Next Gen: Ninja Gaiden II's major design flaw, a bad camera
by Xav de Matos 
{ May 20th 2008 at 12:45PM }
Not all previews of the soon-to-be releases Ninja Gaiden II have been glowing. According to impressions from Next Gen: Edge the game is cursed with a major design flaw, a bad camera.
"This isn't a problem with it getting caught on a corner occasionally, nor the odd confusing switch of perspective. It is a constant problem: obscuring foes, breaking up combos, losing track of Ryu, and flicking back and forth between positions."
While this isn't the first preview we've read citing the camera as an issue, previous impressions came from older builds of the game, however the most recent build shown at press events was the final code. So are we in for heartbreak when Ninja Gaiden II drops next month?
While the preview does praise Ninja Gaiden II for being one of the best 3D fighting engines ever made, they wonder how Team Ninja got the basic design of camera control utterly wrong. Remembering the original Ninja Gaiden had camera issues, is this something you'll be able to deal with or did this just break the deal for you and cancel that Ninja Gaiden II pre-order?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
cadaver @ May 20th 2008 12:55PM
The first ninja gaiden had camera issues too... but what kind of ninja is not aware of his surroundings...
At this exact moment 7 other people are posting the same thing I am.
BananaBoat @ May 20th 2008 3:12PM
That's exactly what I was going to post. If the camera in the first game didn't put me off, it won't in the second game.
I can understand where a non-ninja gaiden fan would be coming from with that complaint, but look at it from the developers point of view.... with action THAT fast, how the hell could you ever hope to keep the camera in the proper position (when the proper position changes 100 times a second). No other game comes anywhere close to the speed of Ninja Gaiden, and considering that, I think the camera system implemented now is the best that they could possibly implement.
Drewtlo @ May 20th 2008 1:03PM
Cancel my preorder? Not a chance.
GechiDan3000 @ May 20th 2008 1:05PM
in the first camera controling the camera was half the battle but i didnt mind it. Am sure its not that bad. I for one can not wait for this game gta 4 was too easy i need something hardcore
ryan @ May 20th 2008 1:11PM
exactly, i took "camera controlling being half the battle" as "being aware of your surroundings in battle".
you can punch and kick in a fight, but being aware yourself is part of surviving that fight.
i like the NG camera, it's more intimate for a fighter and not some over the head god camera (god of war) that steals any sense of street brawling.
ryan @ May 20th 2008 1:07PM
if the camera is anything like the first one (which from actual movie video it looks to be) than i'll be fine with it in NG2.
and why is it "worth mentioning" the xbox advertisements in the game(NY level no doubt)? did he expect PS3 ads?
JRHAD @ May 20th 2008 1:17PM
didnt people not like overlord for the same reason?
wonky cameras wont cancel MY Pre- Order.
Will L. @ May 20th 2008 1:10PM
I thought they were using the updated camera from the hurrican pack where you could control the camera. I thought there was no problem with the camera in ninja guiden black which used the same camera from the hurrican pack. They must have just forgot to click the thumb stick to activate it. : /
ryan @ May 20th 2008 1:15PM
they didn't it's still in there. this has been the only big complaint so far about the camera. i mean it's almost the topic of the preview. i think it's just the previewer and not something on the game's behalf.
Jonman @ May 20th 2008 1:11PM
Ninja schminja.
Wasn't looking forward to this anyway.
ryan @ May 20th 2008 1:17PM
that's great?
glad you took the time to click the topic and give your opinion?
Jonman @ May 20th 2008 3:33PM
Back at'cha.
Tony @ May 20th 2008 1:12PM
I had read it was basically the same as in the last game... and personally I didn't have much of a problem with it. I think I'll live.
john paul @ May 20th 2008 9:36PM
I played and loved DMC4. The camera anglesndidnt really bother me. though alexander (and millions of others) will disagree
aBs @ May 20th 2008 1:13PM
No way, I just think the guy sucks enough. You have to be fast and always know the next move ahead of the game.
I haven't preordered because I do not like preorders but you can bet your ass I will be first in line to buy this game.
Knight Marquise @ May 20th 2008 4:02PM
Actually, that was my thought as well....the guy likely just gets his teeth kicked in by this game, and previous NG games. It certainly wasn't a game for the casual crowd.
MedRed @ May 20th 2008 1:16PM
grrr. that was my only gripe on the last game. I was constantly fighting the camera. It's not a deal breaker but it is extremely ANNOYING! Team Ninja... WTF?
ryan @ May 20th 2008 1:20PM
i had no problems with the camera only with the Boss minion battles where the camera would constantly fix on the boss giving you no clear view of the minion who was attacking you off screen.
but it looks like they fixed that with the newer panoramic view.
Trogdor @ May 20th 2008 1:21PM
I never really minded the camera in the first one, I beat it 3 times and once on the hardest difficulty, so I think I'll be fine.
I think this guy just sucked at the game and wanted to blame it on the camera.
Player1 @ May 21st 2008 11:09AM
Agreed. These are just the excuses of a Ninja Dog.
marauder800 @ May 20th 2008 1:24PM
I may have to wait until I can read full reviews and get feedback from friends about NG2. I was on the fence between picking up NG2 or MGS4, but now I'm starting to lean more towards MGS4. Bad camera is a killer in my book.
Astral_Vapor @ May 20th 2008 1:34PM
Having owned the original Xbox version of NG, I've NEVER had any problems with the camera system. I dont see whats the big problem here. All you have to do is press the left trigger to put the camera behind Ryu instantly, in any freakin situation. Hell, now that I think about it, I've never heard of that website before anyway. I'm starting to feel more and more like NG2 was made just for me, because I have no complaints.
Ed @ May 20th 2008 1:34PM
this is what I HATED about the first Ninja Gaiden. I thought the camera was often too close, which made it hard to see who else was in the room
Mikezula @ May 20th 2008 1:37PM
The original Ninja Gaiden had camera issues?
I never noticed.
iFester @ May 20th 2008 1:45PM
I was able to preview the game several weeks ago in Toronto (article on Xbox.ca) and I didn't find the camera distracting at all. You're too engrossed in the fight to really have that in the back of your mind. I however didn't know about the camera trick from Black. I'll have to try that.
Maverick Saturn @ May 20th 2008 1:47PM
I dont think camera angles is that much of an issue unless it becomes an issue.
Other then that it should be fine, looking forward to this.
ZapBranigan @ May 20th 2008 1:51PM
I can't wait for this game. Nothing I read about it will change my mind.
Phawx @ May 20th 2008 2:00PM
Oof, well I will wait until I play the demo that *should* be out soon.
But I, generally, hate any camera system where I feel if I could just move the camera back a little more...
ericdrum @ May 20th 2008 2:13PM
I've only played a few hours of NG on the xbox and this is the problem that frustrated me a lot. I won't buy this game if I have to struggle with it. Yes, it may not make the game a "worse" game, but it makes the barrier of entry for noobs like me seem like it's missing something integral that many other games have.
SadisticHam @ May 20th 2008 2:17PM
Don't care, like many others the original had a bit of a dodge camera, wasn't anywhere near as bad as people make out though.
I'll buy this, doesn't matter what it scores. The first was legendary.
Dralthi @ May 20th 2008 2:56PM
I never played the first one so I can't really comment on that. But wonky cameras do bother me so, I'll probably wait for the demo to come out for this one. Then I'll decide.
Michael Cooper @ May 20th 2008 3:00PM
I'm just finishing up first run through NGB in almost two years. The only problem I've ever had with the camera (after beating the game at least 7 times) is during the second Dooku fight.
Like someone said in an earlier post, this is only a problem for noobs. However, the problem occurs in chapter 14! I think the learning curve should be over by then =)
Easo @ May 20th 2008 3:23PM
I must be the only one that didnt think the first ninja gaiden had problems with the camera. I found it moved to better angles when it needed it to, and stayed still when I didnt. Even in Ninja Gaiden Black where you have the option to control the camera yourself, I found that I left it in default as positioning the camera myself proved to be a useless waste of time.
Will @ May 20th 2008 4:28PM
"Bad camera is a killer in my book."
Uhh, really? Wow. I hope that's some sort of joke. Some sort of sick, tasteless joke...
aBs @ May 20th 2008 6:09PM
His book sucks.
mike shea @ May 21st 2008 8:15PM
dude, we're talking about Ninja Gaiden not your stupid book.
jeeeez.
MedRed @ May 20th 2008 6:44PM
The camera in the first one wasn't the end of the world, but it was the one thing that kept the game from being perfect for me. I was constantly pressing the trigger to swing the camera around behind me. I got used to it but it was an unnecessary annoyance. That was the thing that most complained about. I was anticipating for that issue to be corrected in NGII. Oh well.
Isak? @ May 21st 2008 7:01AM
Do what I did: Play for two hours, get murdered a bunch by some random enemy, stop playing for a month, repeat.
Some boss would murder me, I would quit, come back and trounce him without breaking a sweat.
Of course it took me something like a year and a half of this to beat the first one.....
Alex @ May 23rd 2008 1:25PM
i cant remember a single game of this type which didnt have camera discrepancies (god of war ,devil may cry etc.). it must be very dificult to get it richtig 100% of the time. ill got this one no matter what.