Developer: Acquire | Publisher: SCEE | Format: PSP
Reviewer: Brendan Tinnelly There are, basically, two types of ninja. Of the first specimen, popularized by the internet and Saturday morning cartoons, we know that they are awesome, predominantly mammals, but occasionally mutant turtles, and are totally sweet. The other, and if I may say less appealing, type, is the one who invariably pops up in videogames. This ninja is quick, silent, invisible, deadly. And so it is in Shinobido: Tales of the Ninja.
As if the following needs to be said, Tales of the Ninja sees you take the role of a ninja as you sneak around, jumping walls, throwing shuriken, penetrating castles, assassinating feudal warlords and stealing scrolls and so on. The gameplay is nothing new to those who've played the Tenchu series, of which this game was born. On the other hand, to those not accustomed to the game's home console parents, the controls will undoubtedly feel cumbersome and unwieldy, and the graphics and animation blocky and unrealistic.
In way of innovation, this PSP title does break the mould a little in offering a level editor, a sizable non-linear single-player campaign, complete with 30 unlockable characters. However, these innovations are ill-suited to a handheld game, where accessibility and brevity of loading times are key.
In the end, this is yet another example of a square peg being hammered into a round hole. From the watered down visuals and the clumsy controls to the lack of pick-up-and-playability, this is a game that was patently designed for home consoles, and as such can line up alongside the ever-growing catalogue of substandard ports on the PSP.
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