TGS: Team Ninja head discusses new Ninja Gaiden title for Playstation 2

[09.16.99] » New look and feel planned for updating of the classic series.

   The legions of ninja fans in the videogame world rejoiced to learn that the classic Ninja Gaiden series for the NES was getting a new entry on the Playstation 2. Further gameplay details have emerged at the Tokyo Game Show. According to Tomonobu Itagaki, head of Team Ninja at Tecmo, the new Ninja Gaiden will share the camera angle and third-person mode of Tomb Raider, but jettison many of that series' extraneous control schemes. Instead, Itagaki explained, the control will be kept very simple and limited to only two or three buttons for jumping and attacking. How the team plans to integrate such a simplified control scheme with Itagaki's vision of a game that borrows elements from Tomb Raider, Mario, and Metal Gear Solid remains unclear.

   Itagaki chose not to reveal much plot information save that the game would continue the plot developed in the original series. Character detail is also sketchy save for the possibility of a cameo or two by Dead or Alive fighters. Even the game's locale is up in the air, with Itagaki only saying that he wishes for highly interactive environments and a wide variety of areas. The game may or may not end up falling into the GIA's coverage, but it's good to know that a classic series is getting a second chance.