Ninja Blade demo hits Japanese Live Marketplace, likes US systems

by Randy Nelson { Dec 29th 2008 at 10:30PM }

Major Nelson has made a not-so-subtle "psst!" post on his blog announcing – to a Western audience – that a demo version of From Software's Ninja Gaiden ~~clone~~ homage, Ninja Blade, has hit the Japanese Xbox Live Marketplace. In other words, if you have a Japanese Xbox Live account set up, make with the downloading.

Comments on the Major's post indicate that the demo is both region-free and in English ... much like the Resident Evil 5 demo that recently went up on the Japanese XBLM, only to be region-locked after Capcom realized that – shockingly – people outside of Japan really wanted to try the game.

Gallery: Ninja Blade

Tags: demo, japan, ninja-blade, xblm, xbox-live-marketplace

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Dec 29th 2008 10:38PM

Simple questions:

Just what the **** is Ninja Blade and who is developing this? I guess I'll have to play it to find out.

In other news there was an update in the TF2 Blog. Normally that wouldn't be of interest but knowing these guys is surprising they update at all. Hell even LK updates faster.

Ideas for the scout update anyone (huh I thought they forgot the xbox 360 update)

Moorio - XBL: peacebyanymeans @ Dec 29th 2008 10:42PM

Relevance?

I heard that term once.

Once.

aristokrat @ Dec 29th 2008 11:40PM

Woah, I didn't know Danny Vermin was still around. You better watch out before I get Johnny Dangerously on you.

Alien Lord @ Dec 30th 2008 12:31AM

These guys are known for the Kingdom Under Fire series (Xbox 1 and 360)

soviet chick @ Dec 30th 2008 1:01AM

That would be Phantagram (and Blue Shift) for Kingdom Under Fire.

Ninja Blade is by From Software, known for their Armored Core, Tecnhu, ChromeHounds, King's Field, Lost Kingdoms, and, most notably in my humble opinion, Metal Wolf Chaos, Otogi: Myth of Demons and Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors.

kaneda @ Dec 30th 2008 10:05AM

Here's to hoping this game has little in common with Tenchu other than the word 'ninja'.

Bleu @ Dec 30th 2008 10:28AM

I hope this isnt a knock off of Ninja Gaiden.... For thier sake I hope. But I think its itagaki and his boys (formerly of tecmo) that made this game.....meh we will see.

jimmygotsmack @ Dec 29th 2008 10:39PM

What are you talking about, this game isn't anything like Ninja Gaiden, this game has quick time events.

Completely different!

Cj @ Dec 29th 2008 11:04PM

Played it.
Its a bit slower than Ninja Gaiden and there is alot of blur effects, so your character sometimes gets lost behind them. The QTM are beautifully choreographed but they are still just button scenes. The enemies are a bit strong, in that they dont recoil when hit. And even tho the tarantula fight is cool, there is a repetitive method in killing him.

BananaBoat @ Dec 30th 2008 1:36AM

There is a spider? Thank you for mentioning this. I'll be under the covers not playing the demo if you need me.

Haggard @ Dec 30th 2008 5:14AM

"..this giant enemy spider"

samuraidino @ Dec 29th 2008 11:09PM

Just played the demo...

The combat is nothing to write home about,though the real time weapon switching works better than NG2s clunkier switching,and it allows for massive damage on the giant enemy spider.

The QTEs are frequent,and annoying.Im actually going to call Them Slow Time Events because an eternity passes while your doing them.

After your first batch of STEs,you fight a couple of monsters who look like theyv just jumped straight from Alone In The Dark,theyr dumb,and pose virtually no challenge.What follows is then another STE against a giant spider who also made his way from another game,in this case the first DMC.

What follows is a pretty piss poor boss fight where you hit the spiders legs untill you break them off and he gets pissed,mixed with some more STEs

Their was a pretty cool running down the side of a building part...at least i thought it was at first untill i realised that the enemies on the way down posed no threat as tapping on the X button will kill anything on the way down in one hit

Overall,completely average,bordering on poor.

(also their were some cutscenes too which may have explained the story a little,but were immediatly skipped as...well,ninjas dont need plot)

Terrence Newton @ Dec 29th 2008 11:39PM

i for one prefer NGII's weapon selection system. it lets you take your time and select what you want, since it pauses the game, instead of letting you get your ass kicked while you take a second to choose a weapon. i just don't see what their is to find in fault with it unless you just don't like the fact that it pauses the game.

byronmorris1 @ Mar 23rd 2009 5:54AM

"The combat is button mashing," "this is straight out of [insert name of series here]", ... and so on and so on....

I for one, completely disagree. First off, this game isn't sore to the eyes(though that isn't all that matters, but it's worth noting), because the motion capture for the really crazy ninja moves looks like it "could" be real(a.k.a, a guy in a motion capture suit doing acrobatics or spinning from a wire), wereas Ninja Gaiden is jerky, Mr. GameandWatch style animation(there's little blur, rather he's one place, then he's another without moving the distance). In this game there is blur, but it is not as defined as the actual character, so you can easily enjoy the wonderful choreography.

Button Mashing? I guess you didn't try, it's the farthest thing from button mashing I've done in a long time. If you mean the "do this and tap button" moves, well duh, but other than that, there can be a rythym associated with your movements and attacks, that flow great(all the better by the instant run system, where in DMC they have a slow build-up dash, forcing you to use attacks to cover small distances instead of movement, which doesn't work when you want to just dodge stuff).

I hope you're exaggerating with the "they all died in one hit" thing. Even with the Stonerender(the 2h-er), it takes 3-4 hits(up to dozens with the wired knives). And that's what it is, a slow weapon that leaves you vulnerable.

I really wish people would take off their "it's a clone, so it's gonna suck" glasses, it's distorting your view before you even try it.

samuraidino @ Mar 23rd 2009 9:41PM

I dont know why you needed to reply to this ancient post but please,if your going to reply,read it properly.

Not once did I use the term button mashing..which you have quoted me as saying...

And secondly read this

"Their was a pretty cool running down the side of a building part...at least i thought it was at first untill i realised that the enemies on the way down posed no threat as tapping on the X button will kill anything on the way down in one hit"

Because you seem to have taken the one hit kills thing entirely out of context...

Aero @ Dec 29th 2008 11:33PM

I wonder if Major Nelson posts japanese content on his blog to give a sly heads up to people with Japanese accounts or whether he just does it to troll.

Heyyou27 @ Dec 29th 2008 11:35PM

I did this for Resident Evil 5 only to be later greeted with a message that the demo could no longer be launched after playing it for about a week.

Rollins @ Dec 30th 2008 12:53AM

Try disconnecting from Xbox Live before playing. Worked for me.

Terrence Newton @ Dec 29th 2008 11:40PM

yeah i DLed it.. intro looks nice, and style is very similar to NG, but.. the gameplay is garbage. it's pretty much just like any mediocre hack n' slash. it is slow and clumsy compared to NG's beautiful fluidity. *goes back to working on NGII achievements..*

LordVesper007 @ Dec 30th 2008 12:18AM

So it's mediocre?

Hmm I had some hopes for the game. Nothing big. Nothing at all similar the hype sony fanboys heap one whatever pos exclusive that no one knows about cept them. But still a lil hope.

Hope it shows up in the US soon.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 30th 2008 12:26AM

Well to be fair Ninja Gaiden 2 was kinda mediocre too.

LordVesper007 @ Dec 30th 2008 12:31AM

Yeah I definitely thought that NG2 was alright but nothing truly special.

I kept thinking of Devil May Cry 4 all the time. I actually loved DMC4. SO glad that it went multiplat. Great game and great story. Loved the characters as well. The dialogue was just simply amazing.

NG2 kinda paled in comparison I guess since I was expecting some equally great.

Premature ejaculation man @ Dec 30th 2008 4:27AM

I didn't find DMC4 to be too great. I didn't mind the repetition but something stopped it being really replayable for some reason.

Haven't finished NG2 yet (actually, haven't started, but I'll get around to it)

I loved NG: Black though :)

Hyams @ Dec 30th 2008 8:11AM

We have our own Ninja Blade. It's called Demon Souls. They're both made by From Software. Demon Souls is also mediocre, bordering on poor, if the videos are anything to judge by, and I don't know of anyone who has hyped it up.

kaneda @ Dec 30th 2008 10:11AM

LordVesper, I like what you have to say. Do you perhaps have a news letter to which I could subscribe where you take random bits of news and spin them into anti-sony rants?

"Iraqi throws shoe at Bush...just like Sony threw its brand down the shitter."

Alien Lord @ Dec 30th 2008 12:36AM

While another game for 360 is always nice I more interested in Battle For Atlantis.

.jpg @ Dec 30th 2008 12:45AM

do you need a jp gold account to try this or just silver?

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 30th 2008 12:54AM

uh....yay?

Honestly though, if the game is Ninja Gaiden with a competent camera, I'll buy it

WiredKnight @ Dec 30th 2008 2:36AM

Hard to imagine this could be any worse than Ninja Gaiden. At least there aren't any fucking ninja dogs, or fucking supernatural bats that somehow pose a threat to a goddamn super ninja. And not just any super ninja, THE super ninja.

They need to seriously rethink their design principles. If I'm going to play as a "super ninja," I want to feel like one. They need to make the player feel powerful, not force them to fight bats in a fucking sewer. And they need to do it without ripping off Devil May Cry.

WiredKnight @ Dec 30th 2008 2:38AM

P.S. I wanted NG2 to be good, I really did. I didn't mean to rant like that, but you know how it is.

Xero @ Dec 30th 2008 4:01AM

has everyone forgotten the other game they SHOULD be remembered most for? Enchanted Arms, anyone? this game was a horrible excuse for an RPG. i beat it in hopes that a redeeming quality, aside from the battle system, would surface, but after trudging through the entire game, i realized that watching a clock would have been more satisfying than the 40+ hours i poured into this game. i guess my optimism screwed me, but From Software will never screw me again. Screw ninja blade...

KiraXD @ Dec 30th 2008 4:18AM

i thought it was funny the main characters name is "Ken"

Coincidence? maybe... but i kept thinking Ken and Ryu...

Asim Fareed @ Dec 30th 2008 9:50PM

The demo's very short and very mediocre.

The combat's just button mashing, jumping feels unnatural and you can't double jump/wall run, camera has the same problems as NG2 and the QTE's get boring.

On the bright side, you don't have to repeat too many QTE's if you miss one. And it is very short...

Where I'm coming from: I didn't enjoy DMC4 (but respect it) or NG2 but LOVED NG:Black and NG.