Ninja Assault

Ninja Assault
European PlayStation 2 box art
Developer(s)Namco, NOW Production
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Hiroto Sasaki
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation 2
ReleaseArcade
November 18, 2000
PlayStation 2
  • JP: September 9, 2002
  • PAL: October 4, 2002
  • NA: November 18, 2002
  • KOR: September 20, 2002
Genre(s)Rail shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemSega NAOMI

Ninja Assault (ニンジャアサルト, Ninja Asaruto) is an arcade game developed and released by Namco and Sega in 2000. Two years later it was also published as a PlayStation 2 exclusive title with GunCon 2 compatibility.

Gameplay

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Ninja Assault was developed by Namco, who also created the Time Crisis series. However, this game has more in common with Lethal Enforcers, Virtua Cop, and The House of the Dead series, whereby the movement is completely "on-rails" (i.e., with no hiding pedal), and the player must shoot away from the screen to reload. Both versions of this game support up to two players in cooperative gameplay.

Plot

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The story, according to the opening movie, is as follows:

"Once upon a time in feudal Japan, a brutal war raged. No one foresaw its conclusion, at least not in the manner in which it unfolded. And now...the evil Shogun Kigai has kidnapped Princess Koto in order to sacrifice her for his resurrection ritual. But there is hope.... Two courageous ninjas (Guren and Gunjo) have stepped forward. The battle among humans has ceased. And in its place, a new battle has begun: humans against demons."

Release

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Ninja Assault is advertised in in-game email message in Namco's Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht. After finishing the PS2 release of the game, one would unlock a code that could be entered in the contest at Namco's website.

Reception

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In Japan, Game Machine listed Ninja Assault on their December 15, 2000 issue as being the fourth most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month.[12]

The PS2 version received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[1] In its preview, IGN compared it with The House of the Dead 2.[13] The same website later gave the Japanese version a mixed review over two months before it was released Stateside, along with Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, and PSM.[2][6][9][10][14] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 28 out of 40.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ninja Assault for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b EGM staff (September 2002). "Ninja Assault [Import]". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 158. Ziff Davis. p. 150.
  3. ^ Reed, Kristan (October 14, 2002). "Ninja Assault". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "ニンジャアサルト [PS2]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "Ninja Assault". Game Informer. No. 118. GameStop. February 2003. p. 98.
  6. ^ a b Four-Eyed Dragon (September 16, 2002). "Ninja Assault Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  7. ^ Davis, Ryan (December 2, 2002). "Ninja Assault Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  8. ^ Bedigian, Louis (December 1, 2002). "Ninja Assault - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Dunham, Jeremy (September 16, 2002). "Ninja Assault [Import]". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Ninja Assault [Import]". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. No. 61. Ziff Davis. October 2002. p. 150.
  11. ^ Fielder, Joe (January 20, 2003). "'Ninja Assault' (PS2) Review". X-Play. TechTV. Archived from the original on January 24, 2003. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - 完成品夕イプのTVゲーム機 (Dedicated Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 624. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 December 2000. p. 17.
  13. ^ IGN staff (May 2, 2002). "Ninja Assault (Preview)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "Review: Ninja Assault". PSM. Imagine Media. October 2002. p. 40.
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