Download Revival Ninja
Devon Lalonde
A JP press site accidentally shared the full announce for Tengo Project's next game ahead of time: as their many extremely unsubtle teasers have indicated, they're remaking the FC/NES co-op ninja side-scroller 闇の仕事人KAGE / Shadow of the Ninja (Blue Shadow in Europe), and it'll be out in the spring of 2024 for the platform of your choice (which not only includes PC from the jump but, for the first time, Xbox). It'll be playable at TGS next month, so it won't be too long before we're all able to see it in action.
I often wonder what it would be like to be a ninja. It's been a secret dream of mine since childhood, along with the desire to be an astronaut, dinosaur, underpaid startup employee, and unheralded videogame blogger. But at the end of the day, ninja is the one dream that persisted. If gaming has taught me anything, it's that ninjas are pretty much space marines with swords who every now and then rely on the cloak of shadow to replenish health before running back into broad daylight, slicing everything up like a food processor. Having done plenty of study on my future profession, I'm wise enough to know ninja blend into crowds like normal folk, using simple subterfuge to complete their tasks. While Mark of the Ninja isn't quite on that level of subtlely, it's one of the best representations of my shadow brethren since Tenchu. But is it any good?
Mark of the Ninja begins with a flashback; a young ninja haunted by his prior actions of assassinating a guard squad standing watch over an unnamed item we can only assume was stolen by this warm-blooded shadow. The protagonist has been tattooed with an ancient ink that allows the bearer super-human reflexes, a trait befitting a ninja, however in return their sanity is slowly depleted, and the tattooed must kill himself before that point in order to retain their honor. Upon awaking from his ink induced nightmares, his wingwoman - and de facto narrator of the story - informs the young ninja of the assault on their once hidden temple. The clan swears vengeance on their enemies and the stage is set for a tale of silence, assassination, and deceit.
As previously mentioned, Mark of the Ninja is one of the most ninja-feeling games I've ever had the pleasure of playing. It's more along the lines of stealth-adventure than action-adventure, which is what today's ninja-based offerings tend to be. Right from the outset, the focus is placed on stealth rather than murder, as you are completely unarmed when the game begins, only coming to your offensive options after proving you can fly under the radar. By default, Mark of the Ninja makes it easy to see how your actions affect the ecosystem around you, depicting noise by emitting a glowing circle from its point of origin, a radius where the offending action can be heard. This applies to everything from dashing across the map, to a botched assassination attempt, to smashing a light, which provides a problem in itself. Light is no friend of a ninja, very much the opposite in fact, yet oft times you will find guards huddled under their comforting glow. Smart guys, but not for long. Shattering a light furthers your guise of shadow and catches the attention of any guard in listening range, but should you be too close the the light, you may end up being spotted.
There are plenty of ways to assassinate a target, many of which must be unlocked by playing the game effectively. Guards can be permanently relieved of duty from most every vantage of cover. Standing behind, hanging overhead, jumping down on, grabbing from behind a door, rising upward from an exposed vent; each of these kills are beautifully portrayed, with lovely haiku inspired names to accompany. Doesn't Emperor's Abyss sound much better than rising upward from an exposed vent? Yep. After triggering an assassination by pressing X at the correct time, time will slow and you'll be prompted to enter another command, which depends on your method of execution. Successful commands kill quickly, cleanly, silently, with form befitting a true ninja. The world becomes dark and the focus crops in on the ninja and his target, the act almost like a loving embrace. The end, not so much. Fear crosses your mark's face for an instant, and in that instant it is over. The execution becomes far more clumsy should you botch the command. The target restrains just long enough to yelp an area alerting holler before his final, awkward end. A proper kill is more fulfilling to watch, and contributes to your own survival.
After the letdown that was Shank 2, Klei has returned to form in monstrous manner with Mark of the Ninja. Though the story is a bit of a scratch, the big lead up to the conclusion is both haunting and harrowing, with a decision that results in one of two outcomes at your end. The stealth genre has been more and more of a disappointment in recent history as ninjas have gone the way of warriors instead of shadows, but Mark of the Ninja has resuscitated the masters of stealth in a way that makes this former student nod in silent, overjoyed approval.
March 6, 2003: "I am sad to announce," announced Tiny Ninja Theater co-producer Jonathan Van Gieson, sadly, "that, after a very successful run at Chashama, the final performance of Tiny Ninja Theater presents Romeo & Juliet will be on March 10, 2003."
Van Gieson, visibly shaken, continued; "An era has come to an end. We commiserate with the cast and crew of Les Misérables, who must be on the same emotional rollercoaster that we are."
"In completely unrelated news," added Van Gieson, brightening considerably, "I am thrilled to announce the New York revival of Tiny Ninja Theater presents Romeo & Juliet. Running in rep with the other Tiny Ninja Theater classic, Tiny Ninja Theater presents MACBETH, we're sure this run will equal if not surpass the popularity of the original production."
Director Dov Weinstein appears unfazed by the revival of the Bard's romantic tragedy. "Many of the most popular shows on Broadway are revivals," he said, "Flower Drum Song, Chicago, Into The Woods
oh, no, wait, Into The Woods closed. Don't put that one in."
Indeed, many revivals breathe new life into the text. And, although Tiny Ninja Theater presents Romeo & Julietunlike Flower Drum Songwill not be completely re-written by David Henry Hwang, Weinstein remains confident that audiences will be pleased with the new version.
"We are definitely very true to the original show, while working in some great new surprises, like a completely different venue. Actually, other than the venue, it's pretty much the same."
Tiny Ninja Theater presents Romeo & Juliet plays its final Chashama performances on Sunday, March 9 and Monday, March 10 at 8:00pm. The revival begins March 20 at the Bowery Poetry Club, and continues Thursdays at 6:00pm and Sundays at 1:00pm through May 18. Tiny Ninja Theater presents Macbeth begins Saturday, March 23 at 1:00pm.
ABOUT TINY NINJA THEATER
Tiny Ninja Theater was founded in 1999 to promote performance opportunities for vending machine thespians. Tiny Ninja Theater presents Romeo & Juliet is the company's second mainstage show. The first mainstage show, Tiny Ninja Theater presents Macbeth, won the FringeNYC 2000 Award for Innovation and Originality, and has since toured the United States and Europe.
Tag along with one sneaky ninja who is happy to share his busy day (but not his lunch) with curious kids everywhere in this rhyming picture book perfect for fans of The Three Ninja Pigs and 10 Little Ninjas.
The Alien Ninja Group are elite ninjas from various stars led by Chuuzubo. They have biological motifs while mainly wrapped in Japanese-style clothing. After being defeated, they can revive and become giants by a scroll created and written on by Chuuzubo that gets launched out from a bazooka. Once launched, it flies over the remains of the Alien Ninja, opens up, and picks up the remains to form them back together to revive the Alien Ninja and turn it into a giant.
The Kugutsu Ninja Group are robot ninjas designed and produced by Sargain. Some of them are also robot life-forms. Their motifs range from organic to inorganic or a hybrid of both. When they get scrapped in battle, a rocket is launched out at the area and turns into a giant robot called Copy Giant, that would then read the data of the Kugutsu Ninja from its fragments and transform itself into a giant version of the ninja.
Drew's concept came up after he read the top-grossing films during its time in a USA Today newspaper. One was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the other was one of the Batman films (possibly Batman Returns). After that, he started creating his own superhero influenced by what he saw in the USA Today newspaper. During the development of his concept, he liked the word ninja, because of it sounding mysterious to him. He gave the protagonists baseball bats and baseballs as their main weapons, as well as dressing them in baseball uniforms, because Drew is a baseball fan. Drew thought the baseball bat idea was also probably influenced by the 1973 film Walking Tall. This was also how he came up with the game's English title. In Japan, however, Irem of Japan's staff came up with the game's Japanese name as a reference to numerous tokusatsu television shows, most notably the Super Sentai series. Drew later created the concept for the other characters such as enemies.[9] To illustrate the characters' sketches, Drew hired Gottlieb pinball artist Gordon Morison.[9]
Over the weekend, Team Ninja president Fumihiko Yasuda hinted at a potential Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive revival. However, in a statement given to VGC, Team Ninja creative director Tom Lee explained that the studio has nothing to announce at this time.
Long regarded as one of his most respected hidden gems, Koshiro revisits The Scheme for the first time in over three decades, applying the latest compositional techniques and technology while staying true to the iconic, punchy sound the original game is known for. Koshiro revisits all 19 tracks, mixing authentic PC-88 audio with modern synths to produce a 21st-century revival.
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