Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

I know. It's not really a ninja-gaiden Ninja Gaiden. That much is established. Hence me not sullying the Team NINJA realm.

Playing it again since the release. There is some fun to be had. My biggest letdown is that it follows the Goat of War template too much and not even on par. Fixed camera angles and QTE. I'd expected it to be more of an own animal. The element-system works I suppose. The final boss is a fat bloat. It's not even a boss fight, since there's more of the regulars to fight and the boss just initiates phases. Starting all over once a live is lost is irritating, because it's sooo slow. I dig the sardonic humour nonetheless. Tends to low-brow. The depiction of Hayabusa as a know-it-all moral hero is funny.

Have yet to clear the NGZ Arcade Mode. "I am the cyborg. However, that is not all."

Any of you folks gave it a spin?

I haven't. How's the PC version of the game?

Not me. I watched the trailer and I didn't like it. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out though. What's the full package?

This is one of those games I always meant to try. Doesn't look that great and seems universally hated which are the usual signs that I should try it, but I just keep forgetting it exists.

What is the actual gameplay? Is it decent on its own?

I played it for a bit, and I did my best to view it as a stand-alone title not related to Ninja Gaiden. In that case it is the absolute definition of mediocre to me. Bland humor, low framerate, graphics that hurt my eyes and combat that didn't appeal to me in the slightest.

It is a game disliked by Action game fans, Ninja Gaiden fans and the mainstream media. I honestly have no idea who this game is for. You can give it a shot if you want, I'd be interested to hear you take.

If the pc version is decent then it would solve most of those complaints.
I am with Birdman and am attracted to games everyone hates and calls shallow.
This one is on my steam wishlist.

I like reading on TV Tropes. The Scrappy Mechanic section is interesting.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/YaibaNinjaGaidenZ


The lack of a jump button.
The camera is at its worst again, this time it's a God of War-esque camera with bad angles.
The 'weapons' that you rip out from zombies do not last long, requiring you to rip out some zombies again.
The upgrade system doesn't do anything much.
Countering requires absolute pin-point precision to pull off, coupled with hard-to-see attack ques and unflinching enemies swarming you at all times.
Pretty much the whole combat system itself.

Just checked Steam, and it's $33 cocking dollars, and the last time it went on sale was back in 2017. Yeah, no buy. Guess I'll be resorting to "alternate methods".

Highly doubt many people are buying it these days. And Spark is dead.

It's $12 on G2A if that's your thing.
I use it only for over priced old games. I wasn't about to pay $30 for the force unleashed, but $8 on G2A was reasonable. I've never had issues with them.

If I bought it on G2A, I still wouldn't be supporting the developers.

Don't really see any point in it, if I'm being honest.

The developer has been closed down since 2015, they aren't seeing a dime either way. The only difference is how much you want to give to Tecmo.

For me the point is that I'll have a copy (generally speaking), making it easier to redownload or replay when I want. For older games I tend to go to G2A as well, since it is so much cheaper. GOG also has some good deals now and again.

Gave it a run late yesterday.

And as of today, it's off my PC. Found it really boring, with sub-Borderlands tier humour.

Animations are pretty bad too. They just look so janky.

Good that you at least gave it a shot, I think everyone at one point did the dip, hoping it wouldn't be as bland as people said. Did you do the Ryu boss or did you give up before that?

TV Tropes wrote:


The lack of a jump button.
The camera is at its worst again, this time it's a God of War-esque camera with bad angles.
The 'weapons' that you rip out from zombies do not last long, requiring you to rip out some zombies again.
The upgrade system doesn't do anything much.
Countering requires absolute pin-point precision to pull off, coupled with hard-to-see attack ques and unflinching enemies swarming you at all times.
Pretty much the whole combat system itself.

Articulated in a dickish diction. I won't catch a bullet for this game, but

"The upgrade system doesn't do anything much."

It does what it should.   That author didn't do anything much.

"The 'weapons' that you rip out from zombies do not last long, requiring you to rip out some zombies again."

The point? "I don't wanna do that?" Solid   .

"Countering requires absolute pin-point precision to pull off, coupled with hard-to-see attack ques and unflinching enemies swarming you at all times."

"Pin-point"? No. You don't have to be a surgeon to operate it. But, ok, swarming enemies. True. It's called 'crowd control'. The basis of any brawler. Plenty to keep them from.

"Pretty much the whole combat system itself."

Right. Because it's obviously a clone. AVOID THIS. BECAUSE I TELL YOU TO! YOU'D ONLY WANT FOR THE ORIGINAL DOG OF ALL WAR. I know it's called "Tropes", but man. It's like a written youtube video.

Anyway. Cleared Nightmare. And I'm tackeling Hell. Yes! I'm that weird. AND I'M HAVING A GRAND OL' TIME! I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR NOTHING!

No fault in enjoying a game others don't, hell, we've all done it. I do feel there is some valid resentment for this title however. The Ninja Gaiden brand was still recovering from the mess that was Ninja Gaiden 3, which it slightly did with Razor's Edge, but Yaiba really was the final nail in the coffin. I do feel it would've been given a fairer shot if it didn't use the dying Ninja Gaiden brand to boost sales. Outside of Momiji and Ryu, there's nothing tying them together iirc.

Zenyn's post sounds like something Birdman would say.

I think I really need to play this now. Taking weapons from zombies sounds interesting.

All I am trying to convey here is this: to me it's a fast romp, not attached to a "legacy" kind of game. I have full understanding for peeps who try it and dislike it. I'm only dismissing the usual "I-watched-a-vid-and-dislike-it-massively-so-I-let-everybody-know"-types.

Have yet to clear the NGZ Arcade Mode.

Done. A bit surprised I made top 10 on 360. Plenty enough 1up's to find.

Hell remains to be conquered. Some bottlenecks, but I don't worry. Level 4: Canyons atm.

What version are you playing, PC?

On 360. I'm of the console breed. Why do you ask?

Watching some videos, this game looks somewhat similar to Lollipop Chainsaw. Lots of similar elements.

The camera angles, graphics and blood effects look similar. Whacky zombie enemies like the clown and the electric one. Nunchuckles? WTF? They even have the rainbow trail with each swing. I was half expecting to see 'Yaiba' in the rainbow part.

It's around $20 on PSN. Might grab it this weekend.