Itagaki: Ninja Gaiden Sigma is 'no good'

by Justin McElroy { May 21st 2008 at 5:30PM }

We thought Ninja Gaiden Sigma was pretty good. You know, nothing revolutionary, but at least worth a spin for PS3 owners, especially those who hadn't played through Ninja Gaiden. But we've just received word (via CVG) from Ninja Gaiden I and II developer Tomonobu Itagaki that we're wrong, wrong, totally wrong.

When asked about the game, Itagaki said simply, "It was no good." Apparently not into the whole brevity thing, CVG continued the line of questioning, prompting Itagaki to add, "Despite the fact that it's on a 'next-generation' console there's no evolution whatsoever. That was made not by me, but one of my sub-ordinates who basically tried to copy the success of Ninja Gaiden." You think that's pretty rough, right? Well get this: That guy was sitting next to him. And he was making Itagaki a fancy birthday cake. No, that stuff isn't true. But it's still fairly icy.

Oh, and he dropped a preemptive burn, saying that a PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden II "would be a loss of face for everyone involved." ... So, yeah. Remind us not to cut him off in traffic.

Tags: itagaki, ninja-gaiden, ninja-gaiden-2, ninja-gaiden-sigma, tecmo, tomonobu-itagaki

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Brandon @ May 21st 2008 5:38PM

So what exactly does that make Ninja Gaiden Black then?
Does his gripe not apply to it because it was on XBOX.

NATO_Duke @ May 21st 2008 5:54PM

Right it doesn't apply because that game was last generation. See how he said, "Despite the fact that it's on a 'next-generation' console there's no evolution whatsoever.."

Brandon @ May 21st 2008 6:43PM

But black was more of a no change port than Sigma. In fact, with ninja gaiden already existing on the xbox, it further beg's the question why black was even necessary considering how he seems to feel about new games with no changes.

ExMcloud @ May 21st 2008 6:48PM

Because Black added all the Hurricane Pack content which added over 10 hours of gameplay alone...And the new difficulty levels with harder bosses and new enimies...Sigma was literally a port of the regular Ninja Gaiden without the Hurricane Pack missions with the inclusion of Rachel and Playable cutscenes....So I'd still pick Black over every other NG except the ones on Nintendo

Tiptup300 @ May 21st 2008 10:19PM

"el dude'rino if your not into the whole brevity thing"

BananaBoat @ May 21st 2008 11:33PM

Wow...he totally just took off his glove and slapped the other guy across the face with it. Obviously he isn't happy that Tecmo allowed someone else to work on Ninja Gaiden, but to call the other guy a copy-cat artist when they work for the same company.....harsh. The whole point of Sigma was giving Sony fanboys a chance to experience Ninja Gaiden (and most of Japan, since most of Japan never had an Xbox to play Gaiden on) and I'd say it accomplished that goal. The game is just as solid on the PS3 as it was on the Xbox (with somewhat improved graphics). What did Itagaki want the guy to do? Completely overhaul the graphics and change the gameplay for a game that was....supposed to be the same? Seems like more of a personal attack on the guy, than an attack on the game. If I were the guy (I keep calling him the guy because I have no idea what his name is) I'd probably sock him in the teeth.

Actually, no I wouldn't, because I need Itagaki to keep improving the boob physics until they are perfect (he's oh so very close....)

Paul (PSN: heypaul) @ May 22nd 2008 12:56AM

I agree with Itagaki (and Duke) for once. The game was reasonably pretty, but the floaty animations, unintuitive interface, and stiff geometric environments made it feel distinctly last gen. The man is arrogant as hell, but he certainly tells it like it is. Or at least the way he thinks it is, in the case of him thinking DoA actually a fantastic game...

FOXHOUND @ May 28th 2008 8:19AM

"Wow...he totally just took off his glove and slapped the other guy across the face with it. Obviously he isn't happy that Tecmo allowed someone else to work on Ninja Gaiden, but to call the other guy a copy-cat artist when they work for the same company.....harsh."

...Oh, the irony. Itagaki took the NG franchise from Inose and changed it drastically from having a respectable story & action game in the NES days(the cinematics alone in NGII were *amazing* compared to other games of its day)to $60+ softcore with DMC-inspired frantic action. And now he's complaining about someone "borrowing"/porting it. Joystiq might not cut him off the road, but I'd gladly do it... with no remorse.

Dirt @ May 21st 2008 5:39PM

Haha, man. Total rockstar dev, with rockstar attitude. Cripes.

syrik zero @ May 21st 2008 5:39PM

Maybe he was drunk and not thinking all the way through before speaking

Chase @ May 21st 2008 5:42PM

Itagaki is god. Kneel before him!

Bleu @ May 21st 2008 7:10PM

fuck him he doesnt like the ps3 its obvious so I wont buy his precious ninja gaiden 2 I will just rent it. Fuckin TURD!

AoE @ May 21st 2008 7:17PM

Bleu, if I read the article correctly, unless you're also a 360 owner I don't think you'll get to play NG2, even as a rental...

j.howlett @ May 21st 2008 5:42PM

he is no mr. horse

Chase @ May 21st 2008 5:42PM

Sarah Jessica Parker?

j.howlett @ May 21st 2008 5:46PM

ren & stimpy

ronald.raygun @ May 21st 2008 6:19PM

tell me mr. horse what do you think of brand x kitty litter?

TwEE @ May 21st 2008 8:30PM

Do you have any rubber walrus protectors?

Martez @ May 21st 2008 5:42PM

Agreed.

J @ May 21st 2008 5:45PM

NG is NG?

Alex @ May 21st 2008 5:46PM

i am a fan of his Dead Or Alive series... but not his attitude (at least not anymore).

he can be loyal to microsoft without being an ass about it; at least that's what most people do. seriously...

Donald @ May 21st 2008 7:26PM

He is only loyal to MS because they made the best console for developers. The PS3 so far is very new and has development problems. I dont like what the PS3 is doing but I do believe if it had a good enough library and online capability I would own one. The reason the library isnt as good as the Xbox's is because developers lack the money and patience to make games as good or even on the console compared to the xbox.

koehler83 @ May 21st 2008 5:46PM

Yeah.. Ninja Gaiden Sigma was ass. ASS.

Too bad thats all the experience with the new Ninja Gaidens I have.. cause it sure soured my taste for an old school favorite.

Either way Itagaki is a creep who I'd rather spit on than pay for his games.

el serpiente @ May 21st 2008 5:46PM

Oy, Joystiq, quit trolling.

Marty @ May 21st 2008 6:32PM

I agree - reporting the real news as it really happened is unfair and should be forbidden.

SoulBlade @ May 21st 2008 6:41PM

You'd love it if it were a slap against the Wii.

el serpiente @ May 21st 2008 7:29PM

Marty, you are so naive, it is almost adorable...

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ May 21st 2008 7:51PM

Oh go baaaaaw somewhere else serpiente. News is news regardless of the content. And as I said to other people who've made the same complaint, you wouldn't be pissed if he was knocking the 360 or even teh Wii. Hell knowing you, you'd make a comment yourself. So stop being a little bitch and deal with the fact that some people think unfavorably of the ps3. Don't like it, then go to Kotaku.

Ninjakamster (XBL: RNK2K) @ May 21st 2008 8:21PM

I haven't really seen Kotaku take a pro-PS3 stance, but of course they do love Japan, bunch of otakus and wapanese there, whoo boy!

el serpiente @ May 21st 2008 8:49PM

Vegeta, you and Marty should share your expertise on naivete. Perhaps if the two of you share your ineptitudes, you might learn something...

DWells55 @ May 22nd 2008 1:26AM

Perhaps, instead of calling people naive, you could just simply say that you were being sarcastic. But then again, why should you have to stoop down to that level - after all, sarcasm is always soooo easy to detect on a text-only medium such as the internet.

el serpiente @ May 22nd 2008 2:03AM

Why should I interfere with their righteous indignation?

Vagita, especially, seems to have a lot of pent up frustration. I am happy to provide him with a release. Although, in my opinion, only a well trained prostitute could tame his most sour disposition, as his wanking regimen doesn't seem to be sufficient.

Korova @ May 22nd 2008 6:48AM

I dont know what you are talking about, I think Joystiq is fair and balanced.

matt @ May 21st 2008 5:47PM

What a douche. The moron basically cut up his own work. If he is worried about evolution, he should look at his 1970's wardrobe. Hey, Itagaki! KISS doesn't tour anymore! And you look like a poser!

brandon_r87 @ May 21st 2008 8:17PM

I think he looks more like a Ramones fan. Or Guitar Wolf, since he's they're Japanese. He's part of the Jet Generation.

HighFiveJesus @ May 21st 2008 5:47PM

the guy is so anti sony it is rediculous. its fine in itself, but the game is awesome, a very nice remake, a technical marvel, and one of the best games on the platform. its far from "no good".

Fernando Rocker @ May 21st 2008 5:59PM

More than me?

eclipse27 @ May 21st 2008 6:05PM

Fernando the Douche Bag.......nice ring to it....I like it

I cant wait until they ban Fernando off VGChartz for being a complete troll....probably already happened

Fernando Rocker @ May 21st 2008 6:11PM

Yeah, I like it too... sound very cool.

I may change my nickname to Fernando the Douche Bag. Thanks.

=p

arrrgh @ May 21st 2008 5:48PM

dissssssssss

"saying that a PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden II "would be a loss of face for everyone involved.""

Ninjakamster (XBL: RNK2K) @ May 21st 2008 6:41PM

Hey, if Sony was paying him buckets of $$$, he'd be saying something entirely different. He likes money, I like money, we have something in common man!

Bucfann @ May 21st 2008 5:50PM

' Oh, and he dropped a preemptive burn, saying that a PS3 port of Ninja Gaiden II "would be a loss of face for everyone involved." '

LMAO Sorry but that is just funny as hell. Man, that guy must think someone at Sony killed him in his past life when he was a ninja in Japan

Kodros @ May 21st 2008 6:24PM

He owed Sony a lot of money back in the day but he couldn't repay it. Therefore Sony's top executives kidnapped him and his wife. They then proceeded to have sex with her while she was tied up and they forced him to watch. Eventually when they were done, they let him and his wife go. He was so disgraced by what they did, he left his wife and vowed to get his revenge on Sony.

Oh wait, I think that's a porn I have...Yeah, I don't know why he's so angry then.