FromSoftware's Worst Game — Ninja Blade

Ninja Blade was the last game FromSoftware developed before their big hit Demon's Souls. This game is a mess, but it's a mess in some pretty entertaining ways that you'd never expect from the company these days.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 intro
1:33 story overview
2:07 quick time events...
3:56 combat/movement
4:57 turret sections?
5:46 boss design
7:07 ugly game
7:33 ambition
8:15 technical issues
9:32 mission 7
10:40 ending
11:39 the final secret
13:36 closing thoughts
14:39 sponsor/outro
15:31 bonus

big thanks to the following people:

[VaatiVidya]

I'm just here to watch that sick warphole animation again

[goonished]

"walking through slime"
The entire game is a swamp level, From you bastards.

[ghhn]

Meanwhile in the Ninja Blade timeline: "Can you imagine a timeline where this game didn't take off and instead Demon's Souls did? We'd probably be waiting around for Demon's Souls 5 instead of Ninja Ring."

[skvaderarts]

"In how many games can you ride a motorcycle up the side of a building?"
Literally the entire Devil May cry franchise: Am I a joke to you?

[ACatHandler]

Ninja blade: clown outfit
demon souls: no clown outfit
i rest my case

[aplix]

Fromsoftware releasing this game and demon's souls at the same time: "I'm playing on both sides so I always come out on top"

[salsamancer]

it's impressive that you managed to talk about this game for so long without mentioning Ninja Gaiden once. That seems like the most obvious inspiration for this game

[ets]

Anyone else notice the Moonlight Greatsword environment is an exact replica of its placement in the Heart of the Forest from Kingsfield 4? Love the absolute disrespect of promptly destroying it in a quicktime event lol

[aquamarinerose]

Honestly, a Clown Ninja picking up the Moonlight Greatsword in an elaborate quick time event where he cuts down a bunch of giant tree root justifies this game's existence.

[emresemerci]

"If you still dont believe this is a FromSoftware game here is the moonlight greatsword" NOW THATS WHAT IM TALKING ABOUT

[smitkeni]

Played this game over and over again as a kid and loved it, didnt even know it was made by fromsoft

[hellnightmer]

I had this game as a present back in the day and had a mixed feeling about it. Back at the time I considered myself a super hardcore gamer and only played games at max difficulty, and this game got the best of me. I ended up quitting and coming back to it multiple times with various difficulties, and ended up selling because I couldn't take it anymore.

[ostrava]

Ds1: "You have to find openings on your own rather than simply waiting for the designated time when the boss will let you hit it"

*Moonlight butterfly flashbacks*

[IronPineapple]

still experimenting with different formats/presentation styles in these videos, so any feedback is very appreciated!

[Noxis]

It would be cool if FromSoft could revisit this franchise and give it a second chance. I'm not saying it has to be a SoulsBorne, but FromSoft is a far more experienced studio now compared to then.

[jomalomal]

Inspiring to see the iterations FromSoft went through over the years to get where they are today.

[vanderkarl]

Listen. You can wield the Moonlight Greatsword while wearing a clown outfit. That's what I call an 11/10 game right there.

[Blacknight]

One bug I got when playing this on PC was this weird visual effect where fire effects would always obscure objects in front of them like they're burned into your retina, even if they were miles away in the background. So there'd just be this orange glowing orb onscreen in front of enemies, walls and even the player because the skyscraper in the background was on fire!

[longsteinpufferbatch]

I played this game when i was a child and the zombie looking thing in the first cutscene scared me so much i never touched it again.

And now not even the scariest horror game feels scary enough

[asdasdasdasd]

"In how many games can you ride a motorcycle on the side of a building?"

You havent played Devil May Cry it seems.