I-Ninja

I-Ninja is a video game developed by Argonaut and published by Namco. It was released for the PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. A Game Boy Advance version of the game was announced, but it has been canceled. The game was advertised with the tagline "No one's taller than the last man standing." Although not too popular with the general public, it has gained a cult following.

As a result of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe buying the exclusive distribution rights for Europe, that part of the world saw only the PlayStation 2 and PC versions released.

Game Mechanics
The main character in I-Ninja, called simply "Ninja," has a variety of acrobatic abilities that are used throughout the game. In addition to basic skills such as running and jumping, Ninja can jump a second time in the air, although this second jump is less powerful than the first. Ninja can also spin his sword around while midair for a limited time and use it to fall slower than normal to bridge large gaps. This sword-spinning can be done immediately after jumping, but is delayed if performed after a double jump.

Ninja can also use the shape of the environment to his advantage. Throughout the game there are several uniquely designed walls that Ninja can run on, either up to reach a higher platform, or across to bridge a gap. Ninja can only run on walls for a limited time, and will fall off once this time is up. If he is running up a wall, then he will pull out the tip of his grappling hook and use it to slow his fall. Ninja can also jump off of these walls and use his helicopter sword to reach a platform. Sometimes two walls are placed across from each other; Ninja can use these to jump back and forth to move upward.

Also placed around the world are halfpipes that Ninja can use to ascend. By running up one side, Ninja can use the speed from running back down to run farther up the other side, and so forth to reach the top.

Throughout the world there are points where Ninja can use his Grappling Hook to swiing across a gap. When Ninja nears one of these points, he will hear a clinking sound, indicating that he can use his Grappling Hook. Another use for the Grappling Hook are short racetrack-like areas where Ninja must run faster than a mote of light chasing him. In these areas there are usually sharp curves that have a grappling point in the center, which Ninja can use to round the curve.

Some levels have bars that Ninja can grind on using his wooden sandals. Many times these bars have gaps in them which Ninja must jump over.

Certain levels also provide Ninja with explosive darts and ricocheting shuriken to use against his foes. Both of these can be aimed using a first-person view, but shuriken can also be thrown with an auto-aim feature.

Occasionally Ninja will encounter an enemy that will leap into the air with him (in classic anime fashion) to battle. The two will remain suspended in a sort of flying void until the foe is defeated. While in this void, Ninja flies around and can dash, slash with his sword, perform an unblockable but heavily delayed thrusting attack, and throw shuriken if he has them.

As Ninja attacks he will build an attack gauge that, when filled to certain levels, can be spent to temporarily enhance his abilities. As Ninja progresses through the game he will gain access to more of these abilities; using them he can increase his strength, heal his life bar, ride a giant shuriken to quickly slay foes, or even become invincible, which allows him to greatly harm enemies in his viscinity without even touching them. When Ninja becomes invincible, he says "I-Ninja!", which provides the game with its namesake.

I-Ninja
Ninja has a reputation for being rash, short tempered, and even cocky. Ninja is a white belt at the beginning of the game, but throughout gameplay, his belts, strength, and weaponry increase. At the beginning of the game, Ninja is first fighting for his life aganst a group of Ranx on the selection screen.

Then, he encounters a few more Ranx guarding his chain-bound Sensai, whom he is trying to rescue from the evil conqueror, O-dor. He kills the Ranx with ease, displaying his mastery of his small katana blade. After cutting the chains bonding his sensai to the wall, a large pops out of the earth. Ninja kills it by stabbing it in the neck, and a large red rage stone hovers over the creatures mouth. Despite his Sensai's frantic cries of "NINJA, STAY BACK!" An encaptivated Ninja grasps the rage stone, and goes into a fit of berserk rage, and flies into Sensai, knocking him into a flat, sharp rock, decapitating him. Shortly after regretting what he did, Sensai reappears as a Translucent apparition or a ghost.

He tells Ninja that his grasp of Sensai being dead astounds him, while implying to Ninja, that it was stupid to not listen to him.

He then goes on to explain that there are more Rage stones, and that they would be crucial to Ninja's quest of defeating O-Dor. Ninja does, in fact, find a romance in the game. Zerola, whom he rescues on Mountain Gorge, a stage in the game. He sees her as a potential date while she sees him as a mild flirt.

Ninja is voiced by Billy West.

Sensai
Is Ninjas mentor and teacher. Sensai was once a great warrior, but now preffers to watch Ninja fight from a distance. He was accidentally killed when Ninja held a Rage stone and went beserk. He often gives Ninja Un-orthadox advice, and tries to make up some of his own analogies.

Sensai was captured by Ranks at the beginning of the game, possibly to lure Ninja to O-Dor.

Sensai wields a staff for a weapon and a walking stick.

Yang
The guardian of Robot Beach, Ninja's first quest area, Yang is mad-scientist, who built Tekayama, the collasal horned robot, to protect the beach. But since Robot beach was attacked, Yang has gone into hiding. He holds the key to Bomb Bay.

After Ninja acquired the next Rage Stone, Ninja went baserk and almost killed him.

He wields a huge blue-and-black wrench as a weapon.

Ariel
She is the large and robust guardian of Bomb Bay. She is extremely dim-witted, and is heavily infatuated with Ninja. She keeps on goading him to hug her, especially when he rescues her from Ventis.

She loves to call Ninja, "Love puppy" and "Tiger."

Like all guardians, she wields a weapon, a large hook attached to her wrist, which is fitting, seeing as she lives on Bomb Bay.

Twilly
Twilly is the Guardian of the Jungle stage, and is practically afraid of his own shadow. He's a coward, a master of camouflage, and the first one to run from Ranks, whom he is Mortally afraid of.

After defeating Psyamon, the Jungle boss, you end up on the bridge by the stream, trying to reach the next Rage stone, when Twilly appears, and tells Ninja, that it would be safer if Ninja abandoned this futile quest. Ninja then questions him further, about where O-Dor is, and Twilly mysteriously points at the moon.

At that moment, a battalion of Ranx leap out of the Surrounding trees, and encircle Ninja and Twilly. Ninja grabs the stone, and destroys almost all the Ranx in a fit of energy. One Ranx sneaks up on Twilly, and has his blade on his throat, when Ninja at the Rank and slices it completely in two. Twilly then gives Ninja the pass into Mountain Gorge.

Like Sensai, he wields a staff.

Zerola
Zerola is very attractive, and catches the eye of Ninja at first sight. She is about half a foot taller than Ninja, and wears golden armor.

She tells Ninja, after defeating Malakai, about the last rage stone, and how its powers would make those who were dead alive again, and how it could make a living being immortal.

Her weapon is a Bow and arrows, which she used to fend off O-Dor's great army of Ranx at Mountain Gorge until her capture.

Ranx
Ranx make up O-Dors army, and come in many varieties.

Ranx are extremely dim-witted, not being capable of human speech, and only able to utter squeaks, grunts, and occasionally raucous laughter.

Apparently, they are a type of Machine or cross-bred race created by O-Dor, because you can usually see them in storage tanks in his labs.

Patrol Ranx
The types of Ranx you usually see are Patrol Ranx. They are about Ninja's size, and have the same shaped heads. They carry Katana like broadswords and wear armor in different shades of color, depending on what belt level ninja is, and how hard they are to defeat.

These types of Ranx always attack head on.

Buzz-saw Ranx
often attack by ambush, these Ranx have a very long reach, about 2 times Ninja's height, and instead of wielding blades, their whole hands are powerful saws.

Ambush Ranx
They always attack from the surrounding environment, various crates, boxes, plants, and even up in trees. Though they are called by Sensai, "Masters of disguise," their ambush attempts are usually very obvious.

Stenchu Ranx
O-Dor's personal guards, unlike other Ranx, they are females, and don't carry weapons. They fight using martial arts moves against Ninja, and are extremely advanced.

They are the most difficult Ranx to defeat because they move so quickly.

They are only seen in one mission on the moon base level.

Kyza
A gigantic robot, similar to Tekayama, who guards the rage stone on Robot Beach.

You battle Kyza using Tekayama (Ninja inside him, controlling his body) in an arena like part of the beach, with Tekayama's lower body in the water. To defeat him, you have to use different combinations of punches, knocking various body-parts from Kyza.

At several points in your fight, Kyza will step away, and fire missiles at you from his knuckles. These projectiles, however, hardly do any damage, and can be easily dodged or blocked.

Machines
I-Ninja's usual action-platformer gameplay is kicked to the sidelines in more than a handful of the game's sections, as certain levels require I-Ninja to use machines he finds to achieve his goals. Sometimes this is as brief and simple as hopping into a missile turret to blast open a door before hopping off for more Ninja action, but in a few instances an entire level will be devoted to an alternate form of gameplay.

Ninja's full arsenal consists of 6 blades, the fist being a regular Katana sword, the next, a heavy and powerful Gold blade, the third, a swift and light Jade sword, the fourth, a razor-sharp blue crystal blade, the second most powerful blade made of a mystical fire or magma, the last, a devastating sword built of soul destroying metal.

You can also use long distance weapons, machine-guns, missiles, tanks, turrets, mini-guns, assault cannons, sniper rifles, shurikens,darts and attack vehicles.

Trivia

 * The Ninja is voiced by Billy West, who has been the voice of both lead characters for Ren & Stimpy; at times in I-Ninja, Ninja sounds just like either Ren or Stimpy.


 * The in-game cinematics, as well as the intro and ending movies, were created by famed animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman who worked on films such as The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time, and Anastasia, as well as classic arcade games such as Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.