Ninja Assault
| Ninja Assault | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Namco, NOW Production |
| Publisher(s) |
Namco Sega |
| Composer(s) | Hiroto Sasaki |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, PlayStation 2 |
| Release date(s) |
Arcade |
| Genre(s) | Rail shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Sega 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
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
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."
Characters
- Guren: Princess Koto's royal ninja bodyguard.
- Gunjo (voiced by J.S. Gilbert): Guren's partner.
- Aoi (voiced by Joanne Elefenbaum): Mysterious ninja who wants to avenge her father's death, as indicated by her deceased father's eyepatch heirloom. She only appears in extra story mode in PS2 version.
- Princess Koto (voiced by Joanne Elefenbaum): Princess of Japan, she has the ability to see in the future when sleeping.
- Shogun Kigai (voiced by Bryan Session): The evil leader of the demon army who is planning to sacrifice Princess Koto for his resurrection ritual, the final boss
- Kagenin: Loyal commander of the elite demon forces and Shogun Kigai's right-hand man. He has reputable ability with the "Gun of Darkness" which he wields against Gunjo, Guren and Aoi in a standoff in Kigai's castle. He also calls Guren and Gunjo "loyal lap dogs" twice in the game, implying that he has a low opinion of the pair.
- Dragonlord: Shogun Kigai's swordsman, he was the only henchman that guarded the cave against Guren and Gunjo (Arcade Mode) and Aoi (Game Chapter Mode).
- Dragonlord (giant-snake form): Mother of Dragonlord, she was disappointed of her son that he was defeated by humans but nonetheless helps him battle against humans.
Release
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
According to GameRankings, Ninja Assault's PS2 version received an average score of 59.54% based on 30 reviews.[1] IGN compared it with The House of the Dead 2.[2]