A 3D platformer about a Ninja with a serious anger problem. Is 2003's I-Ninja worthy of being lauded as one of Argonaut's best titles, or should it remain hidden in the shadows? Let's find out! Follow me on Twitter → / calcom_yt
Man I check for new I-Ninja videos on YT everyday, this is one of the best so far. Very well written script that was well researched :) This was my childhood game so I turned into a speedrunner of it. We even have a discord community for the few fans that still remember the game fondly :D Fun fact, in a 100% run Egg Shell Skull is the 2nd to last mission of it all!
It's sad to see Argonaut didn't know how to time a proper release, because some of these games could've had (and do have) a cult following. Croc is beloved and Buck Bumble has a huge meme status
Not gonna lie, you were the guy that got me so interested in this game, even way back when you did ThatGuyCal vids. I recently got hold of a copy, and after having just completed my 100% playthrough, I can safely say I was not disappointed. It's truly a shame that I-Ninja 2 never came to be, because this gem has a lot of potential.
Man, I remember how much I struggled with that one HP robot fight - It took me like a week to finally beat him and then nobody even believed me that I really did that.
I remember spending almost 2 hours on that final Ninja ball challenge with a few friends and I actually managed to complete it. This game has stuck with me for years and I finally went out and bought a copy to replay and finally complete 100%.
I liked how the Arena one finishes without any kind of ceremony. proving the game is not about struggling around tough phases and challenges to get the maximun grade. But having fun and enjoy the skills u learned on the way.
If anyone ever wants to make an HD mod or a spiritual successor to I-Ninja, please count me in, ‘cause I’d passionately be behind remastering the legendary soundtrack and voice lines, or creating brand new bumping beats! Seriously! I won’t give up hope that this game and Argonaut will get the recognition they deserved after all this time! Thank you very much for making this video. ❤ It’s blown my mind seeing so much I-Ninja content coming out and resurfacing, from videos praising the game, to deeper looks at what the sequel was like.
thank you for making this video!! ininja was mine and my brothers childhood as it in incaptuvated us in every way. such an underrated and honestly forgotten about game:(
Probably my favorite game from Argonaut. I think this definitely needs a comeback with a remaster or something. Because this is a solid and really fun title.
10:05 hated that one as a kid. I used to think it was impossible and only put there for grownups to play. It was one of 5 levels I never managed to finish for that 100% completion.
I only played this game just once around the time it came out, and I did beat it. Though I only played it back then, and I usually tend to replay games, I always fondly remembered this game alongside games like the first Jak & Daxter when it came to the PS2 era. Was excited to see you cover this after you were done covering the Croc games. Sad to see that the game flopped, but makes sense, I felt I was the only kid to have played this one back then. Great video, now this is a game I’d like to see come to Sony’s Game Pass equivalent. I’d just play my PS2 copy, but it’d be rad to see people discover this game if it comes to the digital library.
I remember a gameplay trailer for this alongside ones for Matal Arms: Glitch in the System; & Billy Hatcher. It looks like a fun time. Now that I’ve played through M.A., Maybe I’ll keep a lookout for this.
I remember this game very well. I wasn’t even in school yet and i played this game till it broke on my GameCube. I dug ninjas, so this game, and ninja turtles i played till I couldn’t play it anymore.
This was my jam back in the day. To this day, this is still one of the hardest games I’ve ever played… and I love it all the more for that. The only rival I’d say the Egg Shell Skull has in the modern age is the Master King Koco trial in Sonic Frontiers.
I totally forgot about I Ninja. I played this game so much back in the day. Was it the best game ever made? No, but it was mindless fun for hours on end and the way the game was all played for laughs just kind of added to the fun factor of it all.
Seriously, this game needs a remaster. I loved and still love this game and remember being at the end and nearly beating it one time but one of my brothers was a lil bitch and deleted my save ):
I fucking love I-Ninja, I played the shot out of it. At the time I never had a memory card on the ps2 so every time I had to turn it off I had to restart, I never got bored when I have to restart.
I never actually got to play I-Ninja. I had an old PS2 Demo Disc with I-Ninja on it and I replayed that demo alot because it was so cool. But I never saw the game anywhere else.
I’ve seen this game quite a few times over the years, but always just wrote it off as another generic platformer. I’m honestly really surprised at just how fun it looks. The having to go though a stage multiple times thing seems pretty terrible though and a very poor attempt at padding out play time. I’m enjoying these more niche games you’re covering, thanks for putting this together. 👍
This was one of those games I remember seeing on store shelves or in Gamestop's holiday guides and writing off. Dumb mistake on my part because it's developed by the team that made one of my favorite 3D platformers with Croc. Going to have to rectify that mistake someday.
oh dang, i wish i was here to watch this vid earlier. Judging by the amount of comments here, your content seems to be picking up. I'm glad that that's the case! One of the best and most nicely told reviews of this game. I've never played the game myself and don't plan to do so anytime soon either, but i have a friend who really likes it. I'll gladly recommend you to him. This has been said before in Nitro Rad's review of the game Dr. Muto, albeit inverted, but the music at around 7:25 reminds me of the base lab track from Dr. Muto. I wonder what you'd think of that game whenever you might get to it, especially considering there aren't many quality reviews of the game out on this site. Ooooooh man, Malice... you already know how interested i am in seeing you cover this game, but i didn't expect you to go for covering BOTH console versions! It's not a very long game so i suppose it can be beaten quickly. For what it's worth, i hope you'll leave the experience with a positive feeling, stupid final boss notwithstanding. THere's just... there's just so much in terms of cool ideas there, but its finished phase is less than a shadow of what it could have been. Seriously, there is an eleven-or-so part series of a demo or Alpha state of Malice and it was quite different from the released (i don't think "Finished" is apt to say) product. A magic system based on the five elements of Chinese culture and five Guardians associated with them, a different plot with time travel (which can be its own can of difficult worms to handle), more free area travel, the very hubworld and mentor character of the released product having very different roles... And the art direction, too. While i've never played the games, i think parts of it would make people remember games like Banjo and Kazooie, or Conker's Bad Fur Day in its presentation, and there's slight bits of Rayman amongst there as well. For ease of finding, here's a link to the playlist by Playstation Museum called the Malice Archive. I think it will provide a *lot* of interesting insight and research. However long your video on Malice will be, i wouldn't be surprised if all this info of what could have been would make up half of its length. Ere ya go: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ww4Mw0kp3X0.html Also there's some articles out there that looked at Malice before it got released. I think from Gamespot or Destructoid, but i don't fully remember. They too could probably still provide good info, though! Flip me, man. I really hope Malice will one day get a second chance and be able to live up to its potential. Like many other games out there. Which, to a much lesser extent in how bad she got it as it's a more solid game, one of my favourite PS2 games: Kya: Dark Lineage. For now, thank you for still keeping on making videos, and wish you a lot of fun and good luck on your future ventures, be it for YT or outside of it. Looking forward to the next one!
I appreciate your enthusiasm, but please, for the sake of your own happiness: temper your expectations. I fully intend to touch on what Malice could have been, but I don't plan on doing a deep-dive into it. While it would be very educational, the topic at hand will be primarily focused on the game that wound up releasing, because, at the end of the day, that's all that really matters.
@@CalcomYT ah, I'm sorry. I get enthousiastic about stuff that many don't know about sometimes, especially when it's something interesting that could do with a second wind and has a chance to get more coverage. I don't fully agree on the finished product being the only thing that matters, but I *definitely* don't intend to come across as forcing you to make videos according to the wishes of one random person on the internet. I apologize for that. Thank you for taking the time to write a reply and clarifying. I'll be looking forward to the Malice video with no less interest, as well as any ones after that. Though judging by my last comment that was probably clear already. Thank you again for the clarification and reply, and wish you well.
The whole Malachai being a better final boss than O-dor reminds me of Breath of the Wild. That crazy ass motorcycle guardian monk was way cooler of a fight than ganon.
seems like a decent game, but the competition on the ps2 was just too strong, as a kid i remember passing this one up in favor of stuff like burnout 3, mgs2, red faction etc
As much as I love this game I have to say that the final boss is a bit disipointing It's the easiest boss in the game and he is just a joke character , you would expect something epic since he was hyped from the begging Really sad that there was no second game :( Same goes for the games like Lego Racers and Battle Engine aquila that never got a second game as well (Well Lego Racers did but not a proper one)
You ever hear two siblings talk and they sound the same? Y'all speak in a calm, kindve monotone voice with subtle inflections at the begining and endings of your words like you're reading to a class or a reading group. Y'all say the word "argonaut" the same, in the that "ar--" is carried high and longer than the end of the word. You say "ideas" the same, the "-eas" part is carried longer but lowers in tone. Could be the format of the writing also since these are video essays. Nitro rad doesn't have much personality in his writing (since it's all analytical) so he started doing those little bits with his buddy to make up for it. You sound like you'd be his little brother 😶 in all honesty, keep doing what your doing. It's great, I like it a lot. It's familiar. Your uniqueness will come in time, once you've broken from the confines of your essay format. Edit// You also say "series" the same as him lol have one of your buddies sit down and watch with you, they'll help ya spot the similarities
