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Ninja Issen is a fast, furious cyberpunk platformer in the spirit of Shinobi, out todayTenchu out of 10?
Tenchu out of 10?
Image credit:CFK Co., Ltd
Image credit:CFK Co., Ltd
If you are in the mood for a game about dancing around screens full of energy beams and projectiles, searching for that fleeting window of space in which you can stop and perform an attack, I recommend trying the demo forNinja Issen. If you miss 8 or 16-bit platformers like Shinobi or the original Ninja Gaiden, I also recommend trying the demo for Ninja Issen. If you likedThe Messenger- classique Ninja Gaiden’s greatest heir - but wished it was More Cyberpunk with cheesy PG-rated holographic dancing girls and Comix Zone-style story panels, I also also recommend trying the demo for Ninja Issen.
Steam 「Ninja Issen (忍者一閃)」 Official Launch TrailerWatch on YouTube
Steam 「Ninja Issen (忍者一閃)」 Official Launch Trailer
Where ninjas of the Mega Drive era often had to make do with naught but a jump button, an attack button and a menacing attitude, Ninja Issen positively loads you down with high tech tricks from the off. You can blink-strike through conga lines of attackers, conjure orbiting fireballs that deal some damage while you’re double-jumping and dodging, cloak yourself and hurl shurikens. I’m guessing there’s more to follow. Ninja Iron Man, more like! Wait, is that genuinely a thing? Goodness me, it is! There’s even afigurine.
The demo levels include some on-rails bits with people shooting at you while you ride an elevator platform, someCelesteyplatforming sections that hinge on reasonably timely feats of teleportation, and a few arena battles where you have to slaughter everybody to switch off a forcefield. It sets a good tempo. I have to say, though, I downloaded mostly because the city backdrop reminded me somewhat of Sonic’s more built-up Zones, jiggling hologirls aside - Casino Night meets Scrapyard, perhaps? Where’s my homing spin attack, Asteroid-J?
