Team Ninja not missing Itagaki

By Fred Dutton Published 27 October, 2010

Studio has "most powerful team in history."

Team Ninja currently boasts "the most powerful team in history" and has improved since the acrimonious departure of Tomonobu Itagaki, studio boss Yosuke Hayashi has claimed.

Speaking in an interview with Famitsu translated by 1Up, Hayashi said, "The old Team Ninja had a certain braintrust, a group of a few people, and game development tended to always revolve around them.

"That meant we couldn't really expand our development lines much, but with Team Ninja today, each developer can think for themselves on what they can do to make better games. There aren't many studios that can think organically like that.

"I really feel like we're working together and combining our forces to create the best games we can, and in that way, I feel confident in saying that Team Ninja right now is absolutely the most powerful team in history."

Itagaki left the studio in 2008 after filing a lawsuit against his employers for withholding bonus pay. Hayashi took over and has since masterminded the release of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Dead or Alive Paradise and Metroid: Other M.

Hayashi went on to admit that the studio's output has changed a little since his 'senpai' Itagaki left the building.

"I've realised this as we work, but the games we've made after they left feel just a little different from Team Ninja games of the past. It's the personalities of the people behind them coming to the surface.

"I'm sure there are fans who'd prefer the 'old' style, and I think that's just fine. As a fan myself, I'm looking forward to what my senpai do next, but as for us, we're going to keep working as Team Ninja. That's how I've felt about it over the past two years.

"We're all game developers here, and we can act as cool as we want in interviews, but it doesn't mean anything if the games aren't good. We want to answer the questions with our games, in the end."

Next up from Team Ninja is Ninja Gaiden 3. Meanwhile, Itagaki is hard at work on Devil's Third for THQ.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • finexi #1 2 years ago

    Studio has "most powerful team in history."

    gLOL

  • Deckard1 #2 2 years ago

    Dear most powerful team in history,

    Please don't have off screen people firing streams of homing arrows at me in ninja gaiden 3.

    That is all

  • finexi #3 2 years ago

    Dear most powerful team in history,

    Don't ruin more Nintendo franchises like you did with Metroid and Samus

    That is all

  • landlock #4 2 years ago

    It's a real shame then that the rest of Tecmo Koei is gonna drag them under in the end then.

  • darkmorgado #5 2 years ago

    I feel confident in saying that Team Ninja right now is absolutely the most powerful team in history.

    Most powerful? No.

    Most arrogant...?

  • chessboxer #6 2 years ago

    I hope they use the Sigma engine in Ninja Gaiden 3.

  • Psychotext #7 2 years ago

    Dear most powerful team in history,

    Why did your last game suck so much?

    That is all

  • finexi #8 2 years ago

    Dear most powerful team in history,

    Would you mind if I asked you to put a decent camera on your next game please?

    That is all

  • SG79 #9 2 years ago

    Let's see how they do. To be fair, tech-wise, they're a talented bunch. Even during the early days of PS3 development, they put out a great game (albeit a mere remake of an Xbox game), when most developers were struggling with the console.

    They even re-engineered NGS2 instead of doing a half assed port in about a year. Creatively, they've never been original even under Itagaki but they've always put competent products.

  • Bander #10 2 years ago

    I miss Itagaki even if they don't.

    Ninja Gaiden 2 with the limb-hacking gameplay replaced with a bouncing tits novelty. 2 more DoA games, but now only on handhelds and with no Code Chronus or DoA 5 in sight. And Other M really should have been brilliant. Really, a Metroid game made by the people who did Ninja Gaiden, how could it go wrong?

    Itagaki is a nob, but his refusal to compromise yielded consistently great games.

    Edit: well, let's pretend the beach volleyball ones were intended for a different demographic...
    Edited by Bander at 27/10/10 @ 22:37

  • SG79 #11 2 years ago

    Ninja Gaiden II was disaster than even Itagaki apologized for recently. It was technically bad, and the gameplay was woefully unbalanced. A lot of issues were remedied in Sigma 2 but the core complaints remained (random pattern boss battles with fast to no recovery frames, MN forcing you to spam UT's etc). Yet, it was the better version if only for being more balanced overall.

    The projectile spamming in NGII's MN mode was ridiculous, be it incendiary shurikens or archers.. Then there were the slowdown and bugs.

    NGB and NGS by extension are still the better games. Balanced and never felt cheap even through the chaos. We had enemies that dodged and parried Ryu's attacks while in NGII/NGS2? rapid fire attack with little defense.
    Edited by SG79 at 27/10/10 @ 23:12

  • originaljohn #12 2 years ago

    Unlike some of you ponces I liked Metroid.

  • SteveHolt #13 2 years ago

    unlike some of you ponces I think NG2 is better than NGB. And since I'm master ninja in both games, I guess I am the ponce this time.

  • NimbusTLD #14 2 years ago

    I say let the games speak for themselves.

    I hope they use the Sigma engine in Ninja Gaiden 3.

    I hope they use a whole new engine with less shininess!

  • AnsemsApprentice #15 2 years ago

    Has this been translated correctly? I read it as "The most powerful team in its history."

  • Reihn #16 2 years ago

    I hope this doesn't sidetrack plans for another installment in the DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball series!

    ...they are working on that, right? *crosses fingers*

  • rivuzu #17 2 years ago

    Dear most powerful team in history,

    You've lost your soul. Do you really think Breast Jiggle Mechanics would be in there if Itagaki wasn't inappropriately touching up the female staff? Shame on you.

    That is all





    Dear Tomonobu Itagaki,

    You're my hero.
    /sunglasses indoors

    That is all

  • bloodflowers #18 2 years ago

    I liked Itakagi, because he cared about games.

  • rivuzu #19 2 years ago

    @bloodflowers

    I liked Itakagi, because he cared about tits and ass.

    Fixed.

  • asphaltcowboy #20 2 years ago

    The most powerful team in the world?

    Clearly he's never heard of The Hurricanes!

  • StolenGlory #21 2 years ago

    The female workers certainly aren't missing that perverted scrub that's for damn sure.

  • Vin #22 2 years ago

    Metroid was fucking excellent, you chimps.