Ninja Gaiden Sigma > Ninja Gaiden, true or false?

They could have made at least one whole new game instead of remaking this game over and over again......

It's hard to say if this is the right thing to do or not. While I am very excited for Sigma, I might be even more excited for a new Team Ninja game using all of the great stuff we see in the video above. On the other hand, revision is the most important step in any project--be it art, writing, or game creation. Even though TN already has published this game (twice), is it wrong for them to go over it again in an attempt to make it even better?

The answer: It depends. The old adage goes, "if it isn't broken, don't fix it." Case in point: The STAR WARS movies. However, Sigma looks only to have improved all around, so how can that be bad? The answer is that it isn't bad for Sigma, but it IS bad for others, like Star Wars. As long as Team Ninja is actually seeking to make a better game (even if it's a revision of a previous project) and not just trying to cash in on something old, that dedication will shine through in a genuinely superior product.

Otherwise, y'know, fans just hate you (read: George Lucas) in the end.

~Hiro

What the hell is the point of this comparison? The ps3 version looks better than the xbox version?

wow the xbox version looks better than the P$3 version. WTF SONY

I missed Ninja Gaiden the last two times (don't have an Xbox) and looks like I'm missing it again (since it's on PS3)... at least I'll get to play Devil May Cry and hopefully a true sequel to Ninja Gaiden.

@ #4...

You must be a complete idiot or blind. Don't watch the one shown here... watch this one

http://www.gamevideos.com/download?videoId=10182&url=http%3a%2f%

I sure hope the PS3 version looks better. But seriously, this game is pretty damn old. The 360 gets Gaiden 2 and the PS3 gets an old xbox game with minor revisions. What a jip! Hopefully the PS3 version is at least discounted.

5- you can play the X-box game on your 360 Btw.

Wow. That is AMAZING! The PS3 Version LOOKS BETTER?
OMFG!
The THIRD time this game has been released, with minor differences, on the Next-Gen platform and it is more smooth and has better visuals?

Big- Fat- Hairy - Deal.

What the hell were people expecting?

A port is a port. If this was a NEW game, i would be interested. Not in the PS3, but the game of course.

5- you can play the X-box game on your 360 Btw.

Wow. That is AMAZING! The PS3 Version LOOKS BETTER?
OMFG!
The THIRD time this game has been released, with minor differences, on the Next-Gen platform and it is more smooth and has better visuals?

Big- Fat- Hairy - Deal.

What the hell were people expecting?

A port is a port. If this was a NEW game, i would be interested. Not in the PS3, but the game of course.

this is great though I hear that Ninja Gaiden 2 is coming to the PS3 too as Microsoft hasn't signed an exclusive deal at all with the developers, I also hear that they have been working on NG2 for more then 1 year and a half too.

They'd have been better off making a sequel with the new engine but with exactly the same gameplay. At least that way they would have made more sales to people that had played the original (or Black... or both). I can't imagine those that owned one of the two Xbox versions would put down $60 to do it all over again with prettier graphics and some minor additions. I certainly wouldn't.

why does this seem so hard for people to grasp:

Team Ninja is not making this game for those that have played the original Ninja Gaiden, or Ninja Gaiden Black.

they're making this game for the millions (um, let's see, the X Box sold 25 million units, the PS2 sold over 110 million units, there are, at least, 75 million or more PS2 owners that have never played this game) of PS2 owners that don't own an X Box, and have never experienced this kickass game.

the remake serves a few purposes:

1.) to introduce the series to a new audience.

2.) if accepted by the Playstation userbase, this opens up a door for Ninja Gaiden 2 to also appear on the PS3 alongside the 360 (or, at least at a later date).

3.) Items 1 and 2 on this list combine to make Team Ninja a lot more money of the venture is successful.

judging by the looks of the video, and the fact that Ninja Gaiden is one of the best action games ever made, i think there's a high probability of success.

i used to own Ninja Gaiden Black on my X Box, but i traded it in.

i don't own a 360, so i'm eager to play this title on my PS3, and hopefully, it's sequel, which i'm sure will put Gaiden, Black, and Sigma to shame.

You know what cracks me up? The same people constantly celebrating Sony losing exclusives are the same ones to shrug off the opposite happening.

"Ha ha ha lolzors1 We're getting DMC4! XBOXFTW!"

"Ninja Gaiden on PS3? Big- Fat- Hairy - Deal."

I don't understand why they keep rereleasing this game. Sure it was great, but does it really need to be remade? I wouldmuch more prefer someone remaking a game such as Ocarina of Time or something.

I love that horrible comparison GameVideos tries to make. The Xbox1 videos are in 480i, yet Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox1 runs in 480p. Then they show the same thing running on the 360, except for the fact that their videos are not from the 360 at all. They simply upped the resolution on that "480i" video to show what it theoretically looks like on the 360 (pay careful attention to Ryu, the enemies, and the camera. Notice that everything is identical? Try pulling that off on two play sessions).

The worse thing of it all though is that they further the myth that all it takes for a game to look better is to have a high resolution. The PS3 version is obviously different in that video than the original game. The textures are all re-done. The higher res helps, but that's not why it's better. The framerate is also a big contributor as to why it looks better running on the PS3.

They should have just left the resolution comparisons out of this video. They're barely relevant at best, and totally falsified at worse.

But how does it look compared to the Atari 2600 version?

With developers complaining about the increased time, effort, and money it's taking to put out games, it seems strange at best for Team Ninja to be remaking a game, especially for the third time. Personally, I don't find this remake as offensive as Black (hey everyone that bought it the first time it came out, we decided to finish and release it a year later), however, it seems like they should be creating new material. Though I don't own a PS3, there's no way I would ever buy this.

(and it doesn't look THAT much prettier...)

All I gotta say is they gotsa make this one for Wii!!! How choptastic would that be.

@Ken,

The reason Xbox owners are so dismissive of Ninja Gaiden Sigma is quite simple really... We played it in 2004 when it was called Ninja Gaiden, then we played it again with a bit more polish and a few new monsters, but essentially the same game in, 2005 as Ninja Gaiden Black. Much like Black, Sigma's just a further polishing of the original Xbox Ninja Gaiden. Not a new game. You can understand I hope why no one who's played a game twice already on the last generation of consoles would care about a next-gen port of a last-gen title? Sharper graphics alone a new game does not make. To draw comparisons, how would you feel if a new flavor of Metal Gear Solid 3 came out on the 360? You probably wouldn't give a crap since the game has already been released... twice... on Sony's last-gen console.

@13

It's probably because we've already played Ninja Gaiden, twice, a while back, and DMC4 is coming out for both 360 and PS3 simultaneously.

Personally I don't know why anyone cares at all about losing exclusives... I'm just happy that I get to play DMC4 and Assassin's Creed, just as happy as I would be had they never been said to be exclusive in the first place.

I admit that it's pretty, though. I'm not surprised, but I do see pretty ninja action, and I hope the PS3 owners enjoy it as much as we did.

Ninja Gaiden is quite possibly the best game I ever played on the xbox - I absolutely, positively cannot wait for the sequel.. (on xbox 360 i hope!)

if you haven't played it you really should.

The PS3 one looks better.. period. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to get their eyes checked. It looks better no matter how you spin it really.

you guys are forgetting that not everyone has played the game....it is being released on the playstation platform and not alot of playstation users played ninja gaiden... my brother had the game for xbox and it was awesome but i never got to play it. now that its coming to ps3 im 100% positive i will be picking this up.


i beleive im more of the audience that they are targeting for this release.

also, people keep following the misconception that the true sequel wont be released on the ps3. listen to their recent interviews and they almost explicitly imply that the game will be on ps3. they dont even mention development for 360 at this point.

Honestly, this game isn't meant for you.

If you've played it twice, you're not the target audience.

If I remember correctly, PS2 had the largest market share of gamers during its time (and even now). That's a huge untapped market right there. Plus, if you went through the video, apparently there's more weapons, a new character, and more chapters. If you're one to challenge yourself with one of the hardest games ever, Ninja Gaiden drives a hard bargain.

Shame on most of these readers for thinking this is a PS3 vs Xbox video. And shame on joystiq for the title that's prompting the flame wars. The video was made just so that people could see what's been changed, not to compare what's better. So yes, now you know it is the exact game with some polishing, but I'm sure some people wanted to know how polished it was, now they know. Does the fanboyism ever stop?

For those of you about to comment, please take this video for what it's really worth, just an example of what the developer has changed since the last release. Nobody is trying to show what system is better.

1 Question: when they said "simulated 720p upscaled" do they mean via ANNA or via whoever-this-is's HDTV?

Yes: i definitely see improvements to the PS3 version, but this game is definitely not for anyone who has an Xbox (you could get the same thing for waaay cheaper)

Its alright for them to upgrade the game and graphics, but it would be better if they gave us a compelling reason to buy it

It's funny that ps3 peeps call this game a system seller.

Its not a system seller by any means. But its a damn good game if you already own a PS3.

With great graphics too boot.

Sheer genius! A current gen HD game looks better last a last generation game in SD? NO FLIPPIN' WAY!!!!!1!!!

While the core of the game is the same, Sigma has a new playable character, new weapons including dual katanas, and three completely new chapters. Previously there were 16 chapters, now there are 19.

As for anyone who thinks Sigma looks anything remotely close to the original as far as the quality of graphics is concerned, head over to www.gamevideos.com and download the comparison video that runs at 720p and 60 fps. This game looks ridiculously good. The Sony crowd is very much an untapped market for Ninja Gaiden, and as a PS3 owner I'm very excited about it.

What I find somewhat hilarious is that a lot of the people shrugging off Sigma would absolutely kill for a remake of Final Fantasy VII...and I'm not talking about the good kind of kill either.

Can remakes be worthwhile? Of course. Nobody has rallied against many, many, many remakes of final fantasy games for various systems, and they weren't even adding anything extra half of the time. Personally, I'm wholeheartedly looking forward to Sigma...but I'll wait for complete judgment until...oh, I don't know. Maybe when the game actually is OUT? Geesh...

I never played it, but I did hear a lot about it; in other words, I'm looking forward to picking this up for the ps3. It's definitely looking good, and since it's basically been released twice already I'd assume the gameplay should be pretty well perfected by now. If this was just the same thing in hi-def I could see more complaints, but for those of us that never played it on the xbox, this is a great release.

I hope sony is ramping up production on those sixaxis sitcks. maybe they should just sell it with the game. it would save people some time from having to go back to the store to buy another controler after smashing it from lvl 16. i hate those giant undead basterds. just thinking about it... ARGGGG!!!

*hurls keyboard at wall*

The original Ninja Gaiden ran in 480p, as did Ninja Gaiden Black. In fact very few XBOX games (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Chaos, Ultimate Spider-Man) don't have resolutions beyond 480i. It seems kind of unfair to show off the oldest version of a game in its worst resolution to show how much value this new version has.

@26

The difference is that this will be the third version of the same game in 3 years. The FF games that have been rereleased recently all came out 10+ years ago. Not that I even buy those, FF is overrated^2. Still, it's not the same situation.

Watching that last video just made me sick at the direction I know industry is moving in. The second(last) video to me was a geek with fat pockets dream. I hear all the talk about the new moves, new character, new weapon, hairstyles, 720p, 720i, and all that other bullshit, but yet I can't get over the fact that this is the same damn game that I played on the Xbox just with a shinier coating. I don't expect many to agree wtih me but this is just sad. Instead of making a completely new game, they rehash the same thing that I've brought and played 2 times already. Now I may sound hypocritical I know, because I did buy Black and I already had the first Gaiden, but most people would agree that Black should have been the first and only Gaiden that was released. The only good thing I can say about this is it's a buy for those that didn't already play the hell out of the first two. The only thing they get is a shinier new coating of a game many have been done with for 3 years now.

they are making a whole new game.

for the XBOX360.

It's very simple, Itagaki is a perfectionist. He is the kind of person that could have an unlimited budget and time frame to create a game, and STILL be unsatisfied with it. But...

Ninja Gaiden Sigma is NOT the doing of Itagaki. He has nothing to do with it. Itagaki is working on Ninja Gaiden 2. If you read some of his interviews with 1up.com, he clearly states that Ninja Gaiden Sigma is sort of a testing ground for the PS3. Think of it as his teams way of testing out the waters, seeing what the PS3 is capable of.

There's a BIG difference in asking for remakes of the Final Fantasy series and asking for a remake of a 2-3 year old game. The technology used in FF4-6, and even 7, PALES in comparison to today's technology. The same is not true comparing Black and Sigma. Yes, Sigma has amazing new shaders, lighting, etc, but it's young enough that it's going to "feel" exactly the same. A remake of classic FF games, especially the 8/16bit ones, is in a completely different ballpark. You'd be looking at a huge leap in graphics, overall presentation, and possibly even gameplay.

I got thru about 6 or 7 emails when I just couldn't read anymore.

If anyone would care to read the article, Joystiq is showing this "comparison" video to show that Team Ninja is recycling their content with a prettier bow.

The question asked, was in fact, "But is perfection through repetition a noble pursuit for Team Ninja?"

The problem too, JOYTSIQ, is that your headline would lead one to believe that this is one of those xbox 360/PS3 graphics comparisons.

For shame!

Should have read, "Play Ninja Gaiden on the PS3.....AGAIN", or some such witty, joystiqian comment.

Looks good. And with a next gen graphical upgrade and a $60 price tag for a 3 year old game, it probably should.

Now Sonyfans can enjoy throwing their controllers against the wall in a rage as they experience the insane difficulty of this game, and despair.

It really pissed me off to no end.

I know exactly what is being spoken about, when it comes to the difficulty of this game. I hope ps3 controllers are built well, for when I get it and pick up this game, I'm gonna be hurlding that controller, even before I put the disc in.