Since Team Ninja’s Tomonobu Itagaki left Tecmo Koei, his baby Ninja Gaiden has been going through a rough patch. Ninja Gaiden 3 was critically panned, and while a Wii U version fixed some things, it still didn’t match up to the first game in the revived series that had justified two updated versions since its original Xbox release. Enter Keiji Inafune, creator of Mega Man, who has left Capcom and is now working on new projects, including Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z. Read more…
When companies talk about putting ads in games, there’s generally much gnawing of teeth as gamers envision a future where games are filled with pop-up ads. But what about getting to play high-def games in your browser for free with the support of interrupting ads? That’s Core Online, a new service from Square Enix, and it sounds pretty awesome. Read more…
When I first looked at this very silly low budget trailer for Alien vs. Ninja my first thought was “this isn’t a bad fan video, but they could have spent some more time on the alien!” Little did I realize that this is very much a real film directed by Seiji Chiba. My only major critique is that these are most damn lazy ninjas that I have seen in my entire life — they seem to have a bit too much spare time on their hands to be so caught off guard by a guy in a second rate giger rubber suit. Read more…
I know that ninjas are so last year and that everybody is obsessed with zombies this season; but this Bacteria Assassin Ninja Toothbrush Sanitizer really caught my eye as it’s one of the few geek gizmos that’s healthy for you. The little ninja uses Ultraviolet light to eliminate bacterial growth on your toothbrush. In fact the makers claim that it kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses — including H1N1: Read more…
You know how you know that you’ve been living in New York City for too long? Well when you look at a trailer like this and the first thing you think is “damn that’s one HUGE ASS apartment!” And then your second thought is “I wonder if it’s rent controlled, rent stabilized or luxury?” The after taking in the real estate porn (seriously you can’t get an apartment with a living room that size unless you’re loaded) do you realize that Ninja Assassin is slated for release on November 25th. In this next scene Ninja Assassin’s landlord is taunting him about his ex: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 4, 2009 in Videogames
This is the 90 second gameplay trailer for the American launch of Mini Ninjas. I’ve got to say that I love the variety of scenes shown here — it’s very inventive how they’ve got everything from bobsledding to battles with bears.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 6, 2009 in Videogames
Crude humor? Yes! Cartoon violence? Yes! I’ve been following Mini Ninjas for a while due to the japanophile angle — the game is being developed in England so I was very happy to see that they’ll be bring it to to the good old USA. I loved the concept from the minute I heard it, but these videos give a bit more backstory, and I like what I’m seeing even more! Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 4, 2009 in Animation
After all these years I’m always amazed by how much I don’t know about anime: Case in point is the comedy series Ninja Hattori-kun which started life as a manga. Shown above is the opening title to the TV series based upon the manga which aired from 1966 until 1967. So looking at those opening credits you’d just assume that it was an anime series? Wrong! The opening titles were animated but the show is live action — but the show looks very strange as they have live action characters wearing manga like masks: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 17, 2009 in Videogames
And of course you know that Futo is the largest of the Mini Ninjas! But if you didn’t know that this Edios games looks might be worth keep track of — it’s due out in September and will be eventually be available on the PC, Xbox, Playstation3, Wii and Nintendo DS. In the game Join Hiro embarks on an epic quest to “restore harmony to a world on the brink of chaos”. To battle a magical army of evil Samurai you have to use all of your hard earned Ninja training skills. I just love the look of this game, you can tell that developer Io-Interactive had fun with the details as seen in these screen shots: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 6, 2009 in Videogames
It’s a good thing with the obesity epidemic that videogame companies here aren’t getting into co-branded snack foods! However in Japan that doesn’t seem to be a worry so far as game publisher From Software has made a deal to create a ninja themed snack to coincide with the release of their game Onore no Shinzuru Michi wo Tatashike. The game takes place in Edo-era Japan where ninja warriors have to solve puzzles to recuse a princess: Read more…
