Red Ninja: The End of Honor marks the latest title to hit the ninja action/stealth genre, previously inhabited by the Tenchu series and Ninja Gaiden (we won’t mention Shinobi or Nightshade, as they both had little to nothing to do with stealth). Red Ninja features some of the familiar trappings of the genre; a sneaky protagonist with a deadly weapon, traditional Japanese setting, and gallons of spraying blood. The game also adds some great new additions to the formula, including a great new weapon with a razor sharp wire used to take out many foes at once. However, there are some pretty glaring issues in Red Ninja that may frustrate and turn off some gamers.

Red Ninja’s storyline is a cute one that the whole family can enjoy. Uh, no, no it’s not. Your character, Kurenai is bent on revenge after the Black Lizard Clan murdered her father and left her beaten and hung from a wire to die. She is rescued, however, by a member of a rival gang and trained in the ninja arts, adapting the wire from which she was hung into a specialized weapon, called the Tetsugen. Using the Tetsugen, Kurenai must defeat the Black Lizard Clan and avenge her father.

Much like other games in the ninja genre, you must use your skills and the environment to either avoid or dispose of your foes. Stealth plays a key role in this game, as you must lurk in the shadows to get the drop on your enemies. You have access to a fair amount of ninja weaponry and tools, like smoke bombs and kunai daggers. You can sneak up on foes and perform stealth kills or simply engage them in combat. You can also run up and along walls, climb upon rooftops and perform many other acrobatic stunts (you can even “seduce” your enemies into approaching you).

However, the true innovation of Red Ninja lies in the Tetsugen. Using the Tetsugen, which is basically a knife attached to some wire, you can harpoon enemies and use the razor wire to slice them in half. Also, considering your wire tension, you can use the Tetsugen to take out multiple foes by harpooning one in the middle and then running in a circle, mowing down the rest with the wire. You can even use objects in the environment like crates to add more tension before cutting down your enemies.

Unfortunately, the game falls prey to some all-too-common issues. First of all, the controls aren’t terribly fluid, which can be especially problematic in a ninja stealth game. Aiming to fire the Tetsugen is easily done, but its not unusual for Kurenai to stand there slicing at nothing in the air instead of shooting off a harpoon. It’s also easy to get stuck against objects and have her simply stand there running in place, trapped by a crate or a torch. Running on walls and jumping are also problematic, as Kurenai will often not run along the wall when you need her to, and landing a jump is a burdensome process given her erratic nature.

The game’s AI also leaves a lot to be desired. The only way to get the drop on enemies is if they have their back to you and you are barely moving, otherwise they’ll be alerted to your presence every time. Also, once you are fighting them, their main way of dealing with you is to stand there and block. Occasionally, they’ll take a poke at you and attack, but most of the time they’ll stand and deflect your attacks.

Graphically, the game looks pretty average. The character models have a decent amount of detail, but nothing too extravagant. There are some nice bloom lighting effects, but nothing you haven’t seen before. The main glaring issue with the game’s look is the extremely troublesome camera. It doesn’t take a lot for the camera to bug out, as it can get hung up on objects and make things very difficult for you as you play. It’s even worse when you are in a tight space like an attic, as the camera will lock behind your character, making it near impossible to know where you are going.

The game’s musical score is decent, similar to what you’d find in other medieval Japanese games like Onimusha. The sounds are pretty clear, and the voice acting is slightly hammy.

Red Ninja: End of Honor brings some innovative new concepts to the table. Unfortunately, a lot is lost in the execution due to some glaring issues.

Gameplay: 7.0
Red Ninja’s use of the Tetsugen is a pretty cool concept, allowing you to use realistic physics to take out your foes. Unfortunately, some nagging issues, like a buggy camera, poor AI and control issues, sully much of the experience.

Graphics: 7.5
Graphically, Red Ninja looks fairly decent, with some nice lighting effects and character models.

Sound: 8.0
The music sounds good, pretty par for the course as far as medieval Japan games go. The voice acting can be a bit hammy at times.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.0 
Red Ninja has some great ideas, like the Tetsugen and use of realistic physics, but much of it is lost in the execution due to some plaguing gameplay problems.

Overall: 7.0
Red Ninja is a decent ninja game that could’ve been a great one, given a bit more polish. Unfortunately, the game falls prey to some all-too-common problems, like weak AI and a buggy camera. If you are a ninja fan looking for something new, then you should be satisfied with a rental.