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It was only three years ago that the original Ninja Gaiden wowed first generation Xbox owners with visuals that still stand out today, and a difficulty level that thrilled the hardcore as much as it demoralised the casual player.
With Ninja Gaiden already re-released with the subtitle ‘Black’, with the option to up the ante to insanely demanding levels, it seems strange that the bloody hack n’ slash should enjoy yet another outing, this time on the PlayStation 3.
It doesn’t take long though, after booting up Sigma, to realise that this is something far more substantial than a simple graphical update. The team at Team Ninja have certainly given Ninja Gaiden a generous and respectful next-generation spit and polish, but they have clearly done a little more below the bonnet.
Playing the opening levels makes Ninja Gaiden’s first outing feel like a very recent memory. Starting out on your adventure in an autumnal, rocky outcrop, it seems as if every leaf from the original game has been put meticulously into place. As you come to the first ledge to hook your fingertips onto, even the scurrying rat above you is just where he was in 2004.
On the PS3 there is an undeniable and obvious improvement to the graphics of the original, and on a 1080p screen they are indeed sumptuous. But compared to the advanced look of the first Gaiden at the time, the game still needs a touch more elbow grease to achieve the impact its forefather managed on the hulking old Xbox.
However, stepping into a village courtyard or sunlight dappled cliff-top path once more, you can’t help but notice the detail and depth that Sigma has added. The cut-scenes too, rebuilt from scratch and now running at 60FPS, have come on some way, and certainly compare to some of the best seen in the rather slight catalogue of high quality games for the PlayStation 3.
Move from the starting spot and you notice that while Sigma still feels like Ninja Gaiden, there is a new fluidity and sense of movement that trumps that of its predecessor. Running up walls and twirling around as your sword opens up your enemies is more flowing and responsive, and leaping around your foes, tip-toeing across their heads as you rain down a blur of cold steel feels a whole lot more satisfying.
The difficulty of course returns, with a confounding array of various hard modes to tackle for the sadomasochistic gamer, though this time an adaptive learning curve rewards continued failure to progress with a new option to tone down the intensity. Meekly putting your hardcore badge aside, and dipping your toe into the shameful world of ‘easy mode’, it is refreshing to see that Sigma has no time to patronise, instead offering what most would call ‘normal mode’. This function, branded ‘Ninja Dog’, was only available to select in the first level of Ninja Gaiden Black, but in Sigma is on hand to fall back on at any point throughout the game.
Sadly the issues with the camera that plagued the first game and defined the first decade of 3D gaming are still present, and can all too often let you down at the very moment when you are about to beat the boss you have duelled with a dozen or more times. Still, the occasional fixed-point cameras are a necessary evil of the atmosphere and filmic quality games like Sigma so successfully foster.
Thankfully improvements greatly outweigh any niggles, with the original game’s monstrous loading times now tamed into far less tiresome beasts. The controls too, are subtly reworked to great effect. While the facia buttons function as they always have, the right stick now primarily controls the camera, where previously it activated a clumsy first-person mode, that is still available with a click of the right analogue stick. Brief Sixaxis operation has been included too, though gracefully the developers have realised it wise to limit this to a simple charge to the new powered Nimpo attacks, and to wrestle from an enemy’s grasp – both activated with a shake of the controller.
Sigma has also clearly been watching its peers, and isn’t afraid to learn a little. Taking health packs and boosts to power is now assigned to a mirror of the d-pad on the HUD, meaning that a tap to the left or right now replenishes strength mid-fight, rather than demanding a visit to the menu screens. This simple change in function now makes taking health part of the action of a melee, rather than requiring a rhythm-shattering tap of the start button.
With all these comparisons to the first Ninja Gaiden, it’s easy to forget that there is some new content available too. Dedicated Gaiden fans will likely be most excited by the inclusion of former NPC Rachel as a playable character. She has a distinct feel of movement from the game’s main protagonist Ryu, and brings with her three new, full-scale missions that reveal a reasonably substantial back-story.
The 50 battle areas available to unlock are more likely to appeal to the less fanatical gamer, who should enjoy the chance to rank on online leaderboards after destroying waves of attackers in a mode that combines the basic beat-em’-up blueprint with Gaiden’s hack ‘n’ slash excess, in missions totally separate from the in-game skirmishes.
Enemy AI has been extended as well, most obviously affecting the variation in attacks on Ryu, and making re-visits to previously conquered rooms consistently varied. Ten original enemies are among the smaller updates to Sigma, alongside new double bladed weapons, and increased abilities such as walking on water while fighting, and firing arrows whilst in the air. These changes may be simple, but certainly affect the dynamic of the boss-battles and more dramatic fights.
There is no denying that Sigma largely offers a game that has been available for years, but for fans of the original or those who missed out the first time, it should offer a genuinely next-generation update to a seminal Xbox title that slipped under far too many a radar upon release.
