Ninja Master's (PS4) Review
Release Date: 2019 (1996 Originally)
Date Played: 15 June 2022
I'm not sure if Ninja Master's is just a typo or is actually a grammatically possessive statement that's referencing a missing word. Ninja Master's... Revenge, maybe? Demise, Fall... I don't know. I'm going to decide that it's a typo because that's one of the only things that makes the game stand out from the ton of other games just like it. Whatever the case, this was an arcade game for the Neo Geo MVS released back in 1996. It was then ported to the Playstation 2 back in 2008. Then, that version was ported to the PS4 on the ADK Damashii Collection, which is the one we'll be reviewing here.
Ninja Master's is a 2D fighting game much like most of the games on the Neo Geo. It was developed by SNK and ADK and is a competent, yet generic, fighter. It is set in feudal Japan and tells the story of a demon names Haoh who made a deal with an evil warlord named Oda Nobunaga. After Nobunaga died and his reign ended, he reappeared years later and started causing havoc once again. So several ninjas have set out to defeat him and the demon. The protagonist, Sasuke, is trying to exact revenge because his father was killed by Haoh and is supposed to be the main draw of the game. Unfortunately, he's the most generic and boring character of all. I can't believe the developers decided to make him the main guy.
It's a good enough plot for a fighting game. Which, I guess, is all you can hope for with any plot in the genre... good enough. We just need something to get us into the action.
The fighting happens just like you'd expect. You select a character, and try to win a best of three match against your opponent before moving on to the next fight. You have your standard move set like you would see in a Street Fighter game and the abilities to do small combos as well. There are a couple of gimmicks. Firstly, since all of the characters are ninjas, you all have weapons which can be sheathed or drawn at any time. This basically gives each character two fighting stances. Also, there is a gauge at the bottom of the screen that fills up when you deal/take damage. You can activate this to deal some devastating damage. Other than that, the game is just what you'd expect from a 90's fighter and if you've every played one before, you'll feel right at home. All of the 10 characters have their strengths and weaknesses and are generally fun to play.
The sprite work is good just like any Neo Geo game should be, but the characters are mostly generic and aren't very inspired to me. I feel like they could use some pizzazz and flair, neither of which any of them have. They have a few nice details, but after seeing what SNK can REALLY do with a fighting game, this one feels a little phoned in. The backgrounds are nice, but don't really have anything to make them stand out or be memorable. The soundtrack has that stereotypical Kabuki sound to it that every game set in Feudal Japan seems to have. It works, but isn't exactly going to get your blood flowing.
The real problem with the game isn't its general lack of creativity. It's that it is an arcade game that was emulated on the Playstation 2, then, that port was emulated on the PS4. So it's an emulated version of a game that's emulating another game. It runs decent enough on the PS4, but the graphics are very muddy and dark. The vibrant colors of the Neo Geo version are gone, and everything looks like it has a layer of grime over it. Also, the U.S. physical release of this game released by Limited Run Games is all in Japanese. What!?! The physical copy of the game, that I own, and was published and sold in the United States, is all in Japanese. When you go into the game's menus to look at the move sets, you can't figure out what's what because none of it is in English. This means you have to go online to figure out how to do the special moves, or just be stuck experimenting.
Also, when the PS4 emulates PS2 games, it maps the start and select buttons to the touch pad. This is a real issue because most arcade sticks don't have touch pads on them. When I tried to play it on my arcade stick, I couldn't even start the game because I didn't have access to the start button. What a huge oversite. This forces you to use a standard PS4 controller, which has a terrible D-pad for fighting games.
Lastly, and most grievously, the game has too much input delay. It was originally made to be played on a CRT screen with no delay. The harder enemies in the game move lightning quick, so you need fast reflexes to deal with them. Double emulating it on the PS2 via the PS4 and then playing it on a modern flatscreen TV adds a noticeable amount of input lag. If you're playing against your friends on the couch, it's a lot of fun and you may not care because you're both at the same disadvantage. However, when playing the game solo against the computer, even on the lowest difficulty settings, the later bosses in the game are brutal. Now, I'm no "expert" at fighting games and I do realize that this was originally an arcade game designed to munch your quarters. But, I've been around the block a few times when it comes to fighting games and have played my fair share of them. So, when I'm able to beat the first 8 enemies in the arcade mode without getting hit, and then, I can't even land a hit on enemy number 9... you know there's a real issue. It feels like the computer A.I. is always a step ahead and is blasting out attacks that you can't seem to block. That's because you've already gotten hit by them before you see it on screen. It's, sadly, almost unplayable the way it's supposed to be played.
Not only that, but in arcade mode, you still take some damage when you block, but the computer doesn't. So, it will read your inputs and continually block while absolutely unloading on you. It's just not fun, and feels unfair to play against the computer in this game and having a fair amount of input delay doesn't make it easier. This is one you want to stay away from if you're playing solo.
Pros:
- Game is a competent fighter and is what you'd expect
- Sprite work and backgrounds are done well
- Playing with friends is always fun
- The game is a bad port and looks worse than the original version
- The game isn't optimized for play on modern TVs and has too much input delay
- The game is kind of generic and doesn't have interesting characters
- The enemy A.I. is too hard and unforgiving when playing solo
- Can't play the game with most arcade sticks, so you're stuck using the terrible D-pad on the standard PS4 controller
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