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Joystiq Weekly: GDC 2014, Infamous, Metal Gear Solid and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. We saw many great games and met with many great people during this year's Game Developers Conference in sunny San Francisco. Or did we? One of the biggest announcements of the show was undoubtedly Project Morpheus, the upcoming virtual reality headset from Sony, and during our hands-on demo, we felt pretty darn virtual. So now the question is: What if we didn't really attend GDC 2014? What if it was all virtual reality? Whoa, dude. Sony also gained news traction this week thanks to the release of PS4-exclusive, Infamous: Second Son. Meanwhile, Snake/Jack Bauer has come out of retirement (again) to save the world in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, and a new cyborg ninja came to town with the release of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. You can read all about these games and more of the week's biggest and best after the break. [Image: Joystiq]
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z Review: Entrails from the crypt
It's a shame that words and phrases like "gnarly," "radical" and "totally tubular, dude" aren't considered common these days. If they were, I'd know exactly how to describe Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. I'd know just how to highlight the game's ludicrous, over-the-top tone and obscene jokes. I'd have a word to describe its damn-the-odds combat. I'd be able to precisely encapsulate how it feels to be a cyborg ninja that wields the limbs of undead clowns like they were nunchuks. Ah, what the heck: Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is one of the most gnarly, radical, <insert '90s slang here> game I've ever played. I just wish it was a little less focused on being Xtreme to the MAX and more focused on remaining consistently fun.
Report: Team Ninja working on PlayStation 4 game after Yaiba
Ninja Gaiden developer Team Ninja will shift its development focus to an unnamed PlayStation 4 game after shipping its current project, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, according to a Dengeki Online report (via Gematsu). "First, we will release Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z for PS3 and Xbox 360, which we joint-developed with the Inafune-led company Comcept," Team Ninja studio head Yosuke Hayashi said, translated by Gematsu. "Additionally, we're also developing a PlayStation 4 title internally, so please look forward to future updates." No further details regarding the team's coming PS4 project were revealed. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is scheduled to launch for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on March 18 in North America. [Image: Tecmo Koei]
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z special edition packs in DOA 5 Ultimate costumes
A jam-packed special edition of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will be available in limited quantities for PS3 and Xbox 360, bundling the game with a full-color comic from Dark Horse, some Yaiba costumes for Ryu Hayabusa and Mimoji in Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate and the full Yaiba soundtrack. Publisher Tecmo Koei has also revealed some bonus costumes and screenshots for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. You can see a Mighty No. 9 crossover and a schoolgirl get-up in our galleries below. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z tells the story of Yaiba Kamikaze, a ninja who is almost killed when he encounters Ninja Gaiden series poster child Ryu Hayabusa. Yaiba loses an arm and an eye in the fight and has them replaced with cybernetic implants. He agrees to help a corporation quell a zombie outbreak in return for information on where to find Hayabusa so that he might exact his revenge. Yaiba launches on the aforementioned consoles, along with PC through Steam, on March 18.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z's classic side-scrolling mode spotted in new trailer, screens
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will receive a special Ninja Gaiden Z mode, Team Ninja announced. The retro-inspired mode offers side-scrolling action similar to past games in the series along with 8-bit-style cut scenes and menus. In addition to the trailer and screens showing off the classic game mode, the developer issued an additional quirky parody trailer, seen after the break. What's more, Team Ninja noted that the game's main character Yaiba will receive a downloadable alternate costume thanks to a collaboration with Comcept. Players will have the ability to dress their ninja warrior up like Beck, the lead character of Keiji Inafune's Mighty No. 9. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is slated to launch on March 4, 2014 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z bringing that cyborg ninja to Europe a week early
Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z-ooms to Europe one week ahead of North America, slicing up the continent on February 28. Just yesterday, Tecmo Koei announced the flamboyant spin-off will hit North America on March 4, coming to Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Yaiba represents an unusual three-way collaboration between Team Ninja, Lost Planet 3 dev Spark Unlimiited, and Soul Sacrifice studio Comcept. The fruit borne is a mixture of Ninja Gaiden slice-and-dicing and, well, lots and lots and lots of zombies. And plenty of smut too, as a new trailer reveals.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z pits cyborg ninja against zombies next March
Spark Unlimited, Team Ninja and Comcept collaboration Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z has been pegged for a March 4, 2014 launch in the US on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC through Steam. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z centers around anti-hero Yaiba Kamikaze - a ninja who massacres his entire clan for perceived weakness. After dying by the hand of Ninja Gaiden series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa during a duel, Kamikaze is then resurrected as a cyborg by a mysterious corporation, which forces him to embark on a quest to quell a zombie outbreak in exchange for the power to enact his revenge on Hayabusa. Team Ninja told Joystiq back in August that the Unreal Engine 3-powered slash-em-up is its own thing - not a spin-off or sequel. Team Ninja went on to say it would love to pursue a sequel, granted Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z manages to find an audience. And if the latest trailer above is any indication, that target audience is folks who enjoy terrible, cringe-worthy euphemisms.
Dark Horse preparing Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z digital comic
Dark Horse is prepping a tie-in comic for upcoming Team Ninja, Comcept and Spark Unlimited collaboration, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. The three-issue run, which will be available as a free download through the Dark Horse website and app, is penned by writers Tim Seeley and Josh Eamons, with art from Rafael Ortiz. A physical comic will also be available at Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z's launch. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will launch sometime in 2014 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Despite being set within the Ninja Gaiden universe, Team Ninja has said it views Yaiba as its own franchise and, even though the game hasn't launched yet, would love to pursue a sequel and nurture Yaiba's growth into a full-fledged franchise.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z set to slash through Steam
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will now chop, slice and dice on PC. Publisher Tecmo Koei announced this morning that the spin-off will be available on Steam, alongside the announced Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, in early 2014. Yaiba, which we haven't heard much of since Gamescom, is an action-packed bout of ninjas vs. zombies created between Spark Unlimited (Lost Planet 3), Team Ninja and Keiji Inafune's Comcept, which also has its hands full with the successful Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter.
Yaiba 'is its own thing,' Team Ninja would love to make Yaiba 2
Although it's set in the Ninja Gaiden universe, Team Ninja looks at Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z as its own entity, separate from Ryu Hayabusa's outings and able to develop into its own property. Speaking to Joystiq at Gamescom, studio head Yosuke Hayashi said his team would love to make a Yaiba 2, but it needs to ensure the first Yaiba is a success first. "It's not a sequel or a spin-off, it is its own thing," Hayashi said, "And so the systems are very different. We want to have it open to another audience, to people who like zombie games. The target is a little bit different, but it should still feel like a good, solid action game." Yaiba isn't just a ninja meets zombies crossover, it is also a worldwide collaboration between three separate games studios: Ninja Gaiden dev Team Ninja and Keiji Inafune's Comcept from Japan, and California-based Spark Unlimited. It's an unusual collaboration to say the least, but one Inafune believes has worked out well. "It's been interesting to see the Comcept team, the Team Ninja team, and the Spark team working together on this project," Inafune said. "First we were being careful with each other and respecting each other's boundaries, and stuff like that. But it really has become an open dialog between the teams, respecting the strengths of each team, and bringing out those strengths through discussion and through open and honest collaboration. To see that happen that between Team Ninja and Spark has been something that's really good for Yaiba."
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z trailers won't cost you an arm and a leg
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z stars Yaiba Kamikaze, a ninja killed by primary series star Ryu Hayabusa during a duel. We're not sure how Yaiba came back from the dead, but at least we can see how he died.
Putting the 'Yaiba' in Ninja Gaiden Z
Yaiba means "the blade of a sword," Keiji Inafune explains in this developer diary for Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. It is, somehow, the subtler component of the protagonist's full name: Yaiba Kamikaze. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is being developed primarily by Spark Unlimited, the Los Angeles-based studio also responsible for Lost Planet 3. In the video, Inafune says the studio is "exactly what we wanted" because they were able to bring a unique perspective to the ninja, unifying Western and Eastern visions on the classic archetype. "To appeal to both, it made sense for us to work together." Inafune then goes into an astute metaphor about how game development is like building a house – at least, we think it's astute. We've never built a house before.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z uses Unreal Engine 3
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, the collaborative Comcept/Team Ninja/Spark Unlimited action game, isn't just undead, it's also Unreal. Tecmo Koei has licensed Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games Japan for use in the new zombie-filled spinoff."In the past I have been involved with numerous projects built upon Unreal Engine 3, so I understand its benefits and reliability," Keiji Inafune said. "Unreal allows us to focus on making the game fun, and to push the boundaries of visuals and gameplay in the shortest time possible." Team Ninja Ichigaya Development Group 1 studio head Yosuke Hayashi pointed to Unreal's potential usefulness for refining gameplay, saying that "Unreal Engine allows us to quickly and efficiently iterate on countless ideas, and 'YAIBA' is now taking on a life of its own."Of course, these are both marketing-y press release quotes, but they point to UE3 as a choice made to keep development quick and economical.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will slice its way to Xbox and PS3
Previously announced only for "consoles," it appears that Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z will be heading specifically to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The news comes via a batch of job listings for developer Spark Unlimited (which is also handling Lost Planet 3), which identify Yaiba as "a bold new take on 3rd Person slasher with Horror elements for the PS3 and Xbox 360."So there you have it, any fears (hopes?) that Yaiba would debut only on the next generation of consoles have been cut down like a cybernetic zombie ninja.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z brings east and west together for zombie and ninja authenticity
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z developer Spark Unlimited was apparently very passionate about working on the franchise. Spark is working with Keiji Inafune's company Comcept, and met with Ninja Gaiden franchise developer Team Ninja through there."But, actually from a different route they actually came up with a concept for a Ninja Gaiden game on their own and presented it to us," Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi told Siliconera. So when Comcept brought Spark in, everyone involved already knew each other. "Now, we met with them and they feel like three parties are one team," Hayashi said.Bringing a western developer on board, Hayashi believes, will help Yaiba get its zombie content right. "We see ninjas portrayed in Western games, and they aren't real ninjas," Hayashi noted. "There is something off about them. Zombies are a creation of the West. We feel we can bring the authentic ninja-ness and by teaming with Spark, they can bring in the authentic zombie-ness. We can really come together to make a very unique zombie experience."
Talking Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z with Keiji Inafune and Yosuke Hayashi
Walking around the Tokyo Game Show floor, we just happened to run into Keiji Inafune, famed (and infamous) Japanese developer and creator of notable franchises like Mega Man and Dead Rising, not to mention the upcoming Soul Sacrifice and Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. We snagged a few minutes of his time to discuss the latter two, specifically how it's been working with Team Ninja on Yaiba, and whether he'd like to continue working with the studio going forward. An Inafune fighting game? It could happen.After the break, find part two of our interview with Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi, during which we discuss Yaiba and the studio's partnership with Inafune.
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z a partnership between Keiji Inafune's Comcept and Team Ninja [update: trailer!]
Famed Japanese developer Keiji Inafune surprised the crowd at Team Ninja's pre-TGS event to discuss his collaboration with the studio, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. It's not the first time we've heard of the game, but it is the first time we've seen the full title. As it implies, it is a spin-off of the Ninja Gaiden series. The game focuses on ninjas and the undead, with Inafune admitting he's a big fan of zombies (Dead Rising, anyone?). The collaboration represents a "dream come true" for Inafune, to create a game featuring both zombies and ninjas. It's hard to argue with the assertion.The project represents a chance for Inafune to make the kinds of games he really wants to make, he said. Referring to the comments Inafune made saying the Japanese industry was dying, he said "we are going to survive and make good games that will lead the Japanese game industry."The game tells the story of Yaiba, who's only mission in his undead life, it seems, is to take revenge on Ryu Hayabusa, star of the Ninja Gaiden series. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, is currently in development for "consoles."Update: Fresh from Japan, feast on this Yaiba trailer.%Gallery-166040%
Inafune's Yaiba combines zombies with ninjas and mechs
Comcept officially announced Keiji Inafune's zombie game Yaiba today, though it declined to offer much in the way of detail, as we still have no idea of platforms, release window, or even how the game actually works.According to creator Keiji Inafune, it's inspired in part by fan feedback. "There are so many zombie games out there, yet people ask me for a new Inafune zombie game. I am grateful for people's respect for me as the 'zombie game creator' and to fulfill that I must answer their expectations with YAIBA."Those expectations are being fulfilled with a concept of "zombies with action, ninjas and mechs." Get an idea of Comcept's concept in this stylish (but bloody) teaser video.
Inafune's new zombie game 'Yaiba,' his Soul Sacrifice surprises for TGS
Mega Man creator and Dead Rising producer Keiji Inafune is working on a new zombie game called Yaiba, Siliconera reports. Platforms and other details are scarce at the moment.If you'll be joining us in Japan next week and have an affinity for things both horrifying and portable, then you may be interested to learn that Inafune will be showing off his upcoming Vita title Soul Sacrifice during the Tokyo Game Show. This will be the first time the game has been playable, by members of the press or otherwise.Inafune also teased that a surprise announcement of some kind, unrelated to Soul Sacrifice, could be made during the show, according to Andriasang's translation of his blog post. Whether that surprise has anything to do with Inafune's recently released Android title JJ Rockets or Yaiba itself is anyone's guess, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for a rhythm 3DS game set in an unspeakable hell dimension. In three dee!
