Rumor: Ninja Gaiden 2 for 360 to be at Tokyo Game Show

by Ross Miller { Aug 20th 2007 at 9:55PM }

There is a rather perverse enjoyment of reading bad translations at Joystiq HQ (which is located in France, of course). So it is with a hushed giggle that we inform you of a rumor stemming from GameSpot Korean that [nin] the guy to sleep 2 it is burnt, also known as Ninja Gaiden 2, will be shown on the Xbox 360 at this year's Tokyo Game Show.

A Japanese insider also reportedly said that a PS3 version is not yet detailed. Our Korean is a little rusty, so until we hear a confirmation in another language (Japanese, Spanish, German, Swahili, English or French, of course) and can translate in-house, consider this just a juicy rumor to sink your katana into.

[Via X3F]

Tags: itagaki, ninjagaiden, ninjagaiden2, teamninja, tgs07

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Truepatriot @ Aug 20th 2007 10:06PM

hope its true, no more remakes of the same game itagaki!
cant wait to see 2 no matter what system its on.

blooh @ Aug 20th 2007 10:10PM

hopefully it won't be quite as friggin hard as the first one for xbox (but obviously have a hard mode option)

jovin6 @ Aug 20th 2007 11:08PM

I'm not sure where it was, but I feel like I remember an interview where he mentioned that it would be even harder. That certainly makes more sense given the story surrounding Ninja Dog mode in Black.

JL @ Aug 21st 2007 11:04AM

I hope its harder! Come on, this is one of the only games that I have played that actually gave me a challenge.

Kevin_S @ Aug 20th 2007 10:13PM

Can't wait to see how delicious this game looks having been built from the ground up on the 360 hardware. It's gonna be PRETTY!!!

bounchfx @ Aug 20th 2007 10:15PM

this game will be godly

jason w @ Aug 20th 2007 10:16PM

Damn it. I have yet to finish sigma on the PS3. I finished it when it was on the first Box though..... Oh well.

dsub @ Aug 20th 2007 10:18PM

Finally. It's about friggin' time.

The reason that I bought a 360 is finally going to arrive.

Envoy X @ Aug 20th 2007 10:19PM

I soiled myself...

ZapBranigan @ Aug 20th 2007 10:24PM

Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please. I've been waiting for this for a LONG time.

BioshockWarrior @ Aug 20th 2007 10:27PM

Well I've never played any Ninja Gaiden games but due to all the hype surrounding them I can't help but hope that this is true...that way I can judge for myself whether its great or not.

Hopefully its a 360 exclusive.

Abortimus Prime @ Aug 20th 2007 10:27PM

Whether or not this is an exclusive 360 title will govern whether or not I'll go through the trouble of buying a 360.

Now if only Shenmue 3 and Jet Set Radio 3 come out on 360, I'll have felt like I didn't waste my money.

Word of the street. @ Aug 20th 2007 11:02PM

Dude what you need is a New Sega Dreamcast not a X360.

BTW So you blindly bought a x360 without checking any of the games you wanted or you are just bashing the x360?.

Well I guess kick ass games arent for everyone...(BTW Shenmue 3 would be awesome,too bad Modern Sega is kind of sucky.)

Abortimus Prime @ Aug 20th 2007 11:34PM

No man, I haven't bought a 360. I should have been a little more clear. NG, Shenmue 2 and Jet Set Future were the only games that kept me coming back on my original Xbox. Unless there are sequels for any of these games that are made exclusive for the 360, there's really not that much else making me want to get one.

A 360-exclusive NG would tempt the living shit out of me, though.

Benny @ Aug 21st 2007 4:43PM

Is there a reason that you don't want to try out the rest of the 360's library? There's plenty of great stuff besides shooters you know, and more on the way.

Abortimus Prime @ Aug 21st 2007 10:17PM

Other than the fact that none of it really does anything for me, with the exception of a few games that are all available on pc? Not really, no. She's really not my cup of tea, but any console that gets an exclusive Ninja Gaiden title is worth owning to me.

phattie @ Aug 20th 2007 10:43PM

PS3 exclusive... Itakgi is pissed at how poor his games sell in Japan... although, it could just be his demeanor .

John @ Aug 20th 2007 10:45PM

360 exclusive? The last Ninja Gaiden on ps3 ran at 60 fps, 1080p. Those developers didn't put in all that work to make a 2nd version that runs on the 360 and burns valves.

No, there will be two versions, and I will be curious to see if the 360 runs in 1080p.

Hey. More power to you, if it does. Just keep the a/c on high.

Anonim @ Aug 21st 2007 6:50AM

Actualy internaly upscaled from 720 to 1080
And it is port of Xbox 1 engine with synch framerate problems!
And loading times LOL.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=75934
Upscaled 720

Review:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=79093

[quote]Instead, Tecmo has gone down the road of inexplicably releasing the game as a full-priced PS3 title - and one that you might reasonably expect is an all-new game in the series. Not so. All it has done, effectively, is add the 'Sigma' subtitle and three really short levels where you play as Rachel, thrown in a higher top resolution, shoehorned in utterly pointless Sixaxis controls and stood there with its hands held out. [/quote]

[quote]Without completely overhauling the entire art in the game, upscaling the image to 720p or even 1080p can instantly make things look too sterile, too clean, and, ultimately, rob it of any atmosphere it had. And, somehow, there's still noticeable v-sync issues. Compared with the recent strides made by the likes of God of War 1 and 2, Ninja Gaiden Sigma lacks the wow factor, with environments that are far too 'clean' for their own good, and creatures that you've seen before in numerous other games. As impressive as the game looked in early 2004, we've been spoilt rotten ever since, and even the once-massive boss monsters look fairly standard through today's eyes. Progress is as harsh a mistress as it ever was, sadly.[/quote]

[quote]Furthermore, the game simply feels old fashioned in all sorts of ways today. The fact that there are dreadful loading pauses all over the place is something we didn't even think to comment on in 2004. Most games had that. But in today's seamless streaming game worlds, it's a bugbear to have the sense of immersion shattered every time you run between one short section and another. [Edit: even installing the game to the PS3's hard disk does not cure the problem, despite what you may have read].
[/quote]

[quote]Unfortunately, the list goes on: why on Earth make the attack button the same one that opens doors? Not only is it annoying to find yourself entering another room midway through a life or death battle, but it can be very costly thanks to the game's insistence on respawning enemies in certain sections, no matter how many times you've slain them. In other words, you might have one enemy left, and accidentally open a door, only to return to find the whole posse is back, as if by magic. But it's not the kind of magic we appreciate: The whole respawning enemy thing was an old fashioned, lazy approach to level design in 2004 - in 2007 it feels as unnecessary as one hit kills and daft checkpointing - things most top developers have eradicated from games since then. In Ninja Gaiden, it's just about justifiable on the basis of harvesting the game's currency (which you need in order to upgrade weapons and buy health vials and so on), but it makes navigating around previously explored areas a mighty pain in the backside. Given that this is something you have to do a lot, this isn't a minor issue either.

While we're in full power Moan Mode, why does the game not bother to save your progress automatically upon completion of a level? The game even states 'saving' in the top right of the screen, but if you happen to, say, fall into a bottomless pit on the next level, you might find yourself having to re-do that really tough boss battle on the climax of the previous level if you're not careful. Other silly things chip away at your love for the game, like an inability to quit the game from the in-game menu (without knowing the secret combination of shoulder buttons, select and start - oh THANKS Tecmo), or reconfigure your controls, or the way the game forces you to run over all the 'essence' blobs to pick them up unless you hold down the triangle button. All of these nitpicky things should be standard-issue by now, and it's just a sign of Tecmo's sloppy approach to this project.

Compounding all of these niggly issues, it's not a game that ever likely to grab you on a narrative level. As many have observed over the years, the story's still harmless, throwaway nonsense, made even less appealing in this version by the fact that the rendered cut-scenes haven't been resampled to take advantage of high definition. Switching between razor-sharp game-engine moments to somewhat blurry-looking renders to move the story on is, well, lazy in the extreme. Add to that some sub-standard voice acting, some of the most generic bad guys ever seen, and the enigmatic lack of star quality from the lead character, Ryu Hyabusa, and it's a game that's distinctly lacking soul.[/quote]

Jake @ Aug 21st 2007 8:23AM

If you are too lazy to read the above post:

Sigma on PS3 was essentially an upscaled Xbox game. It was pretty, no doubt, but Gaiden 2 will look much better, regardless of what system it is released on (barring the Wii obviously).

BPM @ Aug 20th 2007 10:46PM

Hayabusa has real, ultimate power.

Ross Miller @ Aug 20th 2007 11:59PM

Yay, now I know my real, ultimate reference was not in vain. :D

jynxycat @ Aug 20th 2007 10:49PM

So it's a rumor from a poorly translated Korean Gamespot article... hm.

Word of the street. @ Aug 20th 2007 10:56PM

I understand Pirates use patches for Night vision but what Ninjas use for night vision?.

BTW this awesome,I totally forgoted everything about this game.

Ross Miller @ Aug 20th 2007 11:58PM

Ninjas inherently have night vision, much like cats do. And much in the same way, Ninjas also crave cheeseburgers and use bad typing skills.

lolNinja can has cheezberger?

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 21st 2007 12:23AM

All very true Ross.

Word of the street. @ Aug 21st 2007 11:17AM

who are you, so wise in the ways of science ?

jontheninja @ Aug 20th 2007 10:56PM

Man, I'm gonna go swallow a frisbee and get totally pumped.

SkeetSkiLee @ Aug 20th 2007 10:57PM

from what i read so far... they translated pretty correctly! nice job! PS3 version is unconfirmed like they said. and from the article it said that THEY WILL SHOW Ninja Gaiden 2. but i could be wrong... hahahha

rdj75 @ Aug 20th 2007 11:02PM

If this is in fact true, then OMG. YES, YES, YES!!!!(herbal essence shampoo commercials)

SkeetSkiLee @ Aug 20th 2007 11:05PM

Sorry for the off topic comment here but...
HOW DO YOU FREAK'N CHANGE THE ICON??

dsub @ Aug 20th 2007 11:16PM

Click on your screen name where it is displayed next to your comments. It will take you to your profile page. Click on the link in the upper right hand corner of the screen that says "Are you ______? If so, login here". Then just enter your password. I think you can get it from there.

SkeetSkiLee @ Aug 20th 2007 11:55PM

thank you so much!!

AaronMD @ Aug 20th 2007 11:10PM

I'm playing Ninja Gaiden Black for Xbox right now on my 360. Its a great game and the graphics and game play are amazing for "last gen." I would recommend it to any Xbox/360/PS3 owners. I played the demo on my PS3 for Ninja Gaiden Sigma, and the game play was identical. However, I must say that I wasn't too impressed with the improvements in graphics over the Xbox version. Anyway, a 60 FPS Ninja Gaiden 2 for both 360 and PS3 would be a wise decision for TECMO and would probably sell well. Porting it to the Wii wouldn't be a bad idea either.

ExMcloud @ Aug 20th 2007 11:27PM

You never know might be 360 exclusive just because Mr.Rockstar said he's really interested in the 360 and the DS so you never know. Hell MS might even spend a pretty penny to make sure it is. Just like Sony did for Sigma. I wouldn't doubt it especially if you look at Team Ninjas history with Sony it hasn't been pretty. but this is all speculation nothing else. Either way I'm excited

alex @ Aug 20th 2007 11:38PM

TI: The simple fact is that there was no way we were going to be able to port Ninja Gaiden to the PlayStation 2. Team Ninja will never lower its standards and it wouldn't play on that platform. There were a lot of people who wanted to play the game and couldn't play it, but now that we are coming up on this next generation of hardware coming out, Hayashi, a young gentleman on my team, came to me and said "I would really like to take Ninja Gaiden and spread the franchise out to bring in more people." I said as long as that doesn't affect our main focus of developing new titles for the Xbox 360, then why not let this young man and his team take a little bit of resources to do this Ninja Gaiden Sigma. It's actually helping me because it lets me focus on developing new titles for the 360.

ExMcloud @ Aug 20th 2007 11:47PM

So basically Sigma was just a side project to pass the time to get ready to make 360 games?

alex @ Aug 20th 2007 11:56PM

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154580

lawrence @ Aug 21st 2007 12:46AM

you knows it coming to the ps3 again and in a better form than 360

Snatcher @ Aug 21st 2007 12:59AM

No Lawrence, I dont know that. In fact I think that would be very foolish and un-Ninja like to assume that such an occurence would develop. If recent history has shown us anything its that the X360 has outperformed it's PS3 peer in multi-platform gaming. The X360 is a superior machine games wise.

Team Itagaki has spent more time programming on the XBOX platform than any other developer. I have no doubt in my mind they will turn out an amazing product.

Next SDF member that brings up RROD in response to this gets some kind of medal for valor... You ALL know its inevitable!

ExMcloud @ Aug 21st 2007 1:57AM

Honestly I dont even know if its coming to the PS3 since team Ninjas main focus is the 360

Farseer @ Aug 21st 2007 1:58AM

"you knows it coming to..."

Holy shit, I just had a full body shiver at that abortion of the English language.

sorry about the off-topic comment. Carry on!

baby sea tuna @ Aug 21st 2007 7:07AM

I dunno, I think the grammartastrophes are part of lawrence's charm. Kind of like a 3-legged dog or a polar bear with Down's Syndrome or something, ya know?

Anyway, back OT...Ninja Gaiden is an incredibly overrated series. And yeah, I've played all of them. Fun, but totally overrated.