Author Topic: Kaze Kiri - Ninja Action. (Read 452 times)

zborgerd · « **on:** May 01, 2005, 06:44:01 AM »

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8187642397

I know that there are some mixed opinions of this game (seems that people really love it or don't like it much at all), but I figured that if I could get it for around $50.00, it might be worth buying. This title is one of the rarer PCE games, it would seem, at a rarity of "8" on the digitpress site. It generally sells for upwards of $80.00. I'm getting the impression that the disk is not in very good shape (by the description), but as long as it's playable... I normally only buy things in good/excellent/mint condition, but this one is pretty hard to come by these days.

I guess it pays to stay up until 4 am and watch some of the late auctions. I really didn't think I'd win the aucion (I was only one cent higher than the next highest bid), but was quite surprised when I woke up in the morning to find that I was the winner.

If I don't like it, I can always sell it again. I don't think it's going to drop in value any time soon.

monads · « **Reply #1 on:** May 01, 2005, 07:59:48 AM »

This is another game that can go pretty high in $$$. When you get it, if you can, update this thread with your thoughts and impressions cause I'm curious how the game is.

Keranu · « **Reply #2 on:** May 01, 2005, 08:14:27 AM »

<My opinion>

Kaze Kiri has excellent graphics, some of the best for the system I'd say. Not only that, but the music fits the scenerio quite well and the sound effects are superb! But the best part is the control; it's absolute perfect and ingenious for what they did with two buttons! Tons of fighting techniques and maneuvers with fast response and perfect feel!

Unfortunately, I don't know if this makes up for the gameplay. If this game was around back in the Atari and Itellivision days, this would be an absolute block buster. But for the 16-bit generation, the gameplay doesn't quite fit in. You basically send your well prepaired ninja out in a flat plane and have him fight tons of ninjas until your meter tells you it's time to fight the boss. Fighting enemies can take a very long time since they tend to block often.

So anyways you defeated all of the enemies and you go to get the boss. This is another great feature of the game. The bosses have excellent designs and gameplay to them to keep you entertained. But after you beat the boss, you go on to another stage. It keeps the same formula where you are stuck fighting ninjas for a very long time until it's time to fight the boss. The game just gets so repetitive this way that your attention might not be able to stay awake that long for the boss fights.

If Kaze Kiri was more like a side-scrolling platform game (like Shinobi III), then I think this game could easily be one of, if not, the best game of all time. But unfortunately it's not a platform game at all and it's more like a fancy makeover of Kung-Fu. I don't think it's completely terrible because everything else about the game is excellent, but the gameplay formula is just too boring and repetitive to keep you entertained.

zborgerd · « **Reply #3 on:** May 01, 2005, 09:33:54 AM »

I suppose that similar things could be said of fighting games. Usually, you have a set of fancy moves, and enemies have unpredictable blocking patterns. Fights can take a bit of time to complete.

In this case, I assume that you fight a bunch of cookie-cutter ninja, before going onto a boss enemy. The exception is that these ninja don't simply just run up to you aimlessly (from what I've read). The biggest complaint that I've read about is that the terrain is pretty simplistic and there isn't a whole lot of variance in the cookie-cutter enemies that you fight.

At any rate, I'm not quite sure what to expect yet. I suspect that, due to the rarity of this game, that it is probably overhyped by a small subset of gamers that probably paid too much for the game. I'll wait and see before I pass my own judgement on it. I feel that anything is probably better than a lot of games that have brain-dead enemies that simply walk or run back and forth.

Keranu · « **Reply #4 on:** May 01, 2005, 12:30:08 PM »

Well it's definitely worth it if you are a collector, as are all rare games

. I don't think you will be upset when you first play it, because it is quite awesome for a few minutes when you figure out all the stuff you can do and admire the graphics and scenery. But I don't know if you'll still be interested in playing it after so long.

esteban · « **Reply #5 on:** May 01, 2005, 12:52:10 PM »

hey, with most games, I have to try them for myself to see what they are like. It doesn't matter if everyone loves or hates a game, I want to see what it's like.

Kaze Kiri was one of the games I was really excited about because GameFan had praised it a long time ago...

I was totally disappointed by Kaze Kiri, but I was happy that I got to see what it was like. I don't want to rehash my thoughts on it (though a search of the forums will probably locate the post)... but if I had lower expectations and didn't pay as much money for it, it might not have left such a bad taste in my mouth. I still would've been disappointed by it...

dj898 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 01, 2005, 02:11:54 PM »

this always brings back the fond memories...
early last year when I was in Japan I picked up this as well as factory sealed Alundra(?) both for 4700 yen which is around $45. Thought they looking interesting not knowing what these were at that time....

imagine my surprise how much these two usually go for on places like eBay...

sadly never got lucky enough to pick up other rare titles at this bargain though...

I need to fire up my modified SGX to give them a spin...

zborgerd · « **Reply #7 on:** May 09, 2005, 08:02:12 AM »

Well, the game arrived today, and I played through it on the easy mode.

I'm actually quite happy with the game. Frankly, it's very hard not to like it. The play control is so good, and it's extremely fun once you master the controls. My thumb hurts from playing for the last few hours. It's not often that I play a game like that anymore.

I think that several folks calling it a makeover for Kung-Fu is really unfair. Kung-fu doesn't play *anything* like this. The action is fast, and the music is fantastic. It's probably one of the better action games I've played on the PCE, besting greats like Ninja Gaiden and offering better play than Dracula X.

So, while there isn't a whole lot of substance to the level designs, I don't think that's the point of the game. It's really about constant thumb-smashing action and a set of controls that (in my opinion) top most games of today. Kaze attacks like a character in an anime film; Backflip, slide, katana slice, grab and throw - all within a few seconds. It's all very smooth when you learn the controls. Pretty impressive, in my opinion.

It's not worth the $100+ price that many people try to get out of it, but if you can manage to find it for around $40-$50 (like it did), it's a great game to add to the collection. Unfortunately, the odds of finding a great deal on this one might be pretty slim.

Man. My thumb hurts.

esteban · « **Reply #8 on:** May 09, 2005, 10:58:31 AM »

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I just don't like this game, even though I've tried hard to like it. Many individual components of this game are friggin' amazing... but the overall package is still lacking. I had the same problem with Shubibinman 3 (SCD), if that helps clarify where I'm coming from.

I liked the bosses in Kaze Kiri, but even these battles weren't significantly more exciting than the repetitive (monotonous, even) battles that occur during the preceding stage.

You will laugh, I'm sure, but the gameplay in China Warrior is much more enjoyable to me and keeps me coming for more. There is a flow and rhythm to China Warrior that forces you to use a variety of moves and keeps things moving... even if you are only swatting away mops and rocks and the occasional monk. Kaze Kiri never develops a similar flow... quite the opposite, in fact... Kaze lags.

Sorry, I thought my Kaze Kiri hatred had dissipated years ago. I'm seriously glad you enjoyed it. Personally, I don't think Kaze can even touch Dracula X, but it was kool to read why you liked the game. Who knows? Maybe I'll give Kaze Kiri another chance

zborgerd · « **Reply #9 on:** May 09, 2005, 02:55:11 PM »

Quote from: "stevek666"

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I just don't like this game, even though I've tried hard to like it. Many individual components of this game are friggin' amazing... but the overall package is still lacking. I had the same problem with Shubibinman 3 (SCD), if that helps clarify where I'm coming from.

I liked the bosses in Kaze Kiri, but even these battles weren't significantly more exciting than the repetitive (monotonous, even) battles that occur during the preceding stage.

You will laugh, I'm sure, but the gameplay in China Warrior is much more enjoyable to me and keeps me coming for more. There is a flow and rhythm to China Warrior that forces you to use a variety of moves and keeps things moving... even if you are only swatting away mops and rocks and the occasional monk. Kaze Kiri never develops a similar flow... quite the opposite, in fact... Kaze lags.

Sorry, I thought my Kaze Kiri hatred had dissipated years ago. I'm seriously glad you enjoyed it. Personally, I don't think Kaze can even touch Dracula X, but it was kool to read why you liked the game. Who knows? Maybe I'll give Kaze Kiri another chance

I think that the experience could easily be ruined for people that paid a lot of money for the game. It's not the best game I've ever played, by any means, but I think it's pretty fun for what it offers.

Heh. I can't tolerate more than about 2 minutes of China Warrior. Game just drives me totally insane. Everyone's got their own unique opinions of these things though.

I suppose I got a bit off-topic by comparing Kaze Kiri to Dracula X. I really was only trying to compare gameplay though. Even though they are two totally different types of games, they both are part of a similar genre. As far as game design, Kaze Kiri lags behind Dracula X, but I think it plays a lot better though. As a fan of the Castlevania series, I've not really been too radically impressed by Dracula X because of its controls. Every aspect of the game had been so modernized, but Richters controls felt so sluggish and slow to me. I think it's a great game, but hardly worth the price for most people. I will admit though... In spite of this, I've played it quite a bit. Even after I had mastered that game, I eyed my own copy of the game for several years. I finally purchased Dracula X for $110, simply because I'm a big fan of the series and this was one of the only games I was lacking. I do enjoy the game... It's just not my favorite in the series (probably a tie between Castlevania 2 and SOTN for me). I would pay $100 for Dracula X before I'd do the same for Kaze Kiri any day though, even though Kaze is considerably more rare. There is much more depth to Dracula X, and it just simply happens to be one of my favorite series.

esteban · « **Reply #10 on:** May 09, 2005, 09:25:24 PM »

Yeah, I hear ya'

. I definitely was soured by 1) my high expectations, plus 2) the price I paid. You'd think I would have come to terms with it by now! I really did appreciate your thoughts on Kaze Kiri... when I discuss Kaze in the future, I will stop myself from going off on a rant. Same with Shubibinman 3... I automatically go into rant mode.

I still like playing the sluggish old Castlevania games, but I agree that Dracula X might not be as appealing to folks who were expecting newer-style play mechanics. Even the SNES Super Castlevania had evolved beyond Drac X in some ways (still sluggish, but you could whip better).