Kasumi Ninja
Encyclopedia
Kasumi Ninja is a fighting game
developed by Hand Made Software and published by Atari Corporation
for the Atari Jaguar
. It is an original fighting game that was released for the Jaguar home console system, with other games being Ultra Vortek
, Primal Rage
, and Fight for Life, and sought to capitalize on the success of ultra violent fighting games started by Midway
's Mortal Kombat
. The game features a large number of dynamic, three-dimensional
battlegrounds using parallax scrolling
technology.
for its graphic violence and gore.Kasumi Ninja was one of the first video games in history to allow parents to censor the level of violence allowed in the game by using a six digit password (by using the Jaguar's 12 button keypad). When the parental lock is enabled, a code is needed to select the "Gore Fest" gore level. The possible gore levels are: None (no blood), Combat (small amount of blood, but none from swords), Disturbing (more blood than Combat, and blood dripping from the swords), and Gore Fest (the only mode with death moves, the most blood, and it has to be unlocked with a parental lockout code).
Many of the backgrounds and character designs went through several revisions. For example, Alaric's default outfit had red trim, as opposed to blue. Habaki was garbed in black, but this was changed to represent Lord Gyaku. A fourth palette-swap ninja, garbed in blue, was seen in previews but apparently never made it to the final game. This blue ninja was thought to be either Gyaku's original outfit, or the 'unknown disciple' mentioned in Senzo and Habaki's character profile, possibly featured as a secret character yet to be discovered.
The final game was a rushed project. The development team tried to get Kasumi Ninja finished in a 'timely fashion' (holiday season 1994), so the story mode was dropped in favor of the fighting concept minus the storyline. The labyrinth exploration and key gathering concept was condensed, but the character unlocking system remained intact. Players were not required to use unlocked characters to defeat every other character before opening up another character for play, however.
In a 2001 retrospective article, The Atari Times gave it a 50% score, commenting that "Although the graphics and sound in this game are quite good, the sluggish controls hurt this one a lot..."
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
developed by Hand Made Software and published by Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation was a manufacturer of computers and video game consoles from 1984 to 1996. Atari Corp. was founded in July of 1984 when Warner Communications sold the home computing and game console divisions of Atari to Jack Tramiel. Its chief products were the Atari ST, Atari XE, Atari 7800,...
for the Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
. It is an original fighting game that was released for the Jaguar home console system, with other games being Ultra Vortek
Ultra Vortek
Ultra Vortek is the title of an ultra violent fighting game developed by Beyond Games and published by Atari for its Atari Jaguar home console system in 1995. The game's design followed the 90's fighting game trend and attempted to capitalize on the popularity of such games...
, Primal Rage
Primal Rage
Primal Rage is a versus fighting game developed and published by Atari Games in 1994 as an arcade video game. Toys, comics, a novel and other merchandise tie-ins were also produced.-Storyline:...
, and Fight for Life, and sought to capitalize on the success of ultra violent fighting games started by Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
's Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat (series)
Mortal Kombat, commonly abbreviated MK, is a science fantasy series of fighting games created by Ed Boon and John Tobias. The first four renditions and their updates were developed by Midway Games and initially released on arcade machines. The arcade titles were later picked up by Acclaim...
. The game features a large number of dynamic, three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
battlegrounds using parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling
Parallax scrolling is a special scrolling technique in computer graphics, popularized in the 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol. In this pseudo-3D technique, background images move by the camera slower than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D video game and adding to the immersion...
technology.
Gameplay
The controls feature punch, kick, and special move buttons. The two player versus mode requires the use of a code for players to choose the same character.Story
In single mode, the player is initially only able to choose between two characters (Habaki and Senzo). Other characters are unlocked progressively at the successful completion of each stage. The game is named after the game's setting, a mystical island called Kasumi Island. The objective of the game was to kill the game's boss, Gyaku, in his true form: a demon. Only when Demon Gyaku was killed one gets the best ending.Characters
- Habaki and Senzo: Habaki is the eldest son (by ten minutes) of the Kiri-ga-kure family. At an early age the twin brothers were left in the care of the monkMonkA monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s at the Dragon Cloud Temple. The two brothers were equally adept at the arts, both spiritually and physically. The Elders, noticing the great skill of the twins, offered them a chance to advance their arts by training as disciples under one of the Elders. Habaki was chosen by Kaioh and Senzo was chosen by Hiei. There have also been rumors of Gyaku taking a disciple, but no one has ever seen his student. During tournaments held at the Dragon Cloud Temple, the twins always cause a special interest because of their fierce competitiveness. The final match always comes down to the two brothers and each have won an equal number of championships over the years. Carbon copies of one other, their only difference is their respective death move.
- Chagi Nelson, five time world kickboxingKickboxingKickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
champion, has never lost a professional bout. Even at the age of sixteen, Chagi KO'dKnockoutA knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...
his very first opponent in the first round. Chagi has trained all over the world, mixing different martial arts to develop a style all his own. Loud and obnoxious, Chagi has the ability to back up his big mouth with a dazzling display of speed and skill. Chagi currently owns a chain of successful kickboxing schools and convenience stores. He has also been seen in many popular action films such as: Under-seize; the Sci-Fi dance thriller the Lambadanator; and the most famous of his films, the Kickboxing Kidd Series I - XII. He can also be seen currently on TV's Trudger: Lodi Private Eye. Chagi's name is a reference to the Neri Chagi, a TaekwondoTaekwondoTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
move. One of his death moves was voted #9 on the "GamesMasterGamesMasterGamesMaster was a British television show, screened on Channel 4 from 1992 to 1998, and was the first ever UK television show dedicated to computer and video games.-Origins:...
Gore Special - Top 10 Death Moves", where he grabs and hits his opponent with his knee, then kicks a hole through his opponent's body.
- Pakawa is the chief of the ComancheComancheThe Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
fighting tribe, the Tu-Wee-Kah. For many years the Comanches lived in harmony with nature. When the colonists settled in, the Comanches welcomed them with open hearts. As time went on, the colonists grew greedy and started to forcefully take the land from the Comanches, with no respect for the Comanche life. Pakawa decided to train a group of elite warriors and called them the Tu-Wee-Kah. The Tu-Wee-Kah were the equivalent of the Green Berets of their time and they were the ones who were sent in first to stealthily assassinate the opposition and disable key positions, the rest of the tribe would then attack. Pakawa has been in many battles and he is proud of the many scalps that he has collected. Pakawa scalps his foes in a death move.
- Thundra is the queen of a lost tribe of AmazonAmazonsThe Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
warriors. These warriors have taken a solemn oath to protect the rainforestRainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
from modern industrialistsIndustryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
who wish to destroy it for their own profit. This is done by surgically sabotaging vital equipment and assassinating high ranking company officials. Thundra is their greatest warrior and as a result, she was appointed queen. She has trained her warriors in a fighting art handed down for generations. This art was taken directly from the forces of nature and those who have mastered this art can channel their inner power to imitate the fury of nature.
- Alaric is the most ruthless of some of history's most feared and ferocious warriors, the GothsGothsThe Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
. The Goths were a nomadic tribe from Northern Europe who would travel the continent in search of battles to join so that they might pillage and kill, their two greatest joys! Not only was he a renowned fighter, he was also a skillful tactician, leading his tribe to certain victory time and time again. One of his greatest accomplishments was his imaginative use of gunpowder in many dangerous and unique ways. Alaric is loosely based on a real barbarian king also named AlaricAlaric IAlaric I was the King of the Visigoths from 395–410. Alaric is most famous for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire....
who once sacked RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.)\
- Danja Ureda: by day she is an assistant DA fighting in courtCourtA court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
to lock up criminals and keep the streets safe. By night, she is a vigilanteVigilanteA vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
. Danja grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, but she studied hard in school and became an exceptional student. As a result, she was persecuted by her classmates and had to quickly learn the laws of the street to survive. When Danja graduated from high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
she was quickly offered multiple scholarshipScholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s for her academic and athletic abilities. She worked hard in collegeCollegeA college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
, and studied self-defence and exotic weapons to increase her street fighting skills. She earned straight A's and was accepted to Harvard Law School, where she specialized in criminal law. Graduating at the top of her class, she was offered many prestigious positions, but decided to take a job with the District Attorney in the inner city instead. She soon realized how corrupt the justice system really was and decided to use her street fightingStreet fightingStreet fighting is a colloquial term used to denote unsanctioned, illegal in some countries, hand-to-hand fighting in public places, between individuals or groups of people....
skills to take the law into her own hands. Danja has mixed the martial arts she learned in college with her streetfighting tactics and her personal preference for a weapon, the bolasBolasBolas are a throwing weapon superficially similar to the surujin, made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs...
. These bolas have been modified to administer her brutal brand of justiceJusticeJustice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
, giving them a real bang for their buck.
- Angus MacGreggor is the blacksmithBlacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
of his village Loch KatrineLoch KatrineLoch Katrine is a freshwater loch in the district of Stirling, Scotland. It is roughly 8 miles long by 2/3 of a mile wide and runs the length of Strath Gartney...
, as was his father, and his father's father before him. The constant pounding of hot iron has made Angus a burly man. Legend of Angus' strength quickly spread to the other clans of ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and as a result he was constantly challenged to tests of strength. These tests included wrestling, boxing, weight lifting, and the caber toss. Angus always won easily, but had high praise for his opponents, especially at their funerals. Angus soon discovered that he loved to brawl and became obsessed with fighting. Any pub Angus visited soon encountered a severe lack of both furnishings and patrons. Angus soon ran out of those who would challenge him, causing him much anger. This anger grew inside him every day, like a fire consuming his soul. Now Angus has dedicated his life to finding a worthy opponent, one who might be able to give him the fight of his life.Angus is most noted for the special move in which he shoots a fireball that inexplicably comes from underneath his kiltKiltThe kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
. One of his death moves was voted #1 in the "GamesMaster Gore Special - Top 10 Death Moves", where he rapidly punches his opponent's head, decapitates him with a kick, and headbutts his head while it's airborne.
- Lord Gyaku is the final boss of Kasumi Ninja. One of the eldest ninjas, Gyaku went berserk and killed all of the other elders on Kasumi island and proclaimed himself Lord of Kasumi Island. It is said that Gyaku is possessed by spirits from the Demon World. With the Dragon Cloud Temple also in his possession, Gyaku is planning his overthrow of the Island. The Dragon Cloud Temple is said to have a portal to the Demon World, and with such awesome power, Gyaku plans to rule not only Kasumi Island, but the world. If the player does not use a death move on Lord Gyaku during the final battle in single player mode, Lord Gyaku will transform into "Demon Gyaku," a stronger version of Lord Gyaku that resembles a Red Frill Lizard Humanoid Demon. Defeating "Demon Gyaku" will reward the players with the "Best Ending." It is also possible to play as Gyaku with a secret code, whereupon he replaces Senzo and Habaki in the Versus Mode.
Violence and parental lockout
The game was given a "Mature" (17+) rating by the Entertainment Software Rating BoardEntertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
for its graphic violence and gore.Kasumi Ninja was one of the first video games in history to allow parents to censor the level of violence allowed in the game by using a six digit password (by using the Jaguar's 12 button keypad). When the parental lock is enabled, a code is needed to select the "Gore Fest" gore level. The possible gore levels are: None (no blood), Combat (small amount of blood, but none from swords), Disturbing (more blood than Combat, and blood dripping from the swords), and Gore Fest (the only mode with death moves, the most blood, and it has to be unlocked with a parental lockout code).
Development
Kasumi Ninja went through several changes before it was released to the public. It was previewed approximately 8 months before its original release by a virtual game magazine distributed via CD. In this preview, the game had a very heavy story element to it. Players were represented by a guardian spirit of Kasumi Island and could only begin the game as Senzo or Habaki (who originally was represented by the Gyaku character sprite). The spirit would take possession of either Senzo or Habaki and, during the main game's storyline, the characters would have to do battle with the other champions of Kasumi Island in order to free their spirits. This would enable them to do battle against the evil polluting Kasumi island. Beating the game with each character would produce a specific key which, when combined, would unlock the gates to the final confrontation with Lord Gyaku. This method of gameplay would have required the player to invest more time in order to complete the story mode. Players would have to navigate the labyrinth to find their opponents, and characters would be unlocked for play only as they were defeated by Senzo and Habaki. Players would subsequently have to play through each character and defeat all others as they became unlocked.Many of the backgrounds and character designs went through several revisions. For example, Alaric's default outfit had red trim, as opposed to blue. Habaki was garbed in black, but this was changed to represent Lord Gyaku. A fourth palette-swap ninja, garbed in blue, was seen in previews but apparently never made it to the final game. This blue ninja was thought to be either Gyaku's original outfit, or the 'unknown disciple' mentioned in Senzo and Habaki's character profile, possibly featured as a secret character yet to be discovered.
The final game was a rushed project. The development team tried to get Kasumi Ninja finished in a 'timely fashion' (holiday season 1994), so the story mode was dropped in favor of the fighting concept minus the storyline. The labyrinth exploration and key gathering concept was condensed, but the character unlocking system remained intact. Players were not required to use unlocked characters to defeat every other character before opening up another character for play, however.
Reception
The game was almost universally panned by critics. It has been criticized for being a blatant (including gameplay, digitized graphics and graphic violence) rip-off of Mortal Kombat with poor controls.In a 2001 retrospective article, The Atari Times gave it a 50% score, commenting that "Although the graphics and sound in this game are quite good, the sluggish controls hurt this one a lot..."