Ninja Blade Review

After months of bashing Ninja Blade and its complete resemblance to Ninja Gaiden, I finally imported Ninja Blade via PlayAsia and gave it a test run. After fully emerging myself in the ninja world, I've returned with surprising results.

Ninja Blade has you taking on the role of Ken, a ninja part of a task force trying to rid Tokyo of an infection that's rapidly spreading across the city. The infection turns humans into Resident Evil-like monsters.

Your first mission gives you a crash course of all the main mechanics in the game. It essentially teaches you what weapons to use in each of the sticky situations. You have the Ninja Blade, which is your standard weapon. The Twin Falcon knives are the fastest weapons in the game, capable of executing 30 plus hit combos.The falcon knives can also be used as grappling hooks. On the other side, we have the Stonerender sword. Its a slow, but heavy attack weapon that can also be used to break through walls and break the armor of bigger enemies. You're also given a shuriken that can summon different elemental attacks.

Ninja Blade's combat system isn't up to par with Ninja Gaiden, but the combat is varied. At times, you will take control of gun turrets on several different vehicles. These scenes are a welcome break from the hack and slashing and doesn't feel like a chore. Each mission is filled with boss battles. In one mission, you take on six different bosses. Each boss battle has a very epic feel to it, thanks to the quicktime events and the massiveness of every boss. Once you waste away a boss's health to nil, you have the opportunity to perform a Todome finisher.

The Todome finisher is an over the top finisher to attack the enemy. My personal favorite is when you climb a giant worm and the worm flings you off and flings buildings and vehicles at you. Using the QTE, you dodge the debris and catch a motorcycle. You are then able ride the motorcycle right at the worm. Ken then throws a dagger at the motorcycle, causing it to explode in the worm's face. It was a very satisfying experience.

Right from a boss battle, you're most likely going to encounter another one within a couple of minutes. Defeating enemies gives you experience and health orbs. The experience orbs gives you the ability to upgrade your weapons to unlock more deadly combos. You also can find new outfits and change every detail of it. My ninja has an orange and black pinstripe suit with a green sword handle.

Conclusion

Ninja Blade exceeded my expectations and not just because I had low expectations. The game's cinematics and QTE makes this game a very enjoyable experience. There are many times where you're not going to want to put the game down. If you played Ninja Gaiden and got frustrated with how hard it is, I promise you will love this game.

AnalogHype Rating: 9/10

Buy, Rent, or Demo? Buy