Its bad, what a surprise. The controls were scientifically designed in a lab by satan himself to be the most unfun thing to grace a human beings hands. Like the camera is inverted horizontally, but not vertically??? Besides the obvious fact that the game controls like pure absolute dogshit, the AI is insanely broken. They just won't notice you like ever, you could kill their friend in front of them and they still wouldn't notice you. If you could somehow get past the terrible controls, there is a mildly ok-ish game with terrible AI and stealth mechanics that don't matter. I would have a easier time trying to play qwop or octodad than this game.
The game looks enticings and interesting on every aspect until you play it.
It's a stealth game as a whole, with pretty nice combat, however the main issue is that you are fighting the game as opposed to the enemies. Controls are horrendously stiff that will actively try and screew you over, meaning only masochists can see this game through.
Great style and presentation, but the controls just ruin it all.
It's a stealth game as a whole, with pretty nice combat, however the main issue is that you are fighting the game as opposed to the enemies. Controls are horrendously stiff that will actively try and screew you over, meaning only masochists can see this game through.
Great style and presentation, but the controls just ruin it all.
eu gosto da ideia de um jogo ultra violento em que você controla uma ninja bonita que utiliza da sedução junto de ataques letais que podem rapidamente remover a cabeça do adversário, com os gráficos distintos de ps2 e com um jankzinho incluso. red ninja proporciona isso mas com uns desafios de plataforma que vez ou outra são passáveis, mas que muitas vezes dependem de uma mecânica pouco polida de wall run, que deve ser executado sob o risco de cair em um precipício que te mata e te arremessa pro começo da fase.
até divertidinho. um pouco menos coomer do que a capa implica (ela nem tem esse decote no jogo) mas ainda um tanto coomer. mas não coomer o bastante pra me manter jogando lol
até divertidinho. um pouco menos coomer do que a capa implica (ela nem tem esse decote no jogo) mas ainda um tanto coomer. mas não coomer o bastante pra me manter jogando lol
The most jank 6th gen game I’ve played
Red Ninja: End of Honor’s problems are apparent as soon as you start the tutorial. The camera is inverted horizontally, which is a nightmare. Your character, Kurenai, is far too fast. She runs around like a madman while turning in any direction results in the camera spinning all over the place, disorienting the player. There’s also so many inconsistencies with the controls. Crouching is a hold while getting on a wall is toggle. You also can’t go into crouch mode while moving, which doesn’t sound that bad, but it destroyed the flow and is impossible to get used to. When locked on to an enemy, the A button (X on PlayStation) now rolls, but only sometimes? Sometimes it jumps and sometimes it rolls. The control scheme is also terrible. Since the crouch button is B and Attack is X, it’s impossible to press both at the same time without using a claw-shaped hand.
There’s also wall running in this game. Words cannot describe how bad it is, but I’m going to try. While Kurenai runs, she gradually builds up speed and once you reach max speed, she can run on walls. The problem is that you need to steer her on the wall as well as aim her at the right angle into the wall. For example, let’s say you’re holding up on the thumbstick. As soon as she starts running on the wall, you must IMMEDIATELY hold the direction you need to go (left or right) or she’ll just slip off the wall. It takes dozens of attempts at every wall running portion.
So what we have here is a clusterfuck of jank. Every aspect of controlling Kurenai is working against you, except the grappling hook. At least that seems to work well and has some nice momentum to it. I’m not the type to get filtered by jank. I like jank games more than the next guy, but this is shit.
It’s not even worth talking about any other aspect of the game. It’s completely ruined by the camera and controls. Red Ninja’s faults are so fundamental and basic that aspects like level design, AI, balance, etc. don’t even factor into the quality of the game. From what I played, it was too linear. Stealth games without some sort of open ended design fail because there’s needs to be multiple approaches. Having only one way to tackle a challenge makes for poor replay value and a lack of player agency. The balance is terrible as well. Kurenai’s tetsugen is extremely powerful, making the use of stealth more of a hindrance than a vital mechanic.
There’s nothing redeeming about Red Ninja: End of Honor besides the sex appeal of the leading lady. It’s a shameless rip-off of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven and doesn’t even come close. Red Ninja is the most mechanically flawed game I have ever played.
2/10
Red Ninja: End of Honor’s problems are apparent as soon as you start the tutorial. The camera is inverted horizontally, which is a nightmare. Your character, Kurenai, is far too fast. She runs around like a madman while turning in any direction results in the camera spinning all over the place, disorienting the player. There’s also so many inconsistencies with the controls. Crouching is a hold while getting on a wall is toggle. You also can’t go into crouch mode while moving, which doesn’t sound that bad, but it destroyed the flow and is impossible to get used to. When locked on to an enemy, the A button (X on PlayStation) now rolls, but only sometimes? Sometimes it jumps and sometimes it rolls. The control scheme is also terrible. Since the crouch button is B and Attack is X, it’s impossible to press both at the same time without using a claw-shaped hand.
There’s also wall running in this game. Words cannot describe how bad it is, but I’m going to try. While Kurenai runs, she gradually builds up speed and once you reach max speed, she can run on walls. The problem is that you need to steer her on the wall as well as aim her at the right angle into the wall. For example, let’s say you’re holding up on the thumbstick. As soon as she starts running on the wall, you must IMMEDIATELY hold the direction you need to go (left or right) or she’ll just slip off the wall. It takes dozens of attempts at every wall running portion.
So what we have here is a clusterfuck of jank. Every aspect of controlling Kurenai is working against you, except the grappling hook. At least that seems to work well and has some nice momentum to it. I’m not the type to get filtered by jank. I like jank games more than the next guy, but this is shit.
It’s not even worth talking about any other aspect of the game. It’s completely ruined by the camera and controls. Red Ninja’s faults are so fundamental and basic that aspects like level design, AI, balance, etc. don’t even factor into the quality of the game. From what I played, it was too linear. Stealth games without some sort of open ended design fail because there’s needs to be multiple approaches. Having only one way to tackle a challenge makes for poor replay value and a lack of player agency. The balance is terrible as well. Kurenai’s tetsugen is extremely powerful, making the use of stealth more of a hindrance than a vital mechanic.
There’s nothing redeeming about Red Ninja: End of Honor besides the sex appeal of the leading lady. It’s a shameless rip-off of Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven and doesn’t even come close. Red Ninja is the most mechanically flawed game I have ever played.
2/10
Poorly programmed and inconsistent, though the immensely unfair challenge was somewhat satisfying in the first half when you figure out some of the tricks to break the game. Looking up speedruns made it clear you can just jump right on top of an enemy and stealth kill them that way if you get the angle right.
Unfortunately even this wasn't enough to make me want to push past a certain point when the ridiculous difficulty and AWFUL checkpoints outweighed the satisfaction of overcoming it. I looked it up and I still had just under half the game left to go so I cut my losses.
Was a nice surprise hearing Zim's VA though.
Unfortunately even this wasn't enough to make me want to push past a certain point when the ridiculous difficulty and AWFUL checkpoints outweighed the satisfaction of overcoming it. I looked it up and I still had just under half the game left to go so I cut my losses.
Was a nice surprise hearing Zim's VA though.
Kunoichi are an elusive character archetype. History claims that it's not likely they existed in the first place, but the idea is still fascinating. Seeing there was a game about kunoichi (plus one other factor that I'll get into later), I wanted to give it a shot. There's also the fact that 3D ninja stealth games just don't seem to exist, outside of Tenchu and a few other series.
The story barely registered with me. All I remember is Kurenai and her friend Akemi (the only other character I immediately remember by name). I also remember the emperor's servant because he's voiced by Richard Horvitz (Invader Zim, I recognized his inflection immediately). The other notable character I found when looking up kunoichi junk was Chiyome, Kurenai's caretaker/master, who is vaguely based off of her nonfictional incarnation that lead her own group of kunoichi in service of her master (read more here!).
The camera was the most constant kick in the dick for this game. It's sluggish, inverted with no way to change it, gets stuck on literally everything in the game's more cramped environments, and I can safely say it's one of the worst 3D cameras I've ever used. It's also frequently looking up Kurenai's dress, staring at her low-quality texture panties. I'm sure most people will scoff at this inclusion, but panties have never stopped me from playing a game before.
Kurenai controls fairly stiff, but has some neat movement options at her disposal. I highly recommend you play the game's tutorial, not just because it teaches you these basic concepts, but it does so in a risk-free environment (something that I quickly realized I had taken for granted later in the game). Her more notable moves are a wall jump (self-explanatory), a wall run, and the ability to use her Tetsugen as a grappling hook. Wall running is finicky as all heck. Kurenai builds up speed as she runs at an unclear rate, and that speed transfers directly to wall running time when you either run up to or jump towards a wall. While on the wall, it's frequently unclear how much time you have to run on a wall before you either jump off (very large distance coverage) or unceremoniously drop off. I think running higher up kills your momentum sooner, but that's the only part I could figure out. With a bit of practice though, it feels pretty good to use. Grappling around is probably not as fluid as you imagine it being (or maybe it is, I don't know what you expect out of this game). Aside from grappling targets usually being more environmental and somewhat difficult to keep track of, your momentum doesn't really transfer when jumping between points, you have to start building it by swinging back and forth again. You also can't turn the camera (and the direction you're facing) without coming to a dead stop and building up your swinging momentum again.
The level design is both complimented and hindered by Kurenai's movement abilities. While fairly linear, most levels let you take a few different approaches to reach your next destination, which is always welcome. The checkpoints, while invisible, are fairly generous. If the game wants you to do some wall runs or grapple jumps over pits, there'll usually be a checkpoint before/after that section. The game also has handy unintrusive markings on surfaces, leading you in the right direction if you get lost. The stages actually have worthwhile secrets hidden about, like health/magic meter upgrades, and a few missable items. I will admit that there will be choke points that will probably make or break people who decide to play this though. Particularly, one room has you do a big long platforming challenge around a buddha statue, with your goal being to work towards it at the center of the room. If you mess up a jump (or more accurately, the game's innacurate controls fail you), you'll be starting from square one.
Kurenai's unique claim to fame is using the blade+wire she was hung by and nearly killed with as a weapon, the "Tetsugen". For such a simple concept, the game gets a surprising amount of mileage out of it. At close range, it's your basic melee attack combo. At a distance, you can throw it at a targeted enemy, and then yank it out to deal damage. While throwing the tetsugen, tilting the left analog stick up or down will aim for an enemy's head or legs respectively. This matters more for contextual parts of boss fights, but on standard enemies, it can lead to a variety of death animations. Another quality of the tetsugen is that its wire deals damage too. If you get into a fight with a group of enemies, you can throw the tetsugen at a guy in the back, and then lead the wire around the rest of the crowd. About halfway through the game, you get an alternate version of the weapon, called the "fundo". The wire on this one only stuns enemies, and deals fairly low damage as a melee weapon. This weapon's specialty is tieing people up, and yanking them around when they're knocked down. You can do things like yank unsuspecting enemies into hazards between you and them, like water or pits. You could also choose the extremely morbid (but admittedly very cool) tactic of hiding on a beam above the enemy, throwing the fundo around his neck, and then jumping off the beam, opposite to him, effectively hanging him. Yeah, it's incredibly grim, but I also can't think of another game that lets you manually perform something that raw.
This game is definitely no better than a 2.5/5, and I'd guess that most people would rate it lower. However, I can't lie when I say that I legitimately had fun for most of my playthrough. Perhaps I'm just accustomed to jank, but I personally find it difficult to punch down on a product that clearly had thought and passion put into it. If you decide to play this game, I highly recommend you play it on Easy difficulty. While it may make boss fights fairly underwhelming, Normal and Hard difficulty lean so far in the other direction that the game stops being fun in any regard. Feel free to consult GameFAQs if you're stuck as well, there's some shit that this game just doesn't explain to you (or just ask here in the comments, I'm listening).
The story barely registered with me. All I remember is Kurenai and her friend Akemi (the only other character I immediately remember by name). I also remember the emperor's servant because he's voiced by Richard Horvitz (Invader Zim, I recognized his inflection immediately). The other notable character I found when looking up kunoichi junk was Chiyome, Kurenai's caretaker/master, who is vaguely based off of her nonfictional incarnation that lead her own group of kunoichi in service of her master (read more here!).
The camera was the most constant kick in the dick for this game. It's sluggish, inverted with no way to change it, gets stuck on literally everything in the game's more cramped environments, and I can safely say it's one of the worst 3D cameras I've ever used. It's also frequently looking up Kurenai's dress, staring at her low-quality texture panties. I'm sure most people will scoff at this inclusion, but panties have never stopped me from playing a game before.
Kurenai controls fairly stiff, but has some neat movement options at her disposal. I highly recommend you play the game's tutorial, not just because it teaches you these basic concepts, but it does so in a risk-free environment (something that I quickly realized I had taken for granted later in the game). Her more notable moves are a wall jump (self-explanatory), a wall run, and the ability to use her Tetsugen as a grappling hook. Wall running is finicky as all heck. Kurenai builds up speed as she runs at an unclear rate, and that speed transfers directly to wall running time when you either run up to or jump towards a wall. While on the wall, it's frequently unclear how much time you have to run on a wall before you either jump off (very large distance coverage) or unceremoniously drop off. I think running higher up kills your momentum sooner, but that's the only part I could figure out. With a bit of practice though, it feels pretty good to use. Grappling around is probably not as fluid as you imagine it being (or maybe it is, I don't know what you expect out of this game). Aside from grappling targets usually being more environmental and somewhat difficult to keep track of, your momentum doesn't really transfer when jumping between points, you have to start building it by swinging back and forth again. You also can't turn the camera (and the direction you're facing) without coming to a dead stop and building up your swinging momentum again.
The level design is both complimented and hindered by Kurenai's movement abilities. While fairly linear, most levels let you take a few different approaches to reach your next destination, which is always welcome. The checkpoints, while invisible, are fairly generous. If the game wants you to do some wall runs or grapple jumps over pits, there'll usually be a checkpoint before/after that section. The game also has handy unintrusive markings on surfaces, leading you in the right direction if you get lost. The stages actually have worthwhile secrets hidden about, like health/magic meter upgrades, and a few missable items. I will admit that there will be choke points that will probably make or break people who decide to play this though. Particularly, one room has you do a big long platforming challenge around a buddha statue, with your goal being to work towards it at the center of the room. If you mess up a jump (or more accurately, the game's innacurate controls fail you), you'll be starting from square one.
Kurenai's unique claim to fame is using the blade+wire she was hung by and nearly killed with as a weapon, the "Tetsugen". For such a simple concept, the game gets a surprising amount of mileage out of it. At close range, it's your basic melee attack combo. At a distance, you can throw it at a targeted enemy, and then yank it out to deal damage. While throwing the tetsugen, tilting the left analog stick up or down will aim for an enemy's head or legs respectively. This matters more for contextual parts of boss fights, but on standard enemies, it can lead to a variety of death animations. Another quality of the tetsugen is that its wire deals damage too. If you get into a fight with a group of enemies, you can throw the tetsugen at a guy in the back, and then lead the wire around the rest of the crowd. About halfway through the game, you get an alternate version of the weapon, called the "fundo". The wire on this one only stuns enemies, and deals fairly low damage as a melee weapon. This weapon's specialty is tieing people up, and yanking them around when they're knocked down. You can do things like yank unsuspecting enemies into hazards between you and them, like water or pits. You could also choose the extremely morbid (but admittedly very cool) tactic of hiding on a beam above the enemy, throwing the fundo around his neck, and then jumping off the beam, opposite to him, effectively hanging him. Yeah, it's incredibly grim, but I also can't think of another game that lets you manually perform something that raw.
This game is definitely no better than a 2.5/5, and I'd guess that most people would rate it lower. However, I can't lie when I say that I legitimately had fun for most of my playthrough. Perhaps I'm just accustomed to jank, but I personally find it difficult to punch down on a product that clearly had thought and passion put into it. If you decide to play this game, I highly recommend you play it on Easy difficulty. While it may make boss fights fairly underwhelming, Normal and Hard difficulty lean so far in the other direction that the game stops being fun in any regard. Feel free to consult GameFAQs if you're stuck as well, there's some shit that this game just doesn't explain to you (or just ask here in the comments, I'm listening).
plot is bad, characters are bad, controls are REALLY bad. would recommed
Idk man, this is actually super enjoyable for no good reason. yes the controls suck but there are things you can do as you learn to play the game that make it fun, and I love the mechanics. and the music can be super duper good at times
This review contains spoilers
This game was a mixed bag, i appareciate this game not trying to exclusively copy Tenchu but instead adds some spin to it in the form of a slight focus on platforming. But maaan these controls are not good for the task: for instance you have to be careful not to hold the stick during tricky places or the main character can start spriting and taking off like a fucking racing jet. In addition, the platforming sections and bosses could range from downright atrocious to pretty ok (Snake Charmer was such an awfully designed fight). When the game is doing the usual Tenchu stuff it's fun actually. Soundtrack was pretty good and story was enjoyable. I wouldn't oppose to a remake to this game.
that game can suck my balls, I was nearly finished with the first boss and accidentally found a secret button combo that shoots you back to the title screen, was so annoyed that I never played this again
what if we took the stealth levels from MGR no one liked and made it an entire game
tenchu at home
I try to be forgiving with games, but there are some that just can’t be overlooked. Red Ninja is a perfect example that has mechanics that are broken beyond reason or repair. The story is the first thing you will notice that isn’t very interesting. You are trying to stop a rival clan from getting a machine gun blueprint from yours to use to destroy their enemies. The beginning cut scene shows your clan using a machine gun to cut down hordes of samurais. Just one machine gun. After this, your leader tells the man in charge of making it destroy it because it dishonors the rules of engagement. Sure that’s noble, but all this for one stupid machine gun!
You will notice the game is severely flawed in the tutorial. The camera is completely useless, the controls are awkward, the platforming is uncontrollable, and the enemies are stupid as well as generic. The only interesting thing in the whole game is the tetsugen weapon and Kurenai’s panties. The camera is inverted no matter what you do. In the options, you can turn it off, but it becomes inverted vertically instead of horizontally. I constantly had to consciously remember to turn the camera the opposite way I wanted it to go. This is so frustrating during already busted boss fights or when surveying enemy patrols. On top of all this the combat works a little, but needs a lot of work. You can use the tetsugen as a melee weapon or throw it from a distance and slice enemies in half. One awesome feature was being able to run around enemies in a circle while one is tethered and trip them down or cut them in half. Good luck keeping all the enemies focused because of that broken camera.
Secondly is the platforming, this is probably more frustrating than anything because you need to do this to avoid enemy detection. You can shimmy ledges, ropes, wall run, and dash around, but the combination of the camera and the weird controls make it frustrating. Wall running consists of you having to be in a dash while running at a wall. You have to continue running while moving the analog stick in the direction you want Kurenai to run. This is ridiculous and unintuitive. A lot of times I had her bouncing off walls because the camera just couldn’t keep up. Enemies will detect you even when you on rooftops which is weird. Swimming is no better because enemies can always see you and you can only hide underwater while being still. Completely useless. You can use projectiles by picking them up, but aiming them is just too time to consume. There should be some sort of auto-aim for these.
If that isn’t enough for you to stay away I don’t know what will. I got two levels in and just couldn’t take anymore. The camera constantly going berserk and doing its own thing, the stupid AI, weird control scheme, bad platforming, and just overall an unpolished mess. The combat is somewhat saveable, but the camera and controls make this frustrating as well. The game looks pretty good, but in the end, you won’t even care. Not even the sexy seduction kills are enough to save this game. I hope one day this series is revived but needs to be built from the ground up. Just stay away from this pile of garbage.
You will notice the game is severely flawed in the tutorial. The camera is completely useless, the controls are awkward, the platforming is uncontrollable, and the enemies are stupid as well as generic. The only interesting thing in the whole game is the tetsugen weapon and Kurenai’s panties. The camera is inverted no matter what you do. In the options, you can turn it off, but it becomes inverted vertically instead of horizontally. I constantly had to consciously remember to turn the camera the opposite way I wanted it to go. This is so frustrating during already busted boss fights or when surveying enemy patrols. On top of all this the combat works a little, but needs a lot of work. You can use the tetsugen as a melee weapon or throw it from a distance and slice enemies in half. One awesome feature was being able to run around enemies in a circle while one is tethered and trip them down or cut them in half. Good luck keeping all the enemies focused because of that broken camera.
Secondly is the platforming, this is probably more frustrating than anything because you need to do this to avoid enemy detection. You can shimmy ledges, ropes, wall run, and dash around, but the combination of the camera and the weird controls make it frustrating. Wall running consists of you having to be in a dash while running at a wall. You have to continue running while moving the analog stick in the direction you want Kurenai to run. This is ridiculous and unintuitive. A lot of times I had her bouncing off walls because the camera just couldn’t keep up. Enemies will detect you even when you on rooftops which is weird. Swimming is no better because enemies can always see you and you can only hide underwater while being still. Completely useless. You can use projectiles by picking them up, but aiming them is just too time to consume. There should be some sort of auto-aim for these.
If that isn’t enough for you to stay away I don’t know what will. I got two levels in and just couldn’t take anymore. The camera constantly going berserk and doing its own thing, the stupid AI, weird control scheme, bad platforming, and just overall an unpolished mess. The combat is somewhat saveable, but the camera and controls make this frustrating as well. The game looks pretty good, but in the end, you won’t even care. Not even the sexy seduction kills are enough to save this game. I hope one day this series is revived but needs to be built from the ground up. Just stay away from this pile of garbage.