Ken Ogawa is a modern-day ninja, and Ninja Blade wants him to feel like one. The 2009 action game puts the player in his shoes, armed with a katana, twin swords and a broad sword, facing oversized rats turned into infected carriers of an unknown hookworm parasite.
Trailer, via uVeJuegos.
The Alpha-worm outbreak
The plot opens in 2011. Peacekeeping forces encounter a rabid species occupying a small village in Northern Africa. The creatures are easily provoked and resistant to conventional attack. After four years, the infection has reached Tokyo, and Ken is sent to contain it.
The military raid the quarantine zone and exterminate the infected while the government covers up the incident. A containment task force called GUIDE (Global United Infestation Detection and Elimination) recruits operatives from around the world. Ken, a young operative, is part of a team led by his father, Kanbe.
Kanbe’s betrayal
The story takes a sharp turn when Ken chases and defeats an Arachne creature. Kanbe and teammate Kuroh, infected by King Worms, slaughter the entire unit. Kanbe runs Ken through with the clan’s ‘Ninja Blade’, narrowly missing his heart. A master swordsman could only do that on purpose.
Ken survives and is dispatched solo back to the city. He eliminates other major carriers, including a father-daughter pair of Yakuza bosses, oyabun Tojiro and Ryoko Kurokawa. Ryoko momentarily regains her sanity and begs for a mercy killing, which reignites hope in Ken that he may still save his father.
The orbital laser threat
Ken pursues his targets through a series of set-piece encounters. He thwarts an attempt to spread the infection overseas through a plane carrying evacuees. Then he learns that Kuroh has attacked the local shopping mall and rigged the Tokyo underground.
The stakes are high. Ken is told the military are considering a mass sterilization of Tokyo via orbital laser cannon, which will sacrifice its entire population. That threat hangs over the final chapters of the game.
Combat and the chi bar
The combat system draws on Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry. A chi bar is used up when “ninja vision” or ninjutsu is used. The gameplay is highly cinematic, relying on quick time events to finish missions. After attacking a boss until the health bar is empty, the player must perform a finishing move called the “todome”.
The chi bar mechanic gives the game a rhythm. Players must manage their energy while dodging attacks and chaining combos. It is a system that rewards aggression, though it also punishes careless button presses during quick time events.
Presentation and cinematics
Ninja Blade is published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360 and Windows. FromSoftware developed it alongside ND Games. The game is a third-person hack and slash/beat ’em up, with action, science fiction and horror themes.
The presentation is highly cinematic. Cutscenes are frequent and often long, with dramatic camera angles and close-ups on the infected creatures. The game’s look is dark and gritty, with Tokyo rendered as a sprawling, rainy urban landscape under threat.
What works and what doesn’t
The game is at its best when Ken is facing down a boss in a tight corridor. The combat is fluid, and the katana strikes feel heavy and satisfying. The quick time events are well designed, though they can feel punishing if the player mis-times a button press.
The story, however, is not subtle. The infected are a hookworm parasite that alters its hosts’ bodies and minds while increasing their strength and resilience. The government cover-up and the mass sterilization threat are blunt instruments. Ken’s pursuit of his father is the emotional core, but the plot around it is thin.
The verdict
Ninja Blade is a competent but uneven action game. It has strong combat, a memorable premise and a dark, atmospheric setting. But the story is shallow, and the pacing suffers from too many long cutscenes.
The game is worth playing for the sword fights alone. The finishing move, the dodges, the chi bar management — these systems work. But the plot drags in places, and the final stretch, with its attack on the shopping mall, feels rushed.
Ken’s determination to save his father is the emotional anchor, even if the plot around it is thin. The game is at its best when Ken is fighting, and at its worst when he is watching a cutscene.
Key facts
- Title: Ninja Blade (2009)
- Developer: FromSoftware, ND Games
- Publisher: FromSoftware, ND Games, Microsoft Game Studios
- Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360
- Genres: Hack and slash/Beat ’em up
- Themes: Action, Science fiction, Horror
- Perspective: Third person
- Score: 5.8 out of 10
A numbered ranking of the game’s strengths
- Combat systems (chi bar, ninjutsu, katana strikes)
- Boss fights and finishing moves
- Cinematic presentation
- Story (thin, unconvincing)
- Pacing (long cutscenes)
The score reflects a game that delivers a satisfying action experience but falls short on story and pacing. Ninja Blade is a solid slice of hack and slash, but it never quite reaches the heights of the games it imitates.
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