gaiden series and profitting from it. Otherwise, the next edition could backfire and lose old school gamer's respect for the new Team Ninja.

not buying any more ninja gaiden games regardless.

wizll

I hear SIGMA 2 will be toning down the violence significantly, even going so far as to remove dismemberment, one of gaiden 2's USP's. A sign of things to come?

@Moonshadow101:
lol
It's painful, sure. But god damn I miss it.

levo

@Jesustron:
No.

levo

@Black-Dog-Howls:
Reboot? I mean really did Tecmo even try to do this before Itagaki showed up? I think not. Hell, I bought a xbox just for Ninja Gaiden based off the fact that I'm a fan of the older games. On a side note, I was disappointed after playing and beating NJ for not being more like its predecessor(s). That said, its still a fun game overall and I hope Team Ninja keeps it up.

levo

@Nightshift Nurse:
Finally someone with some sense. I agree with the statement that the NES trilogy was much better. They should give the old trilogy Capcom treatment HD style. Perhaps even add to that saga. Don't get me wong, I enjoy the new NG's but they just don't have the same charm as the old ones did.

levo

I'd quite like a new DS Ninja Gaiden. That control scheme was pure genius.

YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! :P

@Shinta: In my opinion, there's nothing to Sigma that justifies buying a PS3 for it, when you can enjoy the original version of the game on the Xbox 360.

If they go multi-plat from now on, kudos to them. I still don't think either console has the exclusives to justify having both...it comes down to multiplat performance on that system.

forzak

@jjammerzs: As such, we'll probably never know how they're hit by Itagaki's departure until they actually release NG 3.

forzak

the gamers are looking for is going to be the next chapter - the future of an outstanding series."

Err... outstanding? I wouldn't go that far. More like the future of a decently fun series.

Superlocke

@laser beams: Probably why it was too easy :(

Superlocke

I hope the incorporate more DOA's story and characters in the games.

@Brmarlin: As a 360 fanboy I am not happy about PS3 getting (any) extra material, but recently I find it hard to care about those new Tecmo games.
Right now Team Ninja feels like another unproven company trying to milk someone else's franchises. Maybe they prove me wrong ... maybe not.

uzivatel

@SnakeCL: Karma's a bitch? Didn't MS hire Itagaki minutes after he left Tecmo?

Also some dude he talked shit about is working on the sequel to a game he talked shit about, isn't really karmic retribution.

@Brmarlin: No, I don't mind a bit.

Itagaki didn't create Ninja Gaiden, he just stole the character for his wank-off fighting game until the press bothered him enough for him to want to take over from the original series. Ninja Gaiden was a franchise long before ol' crater face took control of it, with apparances in the Arcade, on the NES, Master System, Lynx, PC, Turbografx, Gameboy, Genesis & SNES. And since he pretty much took a dump on the storyline, I'd be happy to see another one without any of his input... provided that they get someone who knows something about proper camera controls in a video game to help them out.

AlucardsQuest

@the7k:

He still needs a "Tomonobu Itagaki's about to make you his bitch" ad before he reaches that level.

Bricked

@Moonshadow101: I like your humor.

D-K, Big fluffy mushroom spungyness

@jjammerzs: Itagaki was nothing more than the John Romero of Team Ninja, and just as id got along great without Romero, Team Ninja will be fine without Itagaki.

@Darthvinder:What else does Tecmo have?

@fearing: The DOA series peaked at DOA2, and never came close to reaching that point again - it was all downhill from there.

@Shinta: Can you really stack Tekken 3 against DOA 2 and say DOA is anything in comparison?

If so, my hats off to you. I love boobs, but I don't love boobs that much. For every unnecessary jiggle, there is a completely broken juggle.

@fearing: no... i was counting the DOA series as well. there have been a few interesting titles in the series- but nothing that ever captured the style, accessibility or legions of fans as other 3D fighters available at the time. i felt that this series was always reaching towards the innovations of the Soul Calibur and Virtua Fighter series' and coming up short... so they just decided to add bouncing breasts and call it day :) but you are certainly entitled to a differing opinion.

@laser beams: Only REAL hit outside of the DOA games(although I personally enjoyed NG2, it was certainly not as groundbreaking as the first).

@laser beams:

The voice of reason. Hats off to you.

THERE'S A NINJA GAIDEN III???????

@Ezhno: i love that old arcade game!! i don't necessarily agree that it was better than the NES game, though...

@jjammerzs: Miyamoto didn't direct "Super Mario Galaxy"- it was developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo. it was still an amazing game.

Itagaki is not the beginning and end of this franchise. in fact- Ninja Gaiden 2 only proved that lightning doesn't often strike twice, as it was largely received as an underwhelming follow-up to the first Ninja Gaiden (which many would agree was his only real hit).

i think this series has a lot of room to grow and improve- i'm excited to see what team Ninja has in store.

@Lezard: Much like your own post lol. There 3 corners left, you should go claim one while it's open.

Shinta

@gerrycomo: Yeah, as much as I want Itagaki to do it, this basically is just win for gamers. We get to choose between more NG games, or none. More obviously is win.

Then in addition, we get Itagaki's new stuff. It's not ideal for the NG franchise but I'll take it.

Shinta

@SG79: Actually I didn't know that, that's encouraging.

Shinta

@ninjikiran: It's undeniably good, but also alot easier.

Shinta

@parad0x360: Yeah, I agree. Itagaki really, really enjoyed punishing gamers. I don't see that same dedication to masochism with the new Team Ninja. That is sad.

Shinta

@Shinta:

The engines are different enough, but really, the aesthetic presentation and menu's (even sfx) screamed of DMC and even Onimusha. TN has never been an original developer, but they put together something that I consider timeless because of the combat system alone.

Not many games manage that.

@reality.exe -console: You can't deny his talent though, he prefers the system he can work best on. I remember when the Soul Calibur devs were saying that online fighters were impossible in interviews. During that exact same period, I was loving DoA4 on XBox live. The guy has incredible talent.

Shinta

@jjammerzs: Biggest difference is that Itagaki reboot the series. He didn't start Ninja Gaiden.

Black-Dog-Howls

@Brmarlin: I felt the same way, but I'll just say this. Go ahead and get a PS3. It's actually not that much anymore. When you have both systems, it's all just bonus after that. I'm a diehard Ninja Gaiden fan from 360 and XBOX 1, and I'm now looking forward to Sigma and Sigma II with my recently purchased PS3.

Shinta

@Shinta: Hooray for the disregard of personal opinion in favor of baseless pronouncements!

Go sit in the corner.

@SG79: I really have the utmost highest level of respect for Ninja Gaiden I and II. To even compare it to DMC beyond anything but a genre similarity is ridiculous, I totally agree.

You can't compare the two games at all, playing NG is as deep as playing Soul Calibur II but against multiple opponents.

Shinta

@Fieldy: Itagaki is the shit. Saying Tekken is a joke doesn't mean he's an asshole, it means he's honest. Tekken has always sucked.

Shinta

It's like Terminator Rise of the machines and Salvation without action jackson James Cameron.

You're gonna see it anyways even though you know it doesn't have JC's creativity and vision...

You know what I'm saying?

gerrycomo

@ninjikiran: I think Sigma was excellent. Hayashi is no fool, just made to look like one by an even bigger fool named Itagaki.

@Archaotic:

You really need to check out some combo vids of NG. The engine is quite a bit deeper and not as restrictive as DMC fans think (something I was guilty of until Black).

Here's one, and check out the guy's other vids:

+ Watch video

@Moonshadow101: LOL. that wasn't a response I was expecting. nice.

Not many know that Hayashi was the lead designer of Black. So all those tweaks to the original and missions were basically his call. Itagaki didn't even want missions.

Just promise us one thing: You'll act surprised when Tecmo announces Ninja Gaiden III, IV and V. Oh, don't forget to get up in around about those future PS3-only Ninja Gaiden Black ports.

From page 3 of the interview:

I am sorry for our Xbox 360 fans, but this one will be PS3 only. As much as I would like to take that as sort of a compliment, saying that we should share the wealth with other consoles, I think it's more or less too old by the time Sigma 2 hits the market and enough people have played it already on the Xbox 360. The total audience of Ninja Gaiden fans and actions gamers will probably just be wanting more, so at that point, we have to open up a new chapter, not just repackage all the updates for the other audience and calling it Black. At that point we're going to have to push ourselves to the next level, and we are better off giving both audiences an entirely new game - I think our time and energy will be better used that way.

... so it's safe to say that the next game will be multiplatform from the get go as NGII should've been.

Can't wait for Itagaki's vision of Ninja Gaiden. He did an excellent job on Dragon Sword and did a nice fine tuning on Sigma.

Lider

@sascha23: Itagaki has this weird sort of platform elitism - look him up and you'll find that out.

That said, I'm sure there was some money watering the gears.

@Brmarlin: betrayal? betrayal is when a husband cheats on his wife, or someone's friend steals money from them. "betrayal" isn't a word that should be associated with something as silly as video games.

Unless of course Techmo's exclusivity had something to do with your first born.

@jjammerzs: It's not wrong...because unlike Kojima Ninja Gaiden was not a series wholly conceived by Itagaki. And frankly, his was not the be-all-end-all contribution to the franchise. I personally thought the NES trilogy was much better overall. The modern titles are good, but I doubt I'll miss his personal touch/douchebaggery in any future installments.

@Sheky will be in a 2D orgy:
This. A thousand times this. In terms of cinematic action-game flair, NG2 is an absolute joy to watch.

It is desperately, unforgivingly frustrating to play - not by difficulty, but because the game itself is conducive to pretty much only one or two strategies, despite the mass amounts of potential combos and variation in taking enemies apart. Compared to NG1's tuned oiled machine, NG2's pretty much entirely Itagaki's fault, and if you don't play the game *his* way apparently you don't play it at all.

the guys who did the ports of Ninja Gaiden did an excellent job of porting. It runs better, looks better and has new tweaks and additions. Granted it was a port I think the guy has good ideas and would love to see his version of Ninja Gaiden.

I see a future of diluted Ninja Gaiden games. They will be made for everyone so even the casual players can look cool. In turn that will rob the game of all depth and substance and push the real fans like myself away. I like a good challenge and thats what NG delivered. It was a game that took honest skill to play well.

To hell with a new Ninja Gaiden. I wanna play Itakagi's next game.

parad0x360

and you still believe Kikizo ? ... wow kotaku. :(

Interstella

@Ueziel:
That drove me NUTS about NG2. The combat system was so refined, and for the first 5 levels it was like action game godhood...

Then they introduced the mecha demons and the chaingun homing bazooka ninjas and I threw my controller at the wall. I believe Hayashi said adjusting balance was his FIRST priority in the game after fixing the camera though, so I'm hoping that will be less prominent in Sigma 2.

@Ueziel:

Exactly why I think the new NG series is overrated.

Pretty fucking pointless to have all those combos and not being able to actually use them since the best strategy to actually stay alive is to jump and slash constantly like you had a stick up your ass.

Oh, and the fact that you can't actively switch weapon types on the fly blows too.

Sheky will be in a 2D orgy

@jjammerzs: Well, unlike Kojima and Metal Gear, Itagaki was not the lead designer of Ninja Gaiden from the very, very beginning.

The series can survive without him. In all honesty I find it preferable that he's no longer in charge.

@jjammerzs: Maybe. Except that Kojima isn't a major douchebag, and his games actually have something different to offer from their competitors. Whereas, Ninja Gaiden is pretty standard action fare. They aren't bad. They're just nothing special to write home about.

Mind you, I have Sigma, and I intend to pick up Sigma 2 once it comes out. I just don't think a Ninja Gaiden without Itagaki would have the same significance as an MGS without Kojima.

@Lezard:
Yeah, Hayashi mentioned that in the interview; the next game will be on both platforms.

@[ZTF]214A, 2A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 214B, 214D:
Well, what I'd like to see is the game become a little looser, a little more free-form. NG2 STARTED down that path, but the reason I've always preferred DMC to NG (and I still like both games a LOT) is that NG's combos are a lot more restrictive; they're tighter, but they're more like dial-a-combos than I'd prefer.

They're so close to getting it right, too. Who knows, Hayashi might even be able to pull it off in Sigma 2.

Hmmm.... i doubt the game will feel the same without him.

rich8606

@Lezard: Or perhaps his love for Microsoft money was what made the original exclusive?

Either way, I will check out the Sigma release NG2.

sascha23

As long as it has not asstastic camera angles and the enemies can't all hit you at any point in time, from any distance, including when you can't even see them and they're halfway across the area, I would like another Ninja Gaiden.

@Archaotic: I doubt it's going to go anywhere besides DMC-ripoff status. If you think about it, it's current inception really was just an evolution of the play style that started in the arcades/NES.

[ZTF]214A, 2A, 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 214B, 214D

@Brmarlin:

In a word, no.

After they released Sigma, I was looking forward to seeing NG2 be multi-plat.

Of course, Itagaki bent over backwards for MS, basically threw poo in the face of the people who designed Sigma and those who bought it, and trumpeted the 360 from the rooftops.

Funny enough, the guy he dissed is the one heading up Sigma II. Karma's a bitch.

SnakeCL

I predict that Ninja Gaiden III will be on both the 360 and the PS3 now that Itagaki is no longer in charge. His love of Microsoft's hardware was really the only thing that made the original versions of those games exclusive.

I kinda feel betrayed by the PS3 ports with new stuff. A lot of people bought Ninja Gaiden II when it came out - so Team Ninja puts a ton of new, console-exclusive content out for no extra price on another platform?

Does anyone else feel this way?

@Gam3r: And I'd like to gouge my eyes out with forks that are on fire and shove them up my ass before consuming six gallons of paint thinner and hiking up a mountain that was once feared for its metallic, razor-sharp surfaces but is now dangerous only because of the heaping masses of human remains that covers every inch of its massive glory.

But we can't all have HORRIBLY PAINFUL things.

Moonshadow101

I fully expect to see a Ninja Gaiden 3 in the future. Probably DoA5 first, but NG3 is inevitable. Itagaki only masterminded the series' current DMC-ripoff status; he didn't create it. It'll be interesting to see how someone else would handle the series.

@jjammerzs: You just answered your own question :P

I know this is going to sound a little weird, but Ninja Gaiden existed before Itagaki worked as a designer. It actually goes back to the late 80s to a beat-em-up arcade game and a trilogy of kick-ass, challenging NES platformers.

Or in simpler terms, Yes. Yes, we can expect more Ninja Gaiden.

I'd like to see the NES games remade and kept in 2d.

Gam3r

I could go for some ps3 exclusive upgraded ports

Can I hope not? Can I? At this point I'm going to say that I officially liked Wolverine more than Ninja Gaiden 2.

I love the Ninja Gaiden series, but it wold still be interesting to see what new direction that the franchise could go in.

XForce

they need to release the old arcade version of NG on to the online stores

arcade version >nes version

or they can do sweet crossovers like mortal kombat vs. ninja gaiden vs. the simpsons, or ninja gaiden and Freddy in space.

As excited as I am...Why does this sound wrong? (It would be like a metal gear minus Kojima, or a mario game without Miyamoto...)

@conditionals: nice try, but that was epic fail.

Thanks for trying though!

@LllusionX loves being 15!: [I]n my opinion, especially this year, the PS3 is having the better of all exclusive line ups in terms of gameplay quality, graphics, sequels, story, etc.

You're a Sony fanboy; your opinion carries no weight except with other Sony fanboys.

Screw this noise, no more Ninja Gaiden. Bring the DOA5 PLEASE! Otherwise I'm left with...Tekken....don't do that to me Temco!

Ignited_Impulse

@Darthvinder: Yeah, for about twenty years now. Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom is an NES classic.

@Shinta: Ninja Gaiden's combat mechanics are deep enough to be respect in the action genre, but your comment seems pretty ignorant in regards to DMC.

+ Watch video

I might agree with your claim in that NG is to 3D fighters, what DMC is to the holy grail of 2D Capcom fighters.

@RyuuzakiBjorn:

yeah man, time to engage the joke detector.

I think that we can at least expect more PS3 Ninja Gaiden games. I didn't like the fact that Itagaki was so against the PS3 version being made. Forget about the consoles (specifically) and just think about the fans... there's fans of Ninja Gaiden everywhere, not just on the 360. I felt like Itagaki was trying to (somehow) streamline all his fans to the 360, so that he didn't have to worry about programming on the PS3. Also, is he really that good of a developer... anytime I see a dev, shying away from, or being overly negative about PS3 development, it truly makes me questions their true abilities. If Sony were to Pay Gabe Newell, to produce a new game (no ports), I think that it would probably turn out to be crap; same thing with Itagaki, game would be crap (on PS3). Who knows...

Thomaticus

Maybe now they can make a Ninja Gaiden game with a normal degree of difficulty.

jeremyschultz

@Gam3r:

Having just played through all three, I can safely say that I don't wish to play them ever again. It's like playing melee Contra with bad controls and a miniscule health bar.

Wahrheit

@forzak: i think you have it backwards. Multiplatform performance is good and all, but what causes one to justify a purchase over another is the exclusives.
As we've seen so far, multiplatform titles dont hold specificity as to which system they work better on, it all boils down to how much time a given developer spends making said game, and that is a variable that can change from game to game, developer to developer, and shouldnt be a basis as to which you buy.
Truth be told, people buy consoles for the quality of their exclusives that set them apart from the competition, and in my opinion, especially this year, the PS3 is having the better of all exclusive line ups in terms of gameplay quality, graphics, sequels, story, etc. If a choice it to be made on which to buy, and if you care for aforementioned characteristics, then i would recommend getting a PS3.

LllusionX loves the inFamous demo!(to death)

@LllusionX loves the inFamous demo!(to death): Except purely on a developmental scale, and not "directly" towards sony and MS, but you can bet that sony had to shell out some dough to get this.

LllusionX loves the inFamous demo!(to death)

@Brmarlin: it is kinda the same way with the whole "MS steals all of our exclusives." This is just sony getting even and more aggressive against MS and their "backstabbing ways".lmao!

LllusionX loves the inFamous demo!(to death)

@rSpy: aww yeah!

LllusionX loves the inFamous demo!(to death)

@RyuuzakiBjorn: /joke

LllusionX loves the inFamous demo!(to death)

Ninja Gaiden will probably lay dormant until the next console generation, then it will rise from the ashes with more slashing goodness... and even better modeled massive boobs.

While I won't say whether the game will feel the same or not without Itagaki at the helm, I do definitely look forward to more games in the series. It should be interesting to see whether the game stays with the more linear style of NG2 or if it returns to the style of NG1.. either is great as long as the incredible combat engine doesn't go anywhere.

StriderShinryu

@jjammerzs: I wouldn't mind an MGS without Kojima, at least the story might be coherent and the dialogue wouldn't be shite.

Also consider how bad Ninja Gaiden II was, remember that it was WITH Itagaki; maybe a new one without him wouldn't be THAT bad...

IRHari

@laser beams: Your analogy is a bit disconnected since Miyamoto is one of the general managers for all of Nintentdo EAD teams. Considering also that the amount creative input Miyamoto contributed to the game was figuratively more than any other Mario game before Galaxy, I'd say Galaxy was Miyamoto's brainchild.

Sqrfrk

@the7k: You should check out the documentary on XBL about Team Ninja. It has a lot of 'making of' footage that exposes what a great leader and game creator he is. His ideas affect almost every aspect of his games, and his employees look up to him. He would spot small details he didn't like in the animations, and have them changed to fit his vision for the attack move. I think I remember one part where he was adamant about how Hayabusa did a certain move with the sword, and it was barely different from what they had, but it was obviously better. He's the opposite of how you characterized him.

What pisses me off about Ninja Gaiden, is that the last version of both games is the FIRST version that should've come out.

Like I enjoyed Ninja Gaiden II, but I feel like that game was shit out in record time, and Ninja Gaiden II Sigma looks like its what the original one should have been...

Excellent.

I've always hated Itagaki. I hope he struggles to find work.

Sadly, I know he won't, since his name is well-known. :/

-Xehanort

@the7k: Well, here's the thing- I watched the 2 hour documentary, so I have at least some knowledge of what I'm talking about. You however, are just speculating, or projecting.

@fearing:

Team Ninja got something right, though. I couldn't go back to Ninja Gaiden after playing NG2. The combat was just so much more fun. Yeah, it was just one scene after another of fuck shit up, but the combat was good enough to carry it.

The stairs scene with all the slowdown, that was epic. As flawed as it was, it was Goddamned amazing.

While NG may have been the better complete package, the combat in NG2 was just brutal and amazing.

GorbyGipper

@jjammerzs: Or a God of War game without David Jaffe..?

Wait, I forgot, they've been getting better. ;) Even Jaffe agrees!

You can originate an idea and still have other people stay true and take it to the next level. In the business world it's called being a director or a consultant. In the fanboy world it's often called selling out. Either way, there are plenty of good and bad examples. We'll see how this goes.

@Tendou Souji: Me 2 man Maybe that is what chronos is for?

@the7k: hey I'm not complaining about the gameplay in MGS4; everything about it was amazing (except the bosses...I think MGS3 had the best boss fights).

I also hate the 'action' on rails parts in MGS3 and 4...I don't know why he feels like he has to keep adding them.

IRHari

@IRHari: If you want to see what a Metal Gear plays like without Kojima's influence, take a shot at Metal Gear 2: Snake's Revenge for the NES.

It'll be 'fun'.

@Madeira: "I think I remember one part where he was adamant about how Hayabusa did a certain move with the sword, and it was barely different from what they had, but it was obviously better. He's the opposite of how you characterized him."

So, he was really OCD about how cool Hayabusa looked?

That's Romero. Carmack was the one who made Doom a good game. Romero pretty much focused on having cool looking demons, cool looking guns, etc.

Unless there was a part in said video where he found some minor flaw in the game engine or game balance, and focused tirelessly to fix it, I'm still pretty sure Romero and Itagaki are spiritual cousins.

Plus, they're both about as humble as Dane Cook, and equally annoying.

@GorbyGipper:

You're certainly in the minority because most fans, despite liking NGII, still think of NGB as the best in the series so far. More balanced, flowed better and had interesting boss fights.

Obliteration aside, NGII brought nothing new when you look at the overall package aside from increased speed and UT variations.

@Archaotic: Rocket guys require liberal use of shuriken as it stun-locks them. Mechs are tough, but I've found that 3 things work well against them: 1) triple flying swallow, 2) Tonfas, 3) Twin Katana F+Y, Y.

I can admit though, sometimes it's just out of hand, like the jungle level. After playing Sigma though, I know that they are going to make it too easy. I would rather have it stay hard, even if it's not as perfectly balanced as part 1.

Shinta

@Arttemis: I'm a bit ignorant of the top tier DMC play, I can admit it. Cool video.

There's just something about the top level play of NG that I admire so much more. Not even having a block button in DMC severely limits it for me. I know there's the counter-stance style, but I've never been able to use it to great effect.

Shinta

@SG79: Several new weapons for one. Several slight tweaks to the combat that make a large difference to me. I just compare Dragon Sword in part 1 to part 2 and it's no contest. The new combos and the new counters were incredible additions without reinventing the wheel.

Shinta

@GorbyGipper: I agree with you 100%.

More people like part 1 doesn't make it better, if it did, then dating movies would win Oscars.

Shinta

@bakagaijin:

We'll see when Hayashi actually has to make his own original game without leeching off the success of Itagaki.

Kyle Templeton

@the7k: No. Carmack is the one who made Doom a tolerable game. Tom Hall would have made it an extraordinary game, except "story in games is like story in porn".

If anything, I'd say Itagaki is more Carmack than Romero :P

I think one thing we can expect and be sure of are...Titties! Titties in Tecmo games to be exact!

Glad to see the spirit of Itagaki lives on in mind and body...And in this case, in wang!

excaliburps

I just hope the next batch of Ninja Gaiden games for the nextgen systems fix the camera problems.

What makes them think their in a position to not announce Ninja Gaiden or DOA? They have been on the verge of bankruptcy for years. I think they may be playing their cards close to the chest because they are about to fold.

tonicmole

@[www.metacritic.com]

What would make it better?