A Nicer Ninja

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It's true. Ninja Gaiden kicks our butts. So why has Team Ninja's head ninja Tomonobu Itagaki decided to play nice this round and make Ninja Gaiden II accessible to a more casual set? How does the team decide on Achievements with their games, and what sort of downloadable content is planned for this highly anticipated sequel? Itagaki-san speaks ... and we listen.

Crispy Gamer: First off, I wanted to ask how far you are in development with Ninja Gaiden II?

Tomonobu Itagaki: We wrapped up a little less than a week ago. So now we're just waiting for it to get out of certification.

Crispy Gamer: Are you happy with how it turned out?

Itagaki: Yes.

Crispy Gamer: As you guys know, my Ninja Gaiden skills in the past weren't too hot. I am more the Ninja Dog level of gamer, but I am progressing. How are you balancing the game as far as difficulty, with different difficulty levels?

Itagaki: As you well know, Ninja Dog mode was kind of a joke to make you feel bad about choosing that. That was really because of how the first game was structured. There was no better way to make it easier, other than throwing you healing items on a regular basis. What we've done with our game design this time around has given us more bandwidth to accommodate more casual gamers all the way up to the same type of crowd that played the first. We have all different difficulties that span the gamut. If you're choosing the lower one, you're getting a more accessible experience, but you don't have to feel bad that you're playing it, so it's more fun this time around.

Crispy Gamer: So there's no making fun of the player for playing it at a lower level?

Itagaki: No. Yeah, I feel really bad about that in the past. You get the same exact experience, just tweaked for your skill level.

Crispy Gamer: Are you varying Achievements depending upon your difficulty level?

Itagaki: Of course, just like most other games that are out right now. There are a certain number of Achievements that you're only going to get playing it on the harder difficulties. What we have done is we've paid attention to look at a nice happy medium, so even if you only play through the game once on one of the standard difficulties, you're going to get enough Achievements to feel like you've accomplished a lot.

Crispy Gamer: Figuring out the Achievements for this game -- since this is the first Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox 360 -- is that a fun thing to do or is it kind of one of those things like, "Oh God, now we've got to figure out what the Achievements are going to be?" Or is it a mixed thing?

Itagaki: The important things about making games is you can never make design decisions based on something you feel you have to do, so it's always the former. If not, then you're not doing your job right. Making a game is a game within itself, and a challenge within itself. I'd say that's a good measure whether you can be a good game developer or not -- whether you can enjoy that process.