I’ve recently been playing through the original Ninja Gaiden on the NIntendo Entertainment System (NES). Why, you may ask? Maybe subscribe to the podcast Tales of the Lesser Medium, which I co-host, and pay attention to that subscription feed. Maybe you’ll have your question answered soon…
As I was playing Ninja Gaiden, I was taken aback by how well executed the cinematic cut-scenes are. The intro cinematic, for example, uses minimal animation to convey action, juxtaposing images to convey two ninjas in battle. Parallax scrolling, timed just right, conveys depth and increases tension simultaneously. Everything here could be done with a Powerpoint slideshow and some animated gifs, and despite the simple execution, the result is powerful.
In all, I was surprised by the cinematic storytelling in the game. Then, I immediately questioned why I was surprised. When I play an older game, like Ninja Gaiden, for some reason I expect everything to be primitive. I expect simple level design, thin story, a few core mechanics per game each with a few verbs to expand the gameplay, and most of the time, those expectations are met. But when those expectations are eclipsed, I’m stunned, for some reason.
I’m gonna talk about that in this video.
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