Talk about one game I was really looking forward to. Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is a spin-off of the original Ninja Gaiden series. It keeps the same gameplay style but changes everything else from the main character, to the storyline, to even the enemies you face. Can Yaiba reign supreme in comparison to classic Ninja Gaiden or will it be taken by the zombie horde before its release? Let us draw our swords and find out.

The story is a pretty interesting one that ties in with the Ninja Gaiden universe well. You play as Yaiba, an aspiring and very cocky warrior that hopes to become the best in the world. He confronts Ryu Hyabusa, the main protagonists in the series, in an epic battle. However, due to his cocky nature, he is no match for the true ninja master and has his arm and half of his face cut off. Fast forward as the city has been overrun with zombies and weird mutants. Yaiba returns with new cyborg technology and his half cut blade to stop the horde once and for all.

The story is told in a very hysterical style as you see first-hand Yaiba’s cocky nature. Not only do you fight zombies but you also use zombies to progress the story and continue the levels. You can do this by throwing them into lorries, steam rollers and all kinds of vehicles that add up to some funny pay offs.

Now onto the gameplay and boy does the game play well. In it’s cell shaded art style, the combat plays out like your reading panels from a graphic novel. The game is quite colourful for its dark nature as you see a lot of brighter colours be complimented by the dark apocalyptic backgrounds. Your attacks will consist of combining sword swings with cyborg punches as you rack up points and combos. Chaining together your attacks are also made easier by using your undead opponents as weapons as you swing them around you. Some enemies also drop body parts that you can pick up and use such as the “Numb Chucks”, a pair of zombie hands made into a set of Nunchucks.

The game makes zombie slicing feel so righteous as you will be disembodying multiple opponents at once and even fighting back from near death. All we need are pirates in this game and we have the ultimate fantasy come true. However, whilst playing the demo, there were a few problems that did arise. First there was a series of moments when the frame rate just dropped. This mainly happened during areas with fire effects which can be a concern since there are fire based enemies in the game. Another issue that occurred had to do with the camera. The camera itself is very static and places itself in very accurate places in the area of battle. However, sometimes when you are fighting enemies, the camera goes crazy and looks directly down into the ground. This hinders your view so that you cannot see what you’re doing what so ever as enemies surround and pound you. These are quite serious issues to the game as, if they keep turning up in the full release, it can break flow and turn the game into a fight against the camera as well as the enemies.

Overall, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is a very good game to keep your eyes out for if you are a fan of Ninja Gaiden style combat. The fast paced, hilarious nature of the game makes it a true joy to play and adding zombies into the mix makes up for some interesting mechanics. There are issues that should be addressed before the games released and hopefully they are. This is definitely a game to try out as it is nothing but pure hacking and slashing fun. If you get a chance to try out a demo and play as Yaiba, do it and have a truly fun experience.

So what do you think of Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z? Are you thinking of getting the game? Let us know what you think of the title in the comments below.