YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z

62%
Game Brain Score Based on 355 reviews
  • story
  • humor
  • gameplay
YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z Game Cover
Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is a fantastic spin-off entry to the main series, packed with great combat and stunning visuals.
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Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is a collaborative game by Team NINJA and Keiji Inafune, where players control a cyborg ninja named Yaiba on a quest for revenge while battling hordes of zombies. This special edition includes a full-color comic book by Dark Horse, an original soundtrack, and exclusive Yaiba-themed DLC costumes for DOA5 Ultimate game owners.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

62%
Audience ScoreBased on 355 reviews
story25 positive mentions
stability10 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and humorous storyline that adds a fun twist to the gameplay.
  • The cel-shaded graphics and comic book art style are visually appealing and enhance the overall experience.
  • The combat system is engaging, with a variety of combos and executions that keep the gameplay entertaining.
  • The fixed camera angles can be frustrating, often obscuring the player's view during combat.
  • The difficulty spikes can feel unfair, especially with overwhelming enemy encounters and challenging boss fights.
  • The game is relatively short, with only a few hours of gameplay, which may leave players wanting more.
  • story93 mentions

    The story of "Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z" is often described as a mix of crude humor and campy absurdity, featuring a predictable plot centered around a foul-mouthed ninja seeking revenge against Ryu Hayabusa. While some players appreciate its comedic tone and comic book style, many criticize it for being shallow, poorly written, and lacking depth, with a very short runtime that leaves little room for narrative development. Overall, the story is seen as a lighthearted backdrop to the gameplay, appealing primarily to those looking for mindless fun rather than a compelling narrative.

    • “The story is fun, the graphics are cartoony and enjoyable.”
    • “The main story is silly and simplistic, but enjoyable and fun. It does have stupid humor and vulgarity in it, but the game is constantly self-aware of this and, in a way, it's making fun of itself in the process.”
    • “The game’s story was good and corny and had a great comic book/grindhouse feel to it.”
    • “The story really feels like a bad fanfiction, and aside from the two 'big' cutscenes, the presentation is rather lacking. Bundled with the gameplay, this game would be lucky to be even considered average.”
    • “The story is nonsense.”
    • “The two big drawbacks are the very short story (took me about 3 hours to go through it) and the fixed camera, which sometimes makes it a hassle for seeing enemies.”
  • humor90 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, characterized by low-brow, juvenile, and often crude jokes that can be hit or miss for players. While some find the over-the-top antics of characters and silly zombie interactions genuinely funny, others feel the humor is too childish or repetitive. Overall, the game offers a blend of slapstick and self-aware humor that appeals to those with a taste for B-movie style comedy, though it may not resonate with everyone.

    • “Yaiba Kamikaze did get some laughs out of me, like his complete disregard for anything that isn't killing Ryu and his dry sense of humor.”
    • “The humor is on point, the dialogue is exactly what you expect from a B-movie-like action game ranging from very badass to funny as hell!”
    • “The game is really lots of fun and even funny too.”
    • “This game had its moments; the humor is there, but holy crap does the game get infuriating.”
    • “The jokes often fall flat and feel forced, making it hard to enjoy the humor.”
    • “While the game tries to be funny, most of the humor feels outdated and misses the mark.”
  • gameplay80 mentions

    The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising its fast-paced hack-and-slash mechanics and fluid combat, while others criticize the frustrating camera angles and lack of depth in combat systems. Many enjoy the comic book art style and the over-the-top action, but find the difficulty level and repetitive gameplay detracting from the overall experience. Overall, it appeals to those seeking mindless fun and gore, but may not satisfy players looking for a more refined or balanced gameplay experience.

    • “💯 recommend, an amazing hack n slash with fast-paced gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is incredible in this, fast-paced, gory, action-packed combat.”
    • “Overall the gameplay is fast-paced, frantic, and just good mindless fun.”
    • “The devs probably made the game more difficult because it’s supposed to be a NG spinoff, but that difficulty just feels unfair and really ruins it because there isn’t much satisfaction to get out of the gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay has some frustrating bits that are largely because of how the camera will zoom out during certain 'arena' combat scenarios, making it easy to lose track of Yaiba when there are tons of enemies onscreen.”
    • “Repetitive gameplay, repetitive combos, embarrassing 'jokes' and really frustrating stupid camera.”
  • graphics74 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, cel-shaded art style, reminiscent of comic books and titles like Borderlands. Many reviewers appreciate the smooth performance and unique character designs, although some criticize the camera controls and environmental dullness. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's fun and humorous tone, making it a standout aspect despite mixed opinions on other gameplay elements.

    • “The graphics especially put a big smile on my face, as I’m a sucker for cel shading.”
    • “The game oozes style with its incredible visuals and its acrobatic platforming.”
    • “The visuals are pretty solid, they are done in a cel-shaded look which gives the game a comic book look to it, and I like the designs of the zombies (and Yaiba as well), since all of them are unique and all look drastically different.”
    • “The graphics kind of remind me of a 90's gory comic book style.”
    • “Chock full of childish humor, horrid visuals, and 'difficulty' that is only difficult because it's trash and not actually challenging.”
    • “Bad camera controls, boring puzzles, clunky combos, poor hit detection, tasteless jokes, crappy story, outdated graphics, mediocre sound effects.”
  • music16 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised as a strong point, with many players enjoying the soundtrack, particularly the main menu theme and remixes of classic NES tracks. While some found certain pieces less memorable, the overall audio experience is described as fitting the game's atmosphere and enjoyable for various activities, including workouts.

    • “The music is a definite strong point and it acts well for this game.”
    • “The OST for this mode is also a highlight since it consists of remixes/remakes from the classic NES games, as well as the arcade game!”
    • “The main menu's music is a killer, I can't stop listening to it.”
    • “The soundtrack did not have any standout tracks that impressed me.”
    • “I don't know what to think of the soundtrack; it lacks a clear identity.”
    • “The music in the game feels generic and fails to enhance the overall experience.”
  • stability11 mentions

    The stability of the game is highly inconsistent, with many users reporting significant bugs, crashes, and glitches that hinder gameplay, particularly during loading screens. While some players have experienced smooth performance without major issues, the overall sentiment leans towards frustration due to the frequent instability and poor port quality.

    • “For a fast-paced combat-focused game, running smoothly and being as bug-free as possible is a must, and this game seems to nail it.”
    • “Look, this game is buggy and difficult for almost no reason.”
    • “Don't buy this game, it's a waste of money even on sale; the game launches but freezes on the loading screen and crashes for no reason, and there is no apparent fix.”
    • “First: the game is unstable; multiple visual and audio glitches/bugs, long loading screens, and hard crashes.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in the later stages where combat becomes repetitive, forcing them to face the same enemies in increasingly larger groups. This leads to a sense of monotony, with some opting to lower the difficulty to alleviate the grind. Overall, the enjoyment of combat diminishes significantly after the initial hours due to the linear level design and repetitive enemy encounters.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The combat is nice for maybe the first 1-2 hours, then becomes completely tedious when you're forced to fight the same (maybe 8?) enemies over and over again, just in progressively larger quantities.”
    • “The main issues I have with this game are that levels are very linear, and towards the end - in an attempt to increase difficulty - the game relies almost exclusively on either gimmick fights (that have dozens of hard enemies of the same type) or just as tedious enemy combinations as possible, making the game a slog to play in the last 2 levels.”
    • “The second half of the game became tedious, so I put it on easy.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The optimization of the game is mixed; while some users report smooth performance and fluid animations on various systems, others caution that it may not run well on all setups and could have performance issues. Overall, it appears that the port is well-optimized for most PCs, but players should be aware of potential limitations.

    • “The performance of the port runs well on any PC.”
    • “It is well optimized, with great attention to trailer music, voices, atmosphere, and more.”
    • “So approach with caution; do not look at it as a successor to the original NG games, and do note it might have some performance issues on a bunch of systems.”
    • “Performance of the port runs well on any PC.”
    • “Animations overall are fluid; haven't experienced any stuttering or issues so far.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is praised for its well-optimized elements, including voice acting and setting, which contribute to an engaging experience. Reviewers note that even if gameplay is minimal, the compelling story and immersive atmosphere can still make the game worthwhile.

    • “The atmosphere, setting, voice acting, and comedy are all excellent.”
    • “My philosophy on this is that there are instances where a game may not have much gameplay (take Amnesia for example), but the story and atmosphere are reason enough to pick it up.”
    • “The atmosphere, setting, voice acting, and comedy is fine.”
    • “My philosophy on this is that there are some instances in which a game may not necessarily have that much in the way of gameplay (take Amnesia for example), but the story, atmosphere, or whatever it may be is reason enough to pick it up.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    Players note that while the game becomes more enjoyable after additional playtime and mastering combos, the overall replayability is limited, primarily due to the lack of significant content and persistent issues like camera angles and glitches. Higher difficulty levels offer some incentive, but they do not substantially enhance replay value.

    • “After investing additional hours into the game, it becomes much more enjoyable, especially after discovering new combos.”
    • “The game offers a significant challenge at higher difficulty levels, enhancing its replay value.”
    • “Beyond that and playing through at higher difficulties, there isn't much replay value.”
    • “After an additional 10 hours, this game becomes more playable, but even then, the camera positioning and occasional glitches detract from the experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

51% average critic score

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Play time

9hMedian play time
7hAverage play time
2-10hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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