Amazing gameplay footage from Ninja Gaiden

I was poking around the Shacknews comments, and someone there graciously posted a link to a good deal of gameplay footage from Ninja Gaiden on Xbox. This footage was apparently aired on the G4TV network, and they aren't allowed to show blood. So if it seems like there's a lack of enemies/combat, that's probably the main reason.

I'm not a huge fan of Team Ninja or the Dead or Alive series, and even with plenty of gorgeous screenshots plastered everywhere, the devs had revealed very little about how the new Ninja Gaiden will actually play, which admittedly made me a bit weary of all the hype. This video was a real eye opener for me though, and if it plays half as good as it looks, it is going to be nothing short of incredible.

Download it and see for yourself:

http://www.neotaku.com/gaiden/mov/ng_g4_hi.zip
[AVI - About 24 megs - A little over 4 minutes in length]

If it plays half as good as it looks then this will redeem Team Ninja for the debacle that was DOAXBV. The wait looks like it will have been worth it :D

Ryu's moves look like they'll put Hotsuma's to shame...

Link doesn't work for me.

Try it again I just started downloading it.

Downloading it now. :)

Does this game follow the Residentevilish 'carry out sundry tasks after killing a bunch of enemies' format? If not, I'm probably looking forward to it.

Well, While the quality of the video could have been better, it shows mostly in game footage, and game looks pretty cool. Castle/Mansion level looked simularly to DMC, but Ninja Fortress level looks very nice. It does seem to be action/adventure game, and not straight action like Shinobi, but its just fine by me, but I am sure we will see alot of groans from people here about that.

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Originally Posted by Despair

Well, While the quality of the video could have been better, it shows mostly in game footage, and game looks pretty cool. Castle/Mansion level looked simularly to DMC, but Ninja Fortress level looks very nice. It does seem to be action/adventure game, and not straight action like Shinobi, but its just fine by me, but I am sure we will see alot of groans from people here about that.

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Not really groans. Im still looking forward to it, and the game seems to do some things that I wish was in Shinobi, but the actual gameplay portion seems to be half the game that Shinobi is.

How far off is the game, and how soon will we be getting a demo? Any rough guesstimates anyone?

They're saying this Holiday season, but I wouldn't be surprised if it slips to the Spring. And I agree with EightBit... it looks very awesome, but so far what I've seen of the gameplay it's either too differnt to compare to Shinobi (straight up action vs. action game with adventure elements), or possibly just not as good... but that's obviously just pure speculation, I haven't played it yet.

Still looking forward to it though... it's Ryu Hayabusa after all. Too bad it forsakes all the story of prior Ninja Gaiden games. That dude with the crazy mask from II was like the coolest thing ever when I was a kid :)

i cant get past the fact that i always see that screen where ryu is putting a silver x into the wall.....just kidding. game looks great and i hope my brother ends up getting it.

i also laugh out loud every time ragnarok posts......i love that "jr the hut" pic. priceless.

Looks alright. Way, way too much running around not doing anything and that camera is pretty asstastic for fighting. On the bright side the enemies didn't seem to pose much of a threat so that wasn't a problem, but if the difficulty ever ramps up that could really suck.

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Does this game follow the Residentevilish 'carry out sundry tasks after killing a bunch of enemies' format? If not, I'm probably looking forward to it.

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Looks very REish in everything except combat execution, especially considering how little fighting there was. Hopefully it'll be much improved by release.

Yea, after watching the movie, I'm a little disappointed this is going to carry the Ninja Gaiden name, since it bears (bares?) very little resemblence to the Ninja Gaiden of old. Could there be any more time spent just running around in empty environments? I mean, I still think it can end up as a very fun game but it's definitely not the balls to the wall action game I was hoping it'd be.

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Originally Posted by MechDeus

Looks alright. Way, way too much running around not doing anything and that camera is pretty asstastic for fighting.

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Originally Posted by Mamoscott

This footage was apparently aired on the G4TV network, and they aren't allowed to show blood. So if it seems like there's a lack of enemies/combat, that's probably the main reason.

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All the E3 footage was pretty similar though, and they showed plenty of blood. A bunch of Ryu running through sewers, fighting a bit, then more running. And trying to climb high up in some room to collect a prototype XBox. He did shoot some arrows at some bats though.

Again, looking forward to it, but with a little bit of reservation.

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Originally Posted by NoFace

Again, looking forward to it, but with a little bit of reservation.

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I'm not sure why so many people here expect it to be some balls-to-the-wall action game. Itagaki freely admits that it's an unrelated ninja game, and they're basically just slapping the Ninja Gaiden name on the box for additional sales.

I'm not saying it's cool for them to do that, but you'll probably be disappointed if you're expecting a new Ninja Gaiden game when this particular one was never designed to be part of the series in the first place.

I'm impressed.

Ryu's character design is boring as hell, though.

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This footage was apparently aired on the G4TV network, and they aren't allowed to show blood. So if it seems like there's a lack of enemies/combat, that's probably the main reason.

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Let's try this again: There's way too much running around not doing anything. That still stands. If that wasn't the case they just would've had a lot less footage to show, right?

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Originally Posted by Mamoscott

I'm not sure why so many people here expect it to be some balls-to-the-wall action game.

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Because fetch quests in action games are stupid, boring, and/or pointless 99% of the time. I don't care what the name of your game is, it's still a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by OmniGear

I'm impressed.

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Me too, I'm looking foward to this game :)

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Ryu's character design is boring as hell, though.

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Well ninjas are supposed to be stealthy assassins and not so flashy that they stand out like a sore thumb ;) :)

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Originally Posted by OmniGear

I'm impressed.

Ryu's character design is boring as hell, though.

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Hotsuma spoiled us ninja fans forever. :lol:

I hadn't heard that thing about Itagaki and the whole title thing, a bit unfortunate but I guess it's better knowing that than not.

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Originally Posted by NoFace

I hadn't heard that thing about Itagaki and the whole title thing, a bit unfortunate but I guess it's better knowing that than not.

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This is a rather interesting interview in regards to the game. It sheds some light on Ninja Gaiden's development, though Itagaki contradicts himself more than once.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/...w_6070870.html

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GS: How did you approach updating the franchise--in terms of story and gameplay?

TI: Let me start with the story. The story of the three installments on the NES has been completed, and we have no intention of fiddling around with it any further. We will carry on the spirit of the NES games as people who know ninjas. However, the story we have prepared in order to portray our super ninja will not take into account the stories of the NES installments any more than is necessary.

Ninja Gaiden will tell an original story that carries on the spirit of the classic NES games.

In terms of gameplay, I want you to think of this Ninja Gaiden as completely different from the previous games. In the first place, 2D and 3D are completely different. We have absolutely no intention of producing an easy revival of an old game in the name of "faithfulness." We, Team Ninja, have been pursuing the idea of 3D action within the fighting game genre since 1995; now we want everyone to look forward to our 3D action adventure game, Ninja Gaiden, which we are creating with pride and all the skill we can muster.

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gaiden may cry?

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Originally Posted by OmniGear

I'm impressed.

Ryu's character design is boring as hell, though.

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Thats one of my main nags with games recently. The developers could at least make the effort there since thats what you going to be looking at a lot....

Well, after reading what Itagaki said, I'm cool with what they're trying to do. It looks like they did a real nice job with Ryu's movement, and especially the running on walls and flipping around. Looks very smooth.

Everytime I click the link, I get a little pic that says "Hosted by Neotaku".

right click, save as

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Originally Posted by Ragnarok the Red

If it plays half as good as it looks then this will redeem Team Ninja for the debacle that was DOAXBV. The wait looks like it will have been worth it :D

Ryu's moves look like they'll put Hotsuma's to shame...

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DOAXVB was not a debacle. It was a clean, polished game that, if nothing else, sported some of the best 3D character animation to date. I don't blame you or anyone else for not wanting to play a Barbie (tm) dress-up game with some (decent) volleyball and gambling thrown in, but the actual production was of very high quality.

Likewise, I expect Ninja Gaiden to be an extremely polished product. I haven't seen the video (missing compressor components?), but of the many recent hands-on previews, not one has even hinted at a lack of action or barren playfields. In fact, the gameplay previews have been uniformly positive. No Team Ninja hate here, and I look forward to schooling folks in DOA online (sure to be a button-mashers wet dream, right?)

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Originally Posted by Prince Planet

DOAXVB was not a debacle. It was a clean, polished game that, if nothing else, sported some of the best 3D character animation to date.

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*BOING! BOING! BOING! :)

Combat looks fun... but the camera looks like it's ass right now. I really want to try this out myself.

can't say i'm truly excited, but it's going to be one to watch. i'm glad the wall jump is back. i really wish that they would included that cool "dung" sound that was made when you got hit in the original games ;)

Looks good to me...camera was a little wonky though...and there was a noticeable amount of just running around in that video. The fighting though was pure ninja goodness, and I'm glad he can even use his NG: Arcade/DOA neck toss.

Plus, that nunchaku muscle-guy at the beginning was pure pimp.