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Looky! It's a Ninja Gaiden II Xbox 360
The ever watchful folks over at 360Sync recently spotted a new Ninja Gaiden II standee at their local GameStop. At first glance it appears to be nothing more than your typical standee, but look closer and you can see glory. Yes, that is a Ninja Gaiden II Xbox 360 (and it appears to be an Elite at that). GameStop will apparently be giving these consoles away -- how many we don't know -- sometime in the near future. Unfortunately, the URL listed on the standee currently leads to a dead page. Here's hoping it goes live soon, because we have got to get our hands on that sweet console. Just look at it ... sitting there in all its majesty. That thing could probably slay a hundred demons before breakfast.
Ninja Gaiden II website offers neat extras, new video
We're not sure how long it's been live, but there is a newly revamped (Game of the Year 2008) Ninja Gaiden II website up on Xbox.com. The website actually offers some very cool extras to fans of the series and, in a refreshing twist, the site offers some actual new information about the game for those who know where to look. Firstly, the website allows users to build their own custom desktop wallpaper using the games various weapons as a backdrop (see our creation above). The cool part -- and this is where the new info come in -- is that you can check out a brief video snippet of each weapon to help you decide which ones to pick. The videos show off weapons that have so far remained under wraps, most notably the kusari-gama (which has an awesome essence attack, the projectile weapons, and a new Ninpo called "Art of the Piercing Void." Another bit of new info: Ryu can now charge his projectile attacks as well as his melee attacks. We have to admit it's pretty cool to watch him hurl multiple incendiary shuriken into a hapless foe.The website also offers a somewhat bizarre minigame in which players send attacks to other opponents. The strange part is that players have to wait for others to respond. It's sort of like playing chess over the phone, except instead of moving pieces on a board, your killing this with a sword. At any rate, it's a neat site, and all the fanboys slavering over Ninja Gaiden II (that should be all of you) should definitely check it out.[Thanks, Christan H]
Pre-order Ninja Gaiden II, get Halo 3 Legendary DLC for free
Thanks to X3F tipster Ben, we just came across a pretty awesome deal for future Ninja Gaiden II purchasers who are also interested in the newly released Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack. Circuit City is offering a FREE Legendary Map Pack redemption code (a 800 MS point value) to anyone who plops down a pre-order on Ninja Gaiden II. According to the offer details, the redemption code will be emailed to the pre-orderer within' a week's time, but if you don't mind waiting a few days, then this offer can't be beat. Free Halo 3 maps just for paying part of your Ninja Gaiden II purchase early and waiting a week? Sounds dandy great to us.[Thanks, Ben]
Ninja Gaiden II weapons broken down
Appropriately enough, said weapons are excellent at breaking things down themselves (demons in particular). IGN has posted an article detailing all the weapons they've discovered thus far in their six level build of Ninja Gaiden II (we want a six level build of Ninja Gaiden II! Pleeeeeease, Microsoft?). Old standbys like the Dragon Sword and Lunar Staff make a return and are joined by several new weapons that are sure to become favorites. While we're sure many will opt for the Falcon's Talons, a set of blades for Ryu's hands and feet, we're most intrigued by the Kusari-gama, a sweet looking sickle and chain combo (pictured above). With a chain that can reach "almost clear across the screen," it's definitely one of the most interesting weapons revealed thus far. Head over to IGN for in depth descriptions of all the weapons they've found so far.
DS Fanboy Review: Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
Click for more screens from Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword As you can imagine, many were worried when Itagaki showed off the DS entry in his beloved Ninja Gaiden series. Would the groundbreaking new control scheme set the bar for action games on the system or would it be an unresponsive and unrefined mess, causing you to contemplate throwing your DS against the wall? Well, I'm happy to report that none of these fears ever pan out in Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, which is a pretty great game overall.It turns out, the game is pretty much everything we hoped it would be: a benchmark for how to do an action game on the DS and how other developers can create a great DS entry in their own respective franchises.%Gallery-4937%
Ubisoft flips out and releases Ninja Gaiden in Europe
Ubisoft has signed on to publish Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword in Europe this June. This is good news for Europe, and bad news for Naruto, who has just lost the title of coolest ninja in Ubisoft's lineup.We don't yet know how Dragon Sword has fared in the American retail market, but it arrived in Japanese stores silently, escaping the attention of pretty much the whole DS audience (not the ideal time to be silent and unnoticed). Will Europe be more attuned to the arrival of a deadly ninja? Maybe Ubisoft will step on a branch or something.%Gallery-4937%
Ninja Gaiden II set for a June 6th Euro release
For a while now, we've known that Ninja Gaiden II is set to release to North American stores on June 3rd. But, ever since GDC when the Ninja Gaiden II information blowout occurred, our European chums have had to settle for a vague "June" release. Well, today, all of Europe can pull out their calendars and Sharpies because UK GAME stores and Eurogamer have pegged Ninja Gaiden II's Euro release date for Friday, June 6th. Now mark that down, get your pre-order on (if that's how you roll), be prepared for the demo and wait ever so patiently. Because, as you are well aware, waiting is one skill all true ninjas must master.
Hayashi: Only 10 percent of ninja lifestyle in games
From Ninja Gaiden (old) to Ninja Gaiden II (new) video games have taught us a lot about ninjas. In fact, they're probably the best ambassadors of ninja culture since Soupy Sales' short-lived sitcom That's My Ninja! stole the nation's heart in the late 70s. But Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword producer Yosuke Hayashi wants you to know that there's a lot more to ninjas than flipping out and killing people. In fact, he recently told MTV, "I would say out of the entire image that you have of a ninja, we only have grabbed 10% of that. So we have this whole other 90% to go."Personally, we'd love to see some other aspects of ninja life, like when they slice cantalopes open at the grocery store to check their freshness, learn that love is the only real power or, as seen above, get rapped about by Vanilla Ice. What ninja facet do you want to see explored?
Joystiq on-hand at the Dragon Sword launch
Andrew Yoon, who you may know from Joystiq and enemy blogs PSP and PS3 Fanboy, has the benefit of being able to attend launch parties at the Nintendo World Store in New York city. This comes as a perk of living in New York, because for us to attend the Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword launch event, we'd have to hitchhike with strangers and probably ride a mythical beast or two.For all of the juicy pictures from the event, including the game's development director, Yosuke Hayashi, hit up the gallery below. Gallery: Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword launch
Ninja Gaiden's Yosuke Hayashi 'very interested' in Wii
Nintendo World Store held a special launch event for Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the DS. (Check out what the critics thought here.) Development director Yosuke Hayashi was available to sign copies of the game, and a formidable pack of fans lined up to meet and greet the man. Afterwards, we had a one-on-one chat about the game, and what he's looking forward to next. It's no secret that Team Ninja has a reputation for being outspoken and confident in their products. Hayashi is no different. At TGS, we grilled Tomonobou Itagaki about DS action games, and he admitted he played none. However, Hayashi's statement is far more bold: "Itagaki may have said that he's never played any action DS games. But I've played a lot, and none of them were good enough to remember. There's no comparison [to Ninja Gaiden], right?" "There's a very good possibility," Hayashi said when asked about the possibility of DS follow-up to Dragon Sword. "We want to offer a completely different side of the Ninja Gaiden series in a handheld title. There are so many things I can see we can work around if we work on another project." However, a DS sequel may not be the first thing on Hayashi's mind. He talked about how so many fans at the Nintendo World Store wanted a Ninja Gaiden game for the Wii. Without going into details, he simply noted that it was something he was "very interested" in working on. %Gallery-19440%
Team Ninja on Ninja Gaiden accusations: 'Media shouldn't assume'
A few days after a Japanese television network attempted to link Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword with the deadly rampage of 24-year-old Masahiro Kanagawa, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi has criticized the Japanese media for "making assumptions" about the game's involvement in the tragedy. A copy of the title was found in Kanagawa's bag when he was arrested.Speaking through a translator, Hayashi argued that the media "should not be the ones answering the questions or defining the reasons why this incident happened," yet was keen to point out that he wasn't defending either Team Ninja or Ninja Gaiden. "That's just my message from me to the media," he said, adding, "The media can report on these tragedies but they shouldn't just assume or lead into a question that doesn't have a definitive answer."Entirely wise sentiments, of course, but we fear that they'll have little impact, at least while idle sensationalism sells newspapers and bumps ratings. This one could run and run, folks.
Another Week in Japan: Hardware and software numbers 3/17-3/23
Last week was the week of new releases! Anticipating high holiday sales, many publishers made sure to release their games last week, with a total of fifteen ending up in the top thirty (seven of those being DS titles). With this slew of new releases, though, a lot of games were bumped off the chart to make room. Etrian Odyssey II and Soma Bringer, for example, did not survive the onslaught. Yet, somehow Mario Kart DS managed to move up a spot -- that game never ceases to amaze us.The top of the heap was none other than Pokémon Ranger: Batonnage, which completely crushed the competition in its debut week. Sim City 2 DS did well also, ending up in the number four spot. In fact, this is the best an EA game has ever done in its first week in Japan, with the exception of the FIFA titles. Time Hollow and Super Dodgeball are some other notable new releases, ending up in spots ten and seventeen, respectively.
WRUP: Silent like ninja edition
This week's main attraction is none other than Team Ninja's handheld entry in their franchise, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Sure, other games released this week, too, but we're not too concerned with those. Oh no, we're just anxious to unsheathe our stylus and cut foes asunder. Surely, that isn't a feeling we alone possess? What will you all be playing this weekend? Ninja Gaiden, like us? Or some other game (or games)?%Gallery-4937%
Ninja Gaiden II goes back to college and on tour
Grabbing his book bag, laptop, some pencils, paper and a beer bong (just in case), our friend Ryu from Ninja Gaiden II is headed back to college. Forgoing any actual learning, Ryu and his Ninja Gaiden crew will be touring North America's universities on a Ninja Gaiden II tour leading up to the game's release on June 3rd. The campus tour will let students, gamers and any ninja fanboys (sorry, pirate fanboys are strictly prohibited) to be the first to experience Ninja Gaiden II prior to its release. The tour kicks off on March 31st at Georgia Tech and will wrap up in April, so be sure to make the jump to check the complete campus schedule and see if Ryu will be making a campus appearance near you.
Metareview -- Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS)
During last year's Tokyo Game Show, outspoken game designer Tomonobu Itagaki issued us a bit of a challenge. "If there's a game out there that is more beautiful, more interactive, faster and has better action than this game," he said, "please let me know." Well, it looks like such a title may still be absent from the DS catalog, as reviewers have had some awfully nice things to say about the short-but-sweet Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Honestly, we should have seen this coming, what with a fairly obvious clue buried in the game's title. Cross some things out, tilt your head to the left and ... voila! Ninja Gaiden :D ragon Sword Gametrailers (88/100): "Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword proves to have a sharp edge with good tech and smooth pacing. It also manages to turn the stylus into an effective ninja weapon, making it play like no other game on Nintendo's little dual screen." IGN (86/100): "Very few developers outside of Nintendo are truly willing to take the risk of experimenting a brand new way of playing an established franchise, but Tecmo's Team Ninja did just that with its DS-exclusive design. The risk worked: Ninja Gaiden on the Nintendo DS is a really great game that offers a fresh, unique take on action games, and gives the touch-screen handheld gamers something that they'll never see on any other platform." Game Informer Online (78/100): "Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword is a commendable attempt at making a straight-up action game on the DS. I like the combat and the mechanics, and even though the battles get repetitive, it's frantic and fun enough to occasionally make you forget that fact."
Ninja Gaiden II demo slashes XBLM in May
Remember during GDC all that talk about a Ninja Gaiden II demo hitting the Marketplace which ended up being a video demo, ultimately leaving thousands of fanboys angry and/or depressed? Well, forget about that because that was the past and now we're looking towards the future. Towards the month of May to be exact. Why be so excited about May? Well, according to Xbox.com, that's when the real Ninja Gaiden II demo will hit the XBLM and when our fellow angry/depressed fanboys can quit being so angry/depressed. That is unless "free demo" means something else entirely, in which case we apologize in advance for getting your hopes up twice in two months. But we're more confident this time around. May 2008, Ninja Gaiden II demo slashes the XBLM ... write it down and take that to the bank.[Via Evil Avatar]
Ninja Gaiden II demo coming in May
Ever since the announcement of Ninja Gaiden II's June 3rd release, we've become increasingly annoyed with the months of April and May. As is the case with those insolent, slow-moving people who bunch up in front of you at the supermarket, we really just want to ram them out of the way so that we may fill our cart to the brim with candy as quickly as possible. Having turned around and spotted our menacing glares, May has at least shown some decency by offering us a sampler -- a Ninja Gaiden II demo to be precise (and free of rambling allegories). According to Microsoft's Ninja Gaiden II website, those eager to decapitate demons, mangle monsters and otherwise alliteratively assault archfiends can expect to download a demon-stration from Xbox Live Marketplace in May. The page also advises to look for "exclusive" content from April 15th, no doubt referring to things like gamerpics, themes and videos pretending to be demos. Wait, we're not falling for that one again, are we? %Gallery-16541%
Ninja Gaiden: Depressing Scapegoat
Poor old Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword isn't having the best of times in Japan right now. Having shifted a criminally low 4,000 units in its first day on sale, the game is now having the crusty finger of blame pointed in its direction over a high-profile murder in the country. On March 19th, 24-year-old suspect Masahiro Kanagawa went on a horrific stabbing spree through his home town of Tsuchiura, killing one 27-year-old man, and wounding eight others.We obviously can't explain what motivated Kanagawa, so hey, thank goodness for the news media, which has already nailed down the root cause of this young man's madness -- and it's all to do with that evil Ninja Gaiden game! Take that, professional psychologists and behavioral experts!The above screenshot, captured by the My Games News Flash blog, was taken from a report by Japanese network Fuji TV. The blue and white text at the bottom knowingly points out that Kanagawa was arrested with a copy of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword nestling at the bottom of his bag, implying that its presence there was somehow deeply meaningful. You'll all recognize the image, of course.We seriously don't know what's more depressing about this: Fuji TV's gross over-simplification of what is a complex catastrophe, or the fact that this kind of lazy scapegoating passes as journalism pretty much anywhere in the world. Can we not all just move to the Moon or something? I call shotgun.%Gallery-4937%[Via Kotaku]
DS releases for the week of March 24th
This week, it's the battle of the preorder bonus. Are you the kind of person who likes to arrange things in advance? If so, it seems likely you'll be taking home a tiny sword or a tiny kitty -- or perhaps even both. Listen, if you chose Backyard Baseball 2009 over the other two, we're not sure we want to hear about it. We respect your right to choose, but we don't have to know. Backyard Baseball 2009 Harvest Moon DS Cute Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Team Ninja to award high-scoring ninjas with branded iPod
Ninja dogs need not apply. This sweet 8gb iPod Nano you're feasting your eyes on will only be attainable by the most skilled assassins in Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Of course, this is all based on machine translation, so you'll have to forgive us some misinterpretation. It appears that there will be three different ways that folks can enter for their chance at the Nano. For one, there looks to be a specific difficulty setting that will apply to this giveaway, meaning that players who partake in the game while in this difficulty setting can upload their high score for entry. Second, players can collect certain in-game prizes (or tokens, we're assuming). Third, there's an online survey that can be filled out. Seems fairly easy to us, and there will be a total of 15 Nanos up for grabs. The contest period began on March 21st and ends on April 16th. Again, we're not certain this applies to folks outside of Japan, so keep that in mind. %Gallery-4937%
