![Oni: The Ninja Master [隠忍 ザ・ニンジャマスター] Game Sample - Arcade](/images/yt/1j/oni-the-ninja-master-game-sample-arcade-4w8yz.jpg)
Oni: The Ninja Master [隠忍 ザ・ニンジャマスター] Game Sample - Arcade
49Being one of the few gang-battle / Boss Rush Arcade fighters, "Oni: The Ninja Master" is an Arcade fighting game that came way out of left field and is in the vein of Konami's "Kyukyoku Sentai Dadandarn" (known Internationally as "Monster Maulers") and Capcom's "WarZard" (known Internationally as "Red Earth"). Released in 1995, it is the only game to ever get an International release from one of my favorite underground developers, Pandora Box (in conjunction with Tanny System), where it went under the ridiculous name of "Metamoqester" (and had all the text and spoken Japanese dialogue stripped from it) and it is loosely based on their semi-famous "Oni" series of roleplaying games which started on Nintendo's Game Boy. Not only that, but it's the only Arcade game Pandora Box would ever produce... they went on to create a variety of other games and budget Playstation titles before going bankrupt during the early 2000s.
That said, O:TNM is an interesting game; while it got most of its inspiration from "Monster Maulers", the game could've used a little more polish. Let's talk about the game's strongest elements first. The game has some great graphics by most accounts with a mix of well-animated 2D and Psuedo-3D elements (though some things like the ice stage literally has part of a black background as the layer doesn't completely cover it during the stage intro... this is evident even on an original PCB). The playable characters look good, but the giant bosses truly shine and look fantastic WHEN you can get a good look at them. The game's three playable characters also run the gamut of balanced, slow/strong and fast/weak and have enough diversity where they can each hold their own going solo, though the game was designed with co-op play in mind. I also like the "lives" system as it forces players to prioritize during clutch time as they can't be replenished once lost (unless you use a credit).
Conversely, these things came at a cost... the game is short even by Arcade standards -- there are only six bosses and the game can be cleared in under nine minutes if you know what you're doing. The game has a strange camera that doesn't always align or center with your character's screen placement and the screen bounces around A LOT as a result. It's also surprising that as large as your foes are, they aren't particularly threatening due to certain attacks having too many invincible frames (Yukihime is especially guilty of this) and most foes can be taken down with some well-placed regular strikes. This isn't to say the game is easy though... many special attacks leave you wide open and the enemy will capitalize on your mistakes if given the opportunity (and take a generous amount of health along the way), but they're all susceptible to jumping around and swinging like a maniac. The game has chip damage, but you can't be killed while blocking, which also makes the game a little easier, so it's not too hard to clear the game with one credit.
The soundtrack... isn't bad, but it's just kinda there. The biggest upset about this game, for me anyway, is that it doesn't embrace its roots more. While the game is set in the "Oni" universe and while each main character has the ability to become a powered-up Oni version of themselves, it's not really integrated in a unique way... they just transform with certain attacks like a bog standard special move. It doesn't capitalize on the theme or draw from the more unique aspects of the RPGs and even the Japanese version's dialogue is almost non-existent, so you don't know much about the few characters that shape the story, and the endings are just a few images depending on if you played solo or with a friend. For the uninitiated, "Tenchimaru" is the main character from the first game in 1990, "Kininkou Maroku Oni" (and a main in most games since).
By comparison, Tengai Makyou was far more successful injecting its characters and world into the fighting medium with "Kabuki Ittou Ryoudan", "Kabuki Klash" and (to a lesser extent) "Tengai Makyou: Dennou Karakuri Kakutouden". Oni/Meta was a good first (and last) effort from Pandora Box and I hope you got some food for thought on why this game could've been better. Pandora Box has put out many interesting games over the years like the Oni RPG series, "YamYam", "Traverse", "Battle Soccer", "After Armageddon Gaiden", "Arabian Nights", "Sengoku Cyber" and more. One thing of note however is that Masahiko Takai, who designed the CGs for this game, also did graphics and designs for "Soul Blazer", "ActRaiser", "Serial Experiments Lain" and more while Satoshi Akamatsu has done a lot of work for Square (Enix)... "Threads of Fate", "The Bouncer", etc.
This is a video of the game in action showing three of the six opponents with Yukihime. Enjoy.
- ADDITION -
Like Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegamingsanctuary/
Follow Us On Twitter: https://twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel
Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com