Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z: On the minus side
Sadly for all the cheesy fun that Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z could offer, it’s beset with far too many problems. You’re limited in your attacks to an annoying degree, and while that’s not apparent in the early stages of the game, you quickly settle down into the same repetitive trudge of dealing with lower level grunts who pose no challenge whatsoever before hitting the rock solid walls of difficulty.
But it is. Very, very boring.
Not difficulty in the quality Dark Souls sense. These are just enemies that are hard to beat because somebody sat in a design meeting and said “just make them tanks. That’s good enough, right?”
The same types must have been present when scripting out what passes for the plot, because it basically just rests on the idea that Yaiba will make a foul-mouthed quip while slicing and dicing, quite possibly to do with breasts. The Wumpus is no prude, but when you’ve heard the same comical quips forty times over, they lose their impact, and you realise that they’re just a lazy crutch for actual wit, of which Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z has none.
It’s not even particularly technically sound, either. The camera is a constant nuisance, which is often death in a fast-paced combat game. Clipping is frequent, and even when the game tries to do something cute or passably different with zombies, the actual controls often leave you wanting even though the “puzzle” solution is patently obvious.
Next Page: Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z: Pricing and Conclusions