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I-Ninja

By Michael Caswell · circa September 2004

I-Ninja box art
Developer
Argonaut Games
Publisher
Namco
Genre
Action
Players
1
Rated
Teen
Released
12/4/2003

Everyone loves Ninjas, and now with Namco’s upcoming addition to the Gamecube library: I-Ninja, you too can become a super butt-kicking Ninja! With its cool graphics and all the ninja style tricks, I-Ninja looks as if it’s going to be one awesome adventure game.

Sensei is Ninja’s teacher throughout the game. Once a great warrior, he now merle observes Ninja, and gives him advice, which doesn’t always make sense but his heart is in the right place. He may be old, and he may be slightly dead, but this guy knows a thing or too about Fighting and the ways of the Ninja.

Never have we seen so many great moves coming from such a little guy. I-Ninja will feature gravity defying gameplay, cool manga-style ninja moves, and skills such as swing his sword over his head, and use it like a helicopter blade to extend his jumps, grinding as if he was a pro skater, and kick jumping after he runs up walls. You will be able to hone your ninja skills and make your Sensei proud.

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We don’t know what a a ninja and grinding rails has in common, but we’re not complaining. It looks cool!


Now what would an adventure game of such magnitude be without menacing villains? Master O-Dor and his Army of Ranx have invaded the world and it’s up to you, as the last remaining warrior in your tribe to stop them. With 5 amazing environments that you’ll get to play through, you’ll battle it out with the whole Ranx army, and many other villains, chopping them up left and right, and you’ll even come face-to-face with a 150-foot giant robot! Each type of enemy has there only special ability. Footsoilders have swords, some have buzz saws to try and slash you up, and some fire rockets at you. You earn points through the game, gaining different colored belts as you progress. When you beat a Ranx with a higher colored belt than you, you’ll be recognized for your achievements with points which go towards getting your next belt.

I-Ninja features about a dozen weapons. Ninja has trained for many years to master these weapons. You will be able to use swords, shurikens, blow-guns, rocket launchers, guided missiles, and much more. With so many different weapons, you’ll be constantly finding new ways to fight your deadly opponents.

And we definitely don’t know what deadly ninjas have in common with break dancing, but it also looks too cool, so we’re not complaining.


Namco has also signed a couple of very talented animators to work on the I-Ninja in-game movies. Don Bluth and Gary Goldman who were the master-minds behind the 1983 arcade smash hit, Dragon’s Lair. For decades they have been big names in the animated filmmaking business, and now they are back again to leave another mark on the gaming world. The team is set out to combine top of the line CGI graphics, with hand-painted environments for their in-game movies. They will also be putting their creative minds into helping create the I-Ninja character, and also the games storyline.

With such stunning cartoon-like visual effects, awesome ninja action and amazing crew working on the production, this is bound to be a must have for many adventure game fans. Although not much has been said about the story, with the wide variety of missions, and the many side quests, this is looking to be the type of game you just can’t help getting caught up in.