Kunoichi (PS2 JPN)

[Henning]

Watched a friend play the first level today and it looked awesome. Not only is the main character beating off assailants from the top of a stealth bomber flying between skyscrapers in a city, she is also batting back missles from attacking stealth fighters.

The level and character design is completely over the top, the music is pretty lively electronic stuff, and the action is at least as fast as Shinobi. It's like Sega just threw caution to the wind and said "to hell with it--let's just make it completely balls-out crazy." And that's good.

Anybody else is getting this? I am now or early next year.

I think it looks awesome, and she's cute too!

http://kunoichi.jp/

[Henning]

Maybe a review in the works NTSC-uk?

[marcus]

Maybe a review in the works NTSC-uk?

Ill look into it and see if I can obtain a copy from PA, if so expect a review of this in the not too distant future. It does look quite interesting thats for sure.

[Saurian]

Maybe a review in the works NTSC-uk?

Ill look into it and see if I can obtain a copy from PA, if so expect a review of this in the not too distant future. It does look quite interesting thats for sure.

Adrien (Sidez) is THE best Shinobi player I know, watching him play through the game is a proper treat! I had no idea the extent you can take the combos and setups till I saw him play it! That game is WICKED! If you could get him to do a vid people will die!

[Chadruharazzeb]

Yes, make the Frenchman do a vid. I'd be keen on seeing how it's supposed to be played as well, as it bored me too much to bother finding out.

[Henning]

Adrien (Sidez) is THE best Shinobi player I know, watching him play through the game is a proper treat! I had no idea the extent you can take the combos and setups till I saw him play it! That game is WICKED! If you could get him to do a vid people will die!

Yes I heard he's good, sound like a perfect game to show off in if you can.

[Madbury]

Yeah, the enemy placement is spot on to allow some quite elaborate combos. I'm just too **** to pull them off.

Looks like this new one could be even better.

[Durham Red]

I'm really looking forward to it but will have to wait for a PAL release.

[tankplanker]

I've had this on order for a while, hopefully I should get it this week (been waiting for the Sega Direct version) - its one of my Xmas presents.

Is it any better than Shinobi?

[D-SG]

Is it any better than Shinobi?

Yes, and I loved Shinobi in a way that's illegal in some states of America.

It's more of that chocolatey Shinobi goodness, but with tons of polish, much more intense, and practically every criticism leveled at the original addressed (although both 1up and IGN's painfully uninformative previews complain that the levels are still just lots of rooms and corridors, which is a) not entirely true and b) applicable to any other action game).

It gets quite tough very quickly - even Shinobi veterans will have a little trouble keeping up with the overwhelming pace, and the later levels have platforming sections far more difficult than anything in the original. However, playing on the easier difficulty settings puts extra platforms into the levels, which is a surprisingly sensible idea.

Tons of unlockables: characters and costumes, time attack, survival, and VR mission modes, difficulties and a sketch gallery. All front end and menu text is in English, but descriptions are in Japanese, as are the catagories on the ranking screens, so you may have a little trouble working out what you need to do for those elusive A- and S-ranks.

I give it two carpal tunnel thumbs up.

[smackdee]

i got stuck on the training missions and gave up crying.

i must point out that i am rubbish, though.

at everything.

ever.

[Cacophanus]

I give it two carpal tunnel thumbs up.

...aren't you more than a bit biased on this though?

Shinobi, nor Kunoichi, aren't really that deep you know.

[D-SG]

...aren't you more than a bit biased on this though?

But it scored well in Famitsu Weekly Magazine - it must be good.

Shinobi, nor Kunoichi, aren't really that deep you know.

That's why I didn't say it was deep, petal. But hey, neither am I, so I guess that makes me and Kunoichi a perfect couple.

[Cacophanus]

But it scored well in Famitsu Weekly Magazine - it must be good.

That was pretty average for Famitsu, not really a stonker.

That's why I didn't say it was deep, petal. But hey, neither am I, so I guess that makes me and Kunoichi a perfect couple.

Yet you are praising it's graces in a fashion that doesn't actually represent the game.

[Durham Red]

Shinobi, nor Kunoichi, aren't really that deep you know.

So what? Does everything have to be an epic deeper than the Atlantic with more moves and tricks than you can count? Of course not. Sometimes, a quick arcadey blaster/slasher is all you need.

If it's fun, if it's entertaining then it doesn't matter if it's as shallow as a puddle - it's done its job.