Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

 Xbox 360
Metascore
50

Mixed or average reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 10 out of 20
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  1. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 18, 2014
    70
    The spin-off formula is interesting in its concept form, but this is hardly what the true Ninja Gaiden fan is waiting for. Viewing it as a totally new take on that universe, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z delivers a good amount of chaotic and raunchy, albeit a little derivative, fun.
  2. Game Informer
    Mar 18, 2014
    65
    It’s equal parts silly, gory, and stupid – exactly what you’d expect from the concept.
  3. 4P.de
    Mar 21, 2014
    64
    Since Itakagi-San left Tecmo, the Ninja Gaiden series fails to impress. And so does Yaiba, even though the comic design is as consistent as impressive and the bossfights remind you of the past. But whenever you don’t need skills or good reactions to get through a fight but pure luck, a game is in trouble. And the ninja-cyborg is in grave danger.
  5. Everyeye.it
    Apr 15, 2014
    63
    Yaiba could have been an interesting take on the genre: unfortunately, it fails on the long run, resulting in a quite boring action game.
  6. NZGamer
    Apr 3, 2014
    60
    A mess. And not just all the blood and body parts.
  7. SpazioGames
    Mar 21, 2014
    60
    Spark created a good combat system, then threw it in a blender full of chaos and confusion, ruining most of the experience. When Yaiba works as intended, it's good fun. Unfortunately it mostly doesn't.
  8. Eurogamer Italy
    Mar 18, 2014
    60
    Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z has an interesting style but lacks of substance and is technically poor. The level design is boring and the camera issues are pretty difficult to deal with. If you're looking for a good action game you should check out something else, or to wait for a price cut.
  9. Destructoid
    Mar 18, 2014
    60
    Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z reminds me a lot of last year's Deadpool game. It's a very limited hack and slash that enthusiasts will enjoy on a rainy weekend, but it fails to really ascend beyond that status. Yaiba isn't a bad game per se, it's just shallow.
  10. IGN
    Mar 18, 2014
    56
    Gaiden games have always been challenging, but they’ve also always been fair. Yaiba is not. Instead, it’s unbalanced and arbitrarily punitive, and after the first few hours, it’s not worth putting up with anymore.
  11. EGM
    Mar 18, 2014
    55
    As a side project to the main series, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z offers an interesting shift in tone and a main character with a lot of promise, but the combat and puzzles feel too rote and unpolished to deliver on the strong potential of the concept.

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2014
21
#21 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2014
36
#36 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 49 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 49
  3. Negative: 19 out of 49
  1. blueyes25
    Mar 18, 2014
    8
    I ´m really liking this game a lot
    It´s very funny and pretty;
    Have a great combat system that is cool to use and AWESOME to see in    I ´m really liking this game a lot
    It´s very funny and pretty;
    Have a great combat system that is cool to use and AWESOME to see in action

    It´s not an easy game and have lot´s of violence and gore(like all the games in the ninja gaiden series)

    I HATED the platform parts!    … Full Review »
  2. JohnWitten
    Apr 18, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. [Condensed]

    Nothing sucks more than a complete loss of progress, and that’s pretty much how I felt about the majority of my experience with the game. I was really looking forward to a fun experience, and although some of my wishes were met, I felt like I always took two steps back to every one forward. You’ll have more fun, especially the first time through, on lower difficulties and get more out of the experience. But there’s also really nothing that prompts a second playthrough, unless you’re a really hardcore fan I guess. The combat related glitches are less noticeable on easier difficulties, but they don’t go away. If you do feel like playing through again, at least rest easy in the fact that any and all of your upgrades and collected items carry across between playthroughs on each difficulty, so you can easily level up completely before attempting it again on a harder setting. There is also a small, side arcade mode that unlocks after playing through, and is an interesting diversion when you’ve become too frustrated with the main content- short though it is.

    Concept: Zombie-killing cyborg ninja master! Being a jerk! I hate Ryu, apparently! Yeah, zombies! Did I mention zombie ninja pirate things? Just kidding- no pirates!

    Graphics: Adopts a cartoonish style instead of the series specific, slightly more realistic one. Isn’t a bad look, but can make things hard to distinguish during fast-paced combat at times.

    Sound: I wouldn’t say the voice acting sucks per se, but the lines the actors were given pretty much made me cringe the entire way through. You could mute the game and still have about the same or a better experience basically.

    Playability: The controls normally work well, but will occasionally glitch up and get you killed- especially if you thought the counter system was actually going to work this time around…

    Entertainment: It has its moments, however it also has a lot of extra crappy baggage on board as well. You’ve been warned.

    Replay Value: Low.

    Overall Score: 6.0    … Full Review »
  3. zeldare
    Mar 20, 2014
    8
    action combat style is very nice, story line is missing pieces but globally I had great time fighting all the zombies. I wish we could haveaction combat style is very nice, story line is missing pieces but globally I had great time fighting all the zombies. I wish we could have seen more of Ryu.… Full Review »
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