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LTTP: Mark of the Ninja - holy shit, I'm a Ninja

S

Spieler Eins

Member
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I usually don't have strong feelings towards indie titles, but this might easily be one of my favorites. I really get the urge to talk about how fun it is after each session. This game might be the first I've played to truly convey the feeling of being a ninja. I'm certainly not going to disrespect classics like Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi, but let's be real, you are basically playing action heroes in those games, not stealth warriors.
The gameplay is amazing. The controls feel very natural and easy to grasp, while the game still gives you lots of options to hide and seek, lure your enemies, and so forth - coming with great level design, equally supporting whatever your prefered approach is, alongside light exploration and puzzling. I always found stealth games annoying, because they involve a lot of waiting, making retries after a failure tedious. So I'm really welcoming certain streamlining through the frequent save points in MotN (and also in the Batman Arkham games for example). Same goes for the interface. On one hand, some might call it a little too handholdey, but the visualisation of your sounds and sight just make sense in this context and the way it is presented. Barely controlling the throwing items can be a little wonky, but they give you unlimited time for them anyway.

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They've also nailed the looks, excluding their pseudo-serious cartoon network-esque cinematics, but at least they are extremely short. I guess urban ninjas have kind of become a trope at this point, but how could you hate them? And thankfully it's not that played out in the grand picture of game industry offerings.
I think I'm reaching the end soon, after entering the catacombs. It's a little longer than I thought. Fortunately, because it's just that good. Though I don't really know where to go from there when I'm done. Doesn't seem like a sequel is planned and I can't think of too many games scratching the same itch. Tenchu maybe?
 
M

mac-boy

Member
Did you buy the special edition or the regular edition OP? The s.e. I think adds one more long level that acts as a prequel to the game. But yes mark of the ninja made stealth games fun and enjoyable to me and for that I'll always love this game.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
mac-boy said:
Did you buy the special edition or the regular edition OP? The s.e. I think adds one more long level that acts as a prequel to the game. But yes mark of the ninja made stealth games fun and enjoyable to me and for that I'll always love this game.
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I've found it in some old Humble Bundle that I didn't open yet, no idea which version that is.
 
S

Spring-Loaded

Member
It's dope. One of my favorite "predator" games where you get to just stalk and maneuver around prey, yet you're relatively fragile too.
 
A

Already Torn

Banned
This game made me realize that I really hate how homogenous all of Kleik's games are in terms of visuals. The cartoony graphics didn't mesh with the gameplay at all and I ended up just getting a refund on steam.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
Arguable GotY contender for 2012, what a quality game.
Masterfully communicates its stealth aspects visually and you really get that glass cannon experience.

Haven't played it in ages though since the 360 got packed up.
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
Titanoboa said:
This game made me realize that I really hate how homogenous all of Kleik's games are in terms of visuals. The cartoony graphics didn't mesh with the gameplay at all and I ended up just getting a refund on steam.
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eh, that was really off putting in Shank, but I think this game looks really good and perfectly covers their strange flash-like tendencies, excluding cutscenes and close-ups during a kill.
 
D

dEvAnGeL

Member
Strange it hasn't been remastered for ps4, I'll definitely buy it again there, the speaker on the controller coukd be used great for this game
 
bumpkin

bumpkin

Member
I've never played the game, but feel like I should sometime.

Fun fact, I work with a guy who actually worked on the game. He has some super fancy collectors edition in his office that has a sweet figure.
 
openrob

openrob

Member
I played it for an hour or so, was fun, but just not fun enough I guess and I got distracted by other games/life. However I really want to get back to it.

Mark of the Ninja reminds me how certain games are considered cheap, indie, etc. But if they released back in the day they would be considered amazing games.
 
A

Already Torn

Banned
Spieler Eins said:
eh, that was really off putting in Shank, but I think this game looks really good and perfectly covers their strange flash-like tendencies, excluding cutscenes and close-ups during a kill.
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The close-ups during the kill was the most jarring part for me. Horrible violence that's supposed to be taken seriously doesn't match with Newgrounds visuals I don't think.

But like, that's a huge part of the game you know?
 
S

Spieler Eins

Member
jon bones said:
It's perhaps the greatest stealth game of all time. I'd love to buy this on PS4 and replay it.



that's kind a strange thread opener
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There's not many indie games which I would consider the best titles in their subgenre.

Hero said:
Didn't they remake the first Tenchu on Wii or something?
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That's a title I'd feel like looking into now, just because I can't think of any other actual ninja stealth game, but I also remember it looking decent. It would probably feel clunky compared to this though.
 
S

Skilletor

Member
One of my favorite games of all time. I rank it up there with Super Metroid and ALTTP. Fucking amazing shit. I'm sad it seems like we'll never get a sequel.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Amazing game!

One of my favorites of last generation. If you have 360 or PC, it's a must buy.

This was the first game where stealth felt fun.

Almost all other stealth mechanics I've experienced make the game a chore--including MGS.
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
Mephala said:
Once upon a time there was Tenchu. TT__TT
z5L9G3J.png
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Since I'm on the dark mobile theme, this was an incredibly stealthy post. The Tenchu image was black against the black background, so I just thought you added a bunch of space before posting for some reason. Once I saw it quoted with the slightly brighter background, the image was revealed. How apropos.
 
M

Mephala

Member
Aizo said:
Since I'm on the dark mobile theme, this was an incredibly stealthy post. The Tenchu image was black against the black background, so I just thought you added a bunch of space before posting for some reason. Once I saw it quoted with the slightly brighter background, the image was revealed. How apropos.
Click to expand...

That is kind of awesome. I'm on mobile which I have using light scheme. Heh.
 
B

Balthuk

Member
Yeee mark of the ninja! 98% on steam and 91 on metascore says a lot. One of the best indies I have played.
Steamspy reports 1,494,443 ± 26,507 owners which is a hell of a lot. It was in Humble Indie Bundle 9 which sure boosted its sales but still, pretty amazing numbers.
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
I just finished this game since I found the humble bundle version was installed on my computer and I never really played it beyond the first level. Wow! I blew through it yesterday and today. This game is REALLY fun. I have to say that the most enjoyable thing about the game is the various outfits that give you different kinds of playstyles. I'm a big fan of the one that completely takes your offensive abilities away but instead allows you to run silently. This kind of flexible gameplay complemented by stellar level design just makes for an incredible experience. I am looking forwards to playing NG+ on pure nonlethal noalert mode.
 
G

Greddleok

Member
One of my favourite games ever, and easily one of the best stealth games made.

Man, I should go back and play it through again, it's practically perfect.
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
Htown said:
this game is good as hell

klei don't play
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Its really pretty crazy how varied and well executed Klei's games are. Shank 2, Mark of the Ninja, Invisible Inc, Don't Starve. All different genres, all really good. I haven't seen a developer pull this off since Blizzard.
 
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iamsirjoshua

Member
I picked it up in a sale not too long ago and this post just inspired me to install it and play it fairly soon. On PC, is it recommended to play with mouse/keyboard or an Xbox controller?
 
Nabs

Nabs

Member
Awesome game. I think it's time for a replay.

iamsirjoshua said:
I picked it up in a sale not too long ago and this post just inspired me to install it and play it fairly soon. On PC, is it recommended to play with mouse/keyboard or an Xbox controller?
Click to expand...

Go with a controller if you have one, but both should be fine.
 
E

Earthpainting

Member
Not a big fan of the art style, but the gameplay is top notch. Like others, I don't have the best experiences with the stealth genre, but Mark of the Ninja was able to make this very playable to me. It allowed me to take my time, mechanics were forgiving, and everything was clearly communicated. Definitely the game that put Klei on the map for me.
 
RoslindaleOne

RoslindaleOne

Member
I a played a bit of it before it got pushed in my back log of games. It was fun. If/when it's available on XB1 BC, I'll get back on it.
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
iamsirjoshua said:
I picked it up in a sale not too long ago and this post just inspired me to install it and play it fairly soon. On PC, is it recommended to play with mouse/keyboard or an Xbox controller?
Click to expand...

Keyboard controls are fine, the only issue you might encounter is that if you don't have a mechanical keyboard you can't hold left/right + down + space to climb down from something. Pressing down + space works fine though, you just have to get used to not holding the left/right direction.
 
Soodanim

Soodanim

Gold Member
I started this and really enjoyed it, but it got lost in the sea of backloggery. This might just be the post that gets me to remember to choose it.

That said, it might be something I own on GOG, which would explain why it's not something I see when looking through my collection in BPM.

Edit:
RIP Tenchu. I still miss it.
 
Liamario

Liamario

Banned
Great game. Still haven't finished it though. We need more ninja games. It's time someone gave us a ninja game with AAA stealth mechanics with NGB quality sword play.
 
R

Rathorial

Member
Honestly Mark of the Ninja was THE catalyst title that got me into indie games. I dabbled a bit before that, but they weren't often huge in my mind. Snacks, rather than meals when it came to my end of the year thoughts on what were my favorite games.

If Dishonored and XCOM: Enemy Unknown hadn't surprised me towards the later part of 2012, Mark of the Ninja easily would've been the best thing in 2012 for me. I even had second thoughts on whether it was my favorite thing that year. I saw indie games producing some innovative gameplay before then, but Mark of the Ninja just had this precision and clarity of execution that grabbed me. Hell, I'd even say it and Invisible Inc. are the tightest designed, least janky games in the entire stealth genre.

Now I'm in 2016, where my top 10 list of 2015 games is half filled with indies, and a downward interest in bigger games.
 
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