Thursday, June 11, 2009

Onore no Shinzuru Michi wo Tatashike - New Import

©NCSX» Travel back to old Edo-era Japan and take on the role of a ninja warrior who runs through isometric stages and contends with demons, the elements, puzzles, and more in an action-packed quest to rescue a princess. At the outset of the game, the ninja and the princess are shown together on a rooftop but a winged demon swoops in and snatches her away into the darkness of the night. Since the hero is a versatile and mighty ninja, he has a gang of faintly-outlined shadow ninjas (from the past, no less) who trail him and may be used to step on switches to trigger stairways, attack roving enemies, destroy objects, fire cannons, and perform other menial tasks. The PSP analog nub or d-pad can be used to control the ninja but the nub is preferable since the movement of the ninja is smoother with the nub. The face buttons control the ninja's attacks, switch triggering, mode toggling, and special moves.

Game modes include "Story Mode," "Mission Mode," and "Wireless." The Option menu allows players to check out 19 BGM selections and adjust SE and BGM volumes. A configure menu allows gamers to do button mapping duties and a "Tutorial Mode" teaches gamers the ways of the play mechanics. We recommend checking the tutorial out since some elements of the game aren't readily apparent based on our testing this morning. For example, it's possible to summon little statues onto the playfield which drop onto switches in order to trigger them. The ninja can also perform a special billowing flame attack which destroys everything in its path. Each stage enforces a 1-minute time limit but multiple attempts are possible with each subsequent try aided by more and more shadow ninja cohorts.

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