Itagaki Confirms Ninja Gaiden 2

More great news emerges as Team Ninja head Tomonobu Itagaki confirms a sequel to the earth-shattering Ninja Gaiden is planned.

Without question the best game of the year so far, Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden for Xbox has enjoyed massive success in the US and is expected to clean up just as quickly when it hits Europe in a few week's time (albeit with decapitations censored out of the PAL version, as we revealed last month). Now a sequel is confirmed to be on its way - but don't expect it overnight.

In a discussion with Electronic Gaming Monthly, charismatic Itagaki-san, unphased by the phenomenal reaction of gamers to his masterwork Xbox title, is quizzed on a number of issues - most pertinently, what's next for Team Ninja.

"Dead or Alive: Code Cronus" he replies, while not elaborating on what is currently known about the mystery DOA title. For the record, what we know so far is that back in August last year, Itagaki-san revealed that Dead or Alive: Code Cronus will not be a fighting game or a volleyball game - but something entirely new - perhaps an online RPG, if Japanese speculation at the time is to be believed. Expect to learn more when E3 kicks off.

Asked about the possibility of a Ninja Gaiden sequel, Itagaki was straightforward:

"Yes, I am planning a sequel. But first, I'm implementing some of the requests from the fans into the game program of the Master Ninja Tournament."

Finally, another juicy tidbit in response to whether or not Ninja Gaiden ultra-babe Rachel might feature in the Dead or Alive series: "Hmm, I wonder. Even if I did what you're suggesting, a female character that's in love with a male character (Ryu) would not be popular, you know?"

Check our Ninja Gaiden review here, if for some inexcusable reason you still haven't snapped up the game.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com