![i ninja gameplay i ninja gameplay](https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/the-reason-i-ninja-should-have-had-more-success-on-the-gamecube/l-intro-1611090089.jpg)
He also acquires and employs darts and shuriken to great effect, and, in some levels, can take control of rocket launchers and guide missiles around obstacles to destroy barriers, items or foes - a most gratifying experience. These include using a chain to swing from metal rings over chasms, sprinting at an angle of ninety degrees from the ground, spinning his blade like a helicopter's to glide downwards, wall jumping, etc. The ninja not only runs, jumps and deals death with his sword, but also employs a number of special moves that befit an aspiring assassin. I-Ninja's riveting gameplay is its central feature. Indeed, it is no less than a pure embodiment of the essence of videogaming. A delightful and memorable action-platformer, I-Ninja ranks among the very best multi-platform games of its generation, thanks to its exceptional gameplay, excellent music and extraordinary protagonists. Sadly in October 2004 Argonauts was closed for economic issues.One of Argonaut Software's final titles was also one of its finest. Looking at the evolution of I-Ninja, there’s no doubt that Argonaut put a lot of work and love in their project and all their efforts can be felt in the charming game that we were finally able to play in 2003. The cat-girl one was later replaced by Arial. In the “Ninja Guardians” concept art we can see various early and unused design for the game’s bosses. Another unused character was an onion-alike pet that was probably Halo’s one. Halo (the girl with a kimono) was going to be I-Ninja’s love interest, but it was soon cut from the storyline (or maybe replaced by Ariel).
![i ninja gameplay i ninja gameplay](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jutyDl0Wtvs/hqdefault.jpg)
Various versions of U-Robot were designed (one looked like a robotic teddy-bear) before the character was completely removed. U-robot was I-Ninja’s sidekick: it was a strong and big robot, but stupid, really funny and naive, in contrast with I-Ninja who was tiny but took himself really seriously.
I ninja gameplay series#
In the gallery below you can also check various concept art of environments that were not used in the final game, as some islands and castles hidden in canyons.Ī series of NPC characters that were originally planned to be in the game were later abandoned when the team decided to focus more on the action and less on the story. This scenario looks a bit like the area in which the intro of the final game is set. A later version of the island was done in a much darker style, during a cloudy night illuminated only by the moonlight. This place was probably used to test the initial gameplay, character animations and interactions. One of the early tech demos was set in a colorful island, with platforms, a Japanese tower and white clouds. The main character had a purple & pink costume instead of the dark-blue one used in the final version and even the 3D model was changed through the development, to add more details. As we can see from the early mockup / target renders, the original style of I-Ninja looked a bit like Zelda: The Wind Waker (especially for the islands, the pigs and the scene in which Ninja is sailing a ship) but the 2 games were in development almost at the same time so it was just a coincidence. A Game Boy Advance version of the game was announced too, but later cancelled.Īs it happened with Orchid (another Argonaut game that was later cancelled), originally I-Ninja had a much more colorful and stylized graphic, but the publisher was worried that it looked too childish, and wanted an edgier, grittier look. I-Ninja is a fun and underrated action game that was developed by Argonaut Games and published in 2003 by Namco (in USA) and Sony (in Europe) for the GameCube, Xbox and Playstation 2.