Heavenly Sword is "half-assed"

By Robert Purchese Published 6 August, 2007

Itagaki bites thumb at thee.

Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki has taken the gloves off to have a dig at a couple of rival games.

Landed most recently was a jab to Heavenly Sword's chops, where the Ninja Gaiden creator called the upcoming PS3 title "half-assed" for its on-screen button pressing sequences.

"I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen," Itagaki told Electronic Gaming Monthly. "I look at Heavenly Sword and it seems really half-assed, because it's asking you to do all these button-timing sequences but you are not getting much pay-off from it."

Resident Evil 4 and God of War 2 were awful then, evidently.

His criticisms were parried by Heavenly Sword producer Kyle Shubel, who said the events were put in the game to empower the player, and would be frustrating if they had to be completed manually each time. Decision went to the judges.

The dust-up comes just days after too-cool-for-school Itagaki laid into fighting series Tekken. When asked by Jostiq how excited he was about the new instalment, the Dead or Alive creator responded: "Tekken sucks. I don't know what you're talking about."

Currently Tomonobu Itagaki and Team Ninja are working on two mysterious titles for Xbox 360, Project Progressive and Project Impact - the latter expected to be Ninja Gaiden 2.

His gang is also conjuring a DS game called Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.

They'll all be better than Tekken 6 and Heavenly Sword, obviously.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (92) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • smoothn00dle #1 5 years ago

    I was close to be first. Number 3 now

  • afghan_jones #2 5 years ago

    n00dle,

    youll always be number one to me...

  • sonsonate #3 5 years ago

    "Tekken sucks. I don't know what you're talking about." --- LOL!!

  • Gastrian #4 5 years ago

    It is a bit lazy and not a good way of doing things. Considering how much the graphics helped Resi4 in being an immersive games it was a bit weird when this big green a button kept popping up and kept ruining the mood.
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 14:52

  • Thamuhacha #5 5 years ago

    Any journalist who asks Itagaki what he thinks about Tekken is obviously a troll.

  • Nobuo #6 5 years ago

    Please change the headline to 'DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball creator: "Tekken Sucks"'. Far more amusing.

  • redneon Verified Programmer, SUMO Digital #7 5 years ago

    I have to say, I agree. I would prefer a full ass in Heavenly Sword too.

  • Inquisitor #8 5 years ago

    Well I don't like fighting games or games in the style of ninja gaiden so I find these comments incredibly funny. He strikes me as the sort of person who actually believes these comments and is not just saying them to diss competitors, hes very passionate about what he does.

  • sanctusmortis #9 5 years ago

    Ironically, I don't think I've played a bad one on a decent console... Dragons Lair doesn't count. The Lion King bits, Shenmue QTE, SOTC to a degree... all good.

  • Dizzy #10 5 years ago

    TBH Quicktime events should have died in the 80s.

    That being said... the rest of the game can be great no?

  • Steroyd #11 5 years ago

    The demo was short but from many playthroughs the battle system was more in-depth than I first thought it helped to learn there were pages in the combo list to.

    And just watching cutscenes and finishing moves is sooo much better than QTE's /sarcasm

  • lambtron #12 5 years ago

    "I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen,"

    Shenmue
    Resi4
    God of War 1+2

    say otherwise you douche.

  • miiiguel #13 5 years ago

    sanctusmortis: don't agree, it's so passe. And what about Spiderman 3, really lame... .
    Devs should quit those QTE for good.

  • Xerx3s #14 5 years ago

    In other news - Itakagi's next game will be a bukkake simulator.

    /preorders

  • menage #15 5 years ago

    QTE are the new Bullettime!

    Seriously. It was great in GoW and Resi, but now everyone is doing them. Quit it if you're game sucks.

  • penhalion #16 5 years ago

    @Lambtron

    GOW2 had horrendous sequences. the buttons were random and against the last boss, the sequence gave you half a second to select some of the buttons making for an unnecessary number of re-trys. And don't get me started on the hammer O to open doors stuff. What was the point of that?

  • afghan_jones #17 5 years ago

    It was good in GoW, ok the first few times in resi but shite in everything else.

    Spiderman especially when it was so big you couldnt even see the 'cool' moves you were doing anyway.

  • Nostromo13 #18 5 years ago

    let's face it, heavenly sword is shite for many other reasons. Well, the demo anyway.

  • Whizzo #19 5 years ago

    He just can't relate to a game where the lead character's tits aren't as big as her head.

  • weaselrat #20 5 years ago

    It was fine in resi 4 and farenheit,adds a bit more mayhem to a sequnce. I suppose people would rather just have a full chi sequence to replace it. so he's talking bollocks. You need to give every game a chance.

  • lambtron #21 5 years ago

    @Lambtron

    GOW2 had horrendous sequences. the buttons were random and against the last boss, the sequence gave you half a second to select some of the buttons making for an unnecessary number of re-trys. And don't get me started on the hammer O to open doors stuff. What was the point of that?

    Personally I find QTEs easy, but my point is rather he is saying a game cannot be good with QTEs in - this is blatantly not the case. Even if you despise them with a burning passion they are such a small part of the games I've listed you'd have to be very easily pissed off to hate the game as a result.

  • SniperWolf #22 5 years ago

    Itagaki is right, Heavenly sword is going to be shit, or half arsed as he likes to call it.

    Stop hyping trash just because you're in a gaming drought. First Killzone, then Lair, now this game, when will you people learn?.
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 15:11

  • Yaster #23 5 years ago

    Yeah like the quicktime sequences are the main parts of Heavenly Sword's gameplay, numpty.

    Also Tekken > Doa

    And wasn't this the guy that got done for sexual harassment?

  • ligurmatic #24 5 years ago

    At least the events in the HS demo were achievable, my overriding memory of RE4 is of being crushed over and over again by boulders.

  • dsmx #25 5 years ago

    QTE are sometimes the only way to do certain things without making it into a cutsceen, sometimes it is the only way to do something. The first boss in god of war 2 is a good example of that.

  • Steroyd #26 5 years ago

    SniperWolf

    Just like Gears of War?

    Those 4 million people who bought that game must have really been hungry.

  • space_ace #27 5 years ago

    he's right, though
    this gameplay video is pathetic

  • Razz #28 5 years ago

    I'm still surprised at the amount of people that are looking forward to this game from a few videos and a brief, usually regarded as poor, demo. I'll wait for some reviews before I form an opinion of this. L/

  • teabagger #29 5 years ago

    Issues of whether it's any good or not aside, the title of this article seems to be a massive misrepresentation of what he said. According to this article he did say the button press element was half assed. He didn't, apparently, say Heavenly Sword is half assed which is what the title implies.
    Still, I suppose press the world over generally aren't going to let a minor detail like that get in the way of a good headline.

    So in summery Eurogamer, two words: Shit stirring.
    Edited by 2 at 06/08/07 @ 15:24

  • ecureuil #30 5 years ago

    Shenmue and RE4 disagree.

    Itagaki is a grade-A cock.

  • Hughes. #31 5 years ago

    Just when I think Itagaki couldn't act like more of a dick, he suddenly does.

  • Schiraman #32 5 years ago

    QTEs can be pretty annoying, but if they're used sparingly they can add a bit of interest to otherwise non-interactive cut-scenes. Of course it'd probably be better to just dump cut-scenes completely...

    Heavenly Sword doesn't sound that impressive though I must agree, the more I hear about it the more convinced I am that it's just a stand-in for God of War 3. And frankly I'm bored enough of God of War as it is.

    Tekken >> Dead or Alive though.

  • Triggerhappytel #33 5 years ago

    I agree they are tolerable in moderation, but they can be used to create short, exciting and visually stunning sequences - God of War 2 being a perfect recent example.

    But the key really is moderation, and this is exactly where Fahrenheit fell down. It was more like playing through a series of linear cutscenes rather than a game.

    Anyway, despite what Itakagi would like to believe, the Tekken series is far better than DOA.

  • Darknight #34 5 years ago

    Frod +1


    Oh, and Sniperwolf, what's making you so insecure? Don't worry, in a couple of years you'll be able to afford a PS3 too!

  • Dizzy #35 5 years ago

    >Don't worry, in a couple of years you'll be able to afford a PS3 too!

    No need.. there won't be a PS3 in a couple of years. :)

  • woodnotes #36 5 years ago

    "And wasn't this the guy that got done for sexual harassment?"

    No, he just raped her for research. He's working on a new game with Paul Whitehouse.
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 15:37

  • a8a #37 5 years ago

    Still, I suppose press the world over generally aren't going to let a minor detail like that get in the way of a good headline.

    So in summery Eurogamer, two words: Shit stirring.

    Certainly its a slightly sensationalised headline, but lets be fair, Itakagi hardly needs the press to stir shit for him - hes doing a perfectly good job of it on his own.

  • menage #38 5 years ago

    "I agree they are tolerable in moderation, but they can be used to create short, exciting and visually stunning sequences - God of War 2 being a perfect recent example. "

    Poblem is, if they're to difficult you won't see crap cause you're too busy watching the buttons. Too easy and it's not exciting.

    I liked them in GoW1 but in 2 I already wished for something else. It really destroys the experience to have a big flashing button on screen. It's ugly.
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 15:40

  • afghan_jones #39 5 years ago

    " Itakagi hardly needs the press to stir shit for him - hes doing a perfectly good job of it on his own. "

    Well If I was him Id rather get someone else to stir shit for me. Makes an 'orrible mess...

  • lambtron #40 5 years ago

    "I agree they are tolerable in moderation, but they can be used to create short, exciting and visually stunning sequences - God of War 2 being a perfect recent example."

    Big Boobies or QTEs? ;)

  • Triggerhappytel #41 5 years ago

    QTEs, you dirty bastard ;)

  • Rash' #42 5 years ago

    I'm disppointed in this story. Ninja Gaiden is one of my favourite games from last gen, and as a fan of the action adventure I thought the HS demo demonstrated a good alternative to the GOWs and DMCs of this world. I'd go so far as to say the combat is equally as accomplished (if not more so) as NG. The fact Itagaki has mentioned it publically suggests Ninja Theory must be doing something right to garner that level of attention. I'm looking forward to seeing it in Sept.
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 16:01

  • penhalion #43 5 years ago

    @Lambtron

    I get the impression that most people who like QTS (is it Quick time sequences or events?) never got to the end of GOW2 at all. The sequence with Zeus was one of those where you either got through it first/second time or stayed there for dozens of tries.

    Once you thought you knew the sequence and timings the buttons would change and, because of the split second you have to respond, most people ended up hitting the buttons they remembered from their last attempt.

    It wouldn't have been so bad if failing hadn't required you to fight Zeus all over again.

    edited for spelling. And to Steroyds post further down. Yep I was the idiot who played in titan mode...
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 16:41

  • Luna-C #44 5 years ago

    Why does Tomonobu Itagaki have to be such a "cool dude".

  • ManicDrunkMonk #45 5 years ago

    If Ninja Gaiden were his only games then fine, but suggesting Dead or Alive is anything other than a pile of poop compared to any other major fighting series is a bit rich.

  • Rash' #46 5 years ago

    BTW, the QTE in Resi 4 were brilliant. The device kept the player fully engaged because you were never sure whether you were watching a cut scene or a QTE. The purpose of the tool is to develop the narrative thread without breaking the player involvement and no game did that more convincingly than Resi.

  • Steroyd #47 5 years ago

    But penahlon you don't spend that much longer fighting Zeus to get the QTE's back up, that being said I could probably forsee where it would piss me off if I missed the QTE's in Titan mode...

  • Freek #48 5 years ago

    Itagaki needs to shut up and realize that his "controversial" act is getting old really fast.

  • Steroyd #49 5 years ago

    The only flaw with RE4 was the Krauser vs Lyon knife fight when you first went through it, it was trial and error the second time you had to just have quick lightening reflexes.

    Just about my least enjoyable times with QTE's along with Fahrenheits storyline coupled with the QTE's and ugh, linear-ness of the second half of the game just made the game collapse ontop of itself.

  • JYM60 #50 5 years ago

    I'm starting to think this guy is a tool. First tekken now this.

    Ninja Gaiden isn't all that as far as I'm concerned.
    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 16:12

  • Azazel #51 5 years ago

    The bits in God of War where you have to hit the buttons on-screen are a bit *ahem* hit & miss. Sometimes awesomely cool, sometimes a bit shit. In any case I have played none of the games directly concerned with this article, so um...

    /leaves

  • polymorph #52 5 years ago

    i like qts, shemue and god of war did it right,
    If it lets me roll a fatty while playing then BONUS!!

  • Lukus #53 5 years ago

    If nothing else he's consistent. I like him :)

  • afghan_jones #54 5 years ago

    is this a big deal? At the end of the day it goes like this:

    One man who makes games says other games are bad and his are the best games.

    The end.

  • Moz #55 5 years ago

    "Resident Evil 4 and God of War 2 were awful then, evidently."

    Kudos to Eurogamer for not using this as a chance to slag off PS3

  • kangarootoo #56 5 years ago

    That is embarassing.

    Whether he is right or not has nothing to do with how bloody unprofessional flinging poo is. Thats what we are supposed to do anonymously in here :)

    Plus anyone who insists wearing shades in a dark room should be viewed with suspicion.

  • skillian #57 5 years ago

    Issues of whether it's any good or not aside, the title of this article seems to be a massive misrepresentation of what he said

    EG seeing to be doing this a lot recently. And Tony Blair even pointed out the damage of sensationalist headlines in his last week as PM - you could tell he had EG in mind.

  • kangarootoo #58 5 years ago

    So what did he actually say (before I slander him any further)?

    :)

    Sorry if its already been posted. I was busy when this thread got started.

  • Steroyd #59 5 years ago

    I think EG are just going with the flow.

  • skillian #60 5 years ago

    I think EG are just going with the flow.

    So were the Nazi soldiers.

  • Azazel #61 5 years ago

    ^ lol

  • cyacomini #62 5 years ago

    @space ace

    Thanks for that linkage.

    I hadnt seen HS 'in the flesh' until now. Was probably THE only game i'd have stumped up the dosh for a 2nd hand PS3 for.

    But, thats just gone out of the window.

    Nice detail close up (scaled?) but the animation sucked and the number of jaggies was just incredible. Fighting looks nowhere near as refined as Ninja Gaiden - infact, The original Xbox Ninja Gaiden through VGA looks 10 times better than that peesh.

    Thank you for saving me £280 and +2 respect to you.



    Edited by 1 at 06/08/07 @ 17:07

  • Caimbeul #63 5 years ago

    lol, I wonder how much he'd had to drink before the interview?

    "In other news - Itakagi's next game will be a bukkake simulator." With full Female DOA cast!

    /also pre-orders...
    /admits is a perv

  • BillyBrush #64 5 years ago

    I really liked Kung Fu Chaos...and suspect this will be pretty good...what's wrong with a bit of hack n slash?...Ninja Gaiden whilst great would have been traded by most normal non hardcore people for being too frickin hard...i got past the dude on the airship, past the guy on horse on the bridge, past the big slimy thing holding wossername, then it all got too much for my broken fingers...show of hands those who completed the game (i beleive the last boss was so difficile the only way to beat her was to use jump + attack, only the most hardcore could pull that off) Tenchu z ftw in the Ninjery stakes!

  • Scimarad #65 5 years ago

    Oh dear, what a twat!

    Go back to your breast simulations, Itakagi...

  • milhous #66 5 years ago

    Games full of massively breasted barely clad women beating each other up. hmmm, hes obviously a very repressed homosexual who probably fantasizes about being the centre of attention in a bukkake scenario.

    And hes not cool either.

    Vent over.

  • Adaptor #67 5 years ago

    I really like the Dead or Alive series but making almost the same game a couple of times and then start a spin-off franchise which is.. well.. video game porn really doesn't make you the best developer out there..

    Maybe some comments were taken out of their context but the man is just too arrogant.

  • cyacomini #68 5 years ago

    @BillyBrush

    Totally agree with you - the learning curve was perhaps a little on the steep side for your average gamer. But you see, thats why I still play NG after all this time - it's challenging and beautiful.

    The fact you can get it for £4 in some stores just makes it all the better when you consider the RRP of some of the 360 and PS3 shit doing the rounds.


  • deaner #69 5 years ago

    "All games are rubbish except the ones I make!"

    Which is ironic because Team Ninja wouldn't know a non-generic middle-of-the-road idea if it came at them with a special badge which said "I am not one of your boring games"

    :oD

  • el_pollo_diablo #70 5 years ago

    Well I thought it was a bit of a duff demo too, but given that Itagaki is a total bell-end who makes shitty adolescent titty volleyball games whilst simultaneously harassing female employees and wearing a leather jacket and shades Steven Segall wouldn't be seen dead in, I'm going to ignore absolutely everything he ever says ever again.

    The twat.

  • Machiavellian #71 5 years ago

    Maybe it's just me but I really cannot get all worked up when Itagaki talks about Tekken or even Heavealy Sword. Tekken is my all time favorite Fighter even over Virtual Figther. Itagaki has always hated Tekken and I doubt it will change anytime soon because Tekken is the same game pretty much each release.

    Itagaki remarks on HS actually are correct for me in certain contexts but I will have to see how HS do QTE to see if it is overly done and detracts from playing the game. NG is still my favorite action game because of the difficulty level even over GOW1 and 2 which I must say I hated the QTE with ZEUS.

  • login_name #72 5 years ago

    The guy is an insecure penis and has nothing of value to say.

  • yagisencho #73 5 years ago

    I had a chance to play the Heavenly Sword demo on a friend's PS3. It was very pretty, especially at 1080p, but I was bored after one minute of fending off endless swarms of enemies. My comment at the time was something like, "How do I get past this part? Do they just keep spawning endlessly? Is there anything else to do?"

    The game could be much more interesting than the demo makes it seem. But if so, they goofed big time on the demo content.

  • JediMasterMalik #74 5 years ago

    I think Itagaki's comments are half-assed, there's no constructive criticism, or acknowledgement of the fact that the game's not even out or that it clearly already does stuff better than any of his games.

  • Chtulie #75 5 years ago

    Then there's the 3d Zelda games. Those also have a big icon to show what the context sensetive A-button does at any given time.

    Gears of War could actually do with a constant presence of what the context sensetive button does at any time, to alleviate some of the frustration of the character diving in cover hen you wanted them to dash and such.

  • TheStranger #76 5 years ago

    "They'll all be better than Tekken 6 and Heavenly Sword, obviously."

    Glad we agree.

  • patchbox360 #77 5 years ago

    "I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen,"

    thank you

  • Rash' #78 5 years ago

    "I think Itagaki's comments are half-assed, there's no constructive criticism, or acknowledgement... that it clearly already does stuff better than any of his games. "

    That's the point. I get the impression he's working on his next big project (i.e. NG2) and is pissed to discover this small time company develop this big time game, that directly puts up stiff competition to his, still well away from completion, project. That's why I think this story is significant to HS.

  • Rash' #79 5 years ago

    "I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen,"

    Halo,
    Resident Evil 4,
    Zelda: Ocarina of time...

    The list can go, he's statement is too abstract.
    Edited by 1 at 07/08/07 @ 02:26

  • drumbaby #80 5 years ago

    If being 'half assed' is what it takes to have a little atmosphere in a 3rd person combat game, then so be it.

  • SeesThroughAll #81 5 years ago

    Itagaki is an obnoxious narcissist. Who cares WTF he says?

  • Artemis_Matsas #82 5 years ago

    Oh boy...

    Itagaki's statements reminded me of a ten year old boy, crying over toys that he cannot play with.

  • Lea #83 5 years ago

    "I've never played a good game where the developers put a big icon of the button you're supposed to press onscreen,"

    God of War 2 - come again!

  • Lim-Dul #84 5 years ago

    Quick remark on a slightly related topic:

    I liked the QTS-es in Fahrenheit (which probably makes me one of the few people feeling this way =).

  • captain-future #85 5 years ago

    I love Itagaki, he's the last real rockstar developer and you can call him anything but he's always entertaining, never boring.

    Also did you know: Itagaki was born wearing shades.

  • zoglog #86 5 years ago

    Talk about some shoddy journalism. The title is misleading as Itagaki said the button action events are "half-assed" and not the whole game............. Eurogamer just lost a bit more credibility.

  • Zuiyo #87 5 years ago

    "Any journalist who asks Itagaki what he thinks about Tekken is obviously a troll."

    +1

  • urban #88 5 years ago

    well i kind of agree, the demo while being completely beautiful didn't really wow me.

  • Kill_Crazy #89 5 years ago

    "DOA has bouncing titties, therefore wins.

    Any argument after this statement is now rendered null and void by doll-like jubbly juggling shenanigans and the bemusement contained wherein."

    Some of us have ACTUAL girlfriends/ wives and we prefer real titties to graphics. Therefore your argument is null and void.

    Now pull your pants up and put that joystick away

  • SEVQA #90 5 years ago

    I have to disagree with his comments! In the demo you can clearly see the main character has a full arse!

    (I’m English and ill say arse!)

  • ParanoidZombie #91 5 years ago

    Ninja Gaiden is the best action game ever, there's no QTEs in it, so I respect this guy's opinion. I also like the fact that the guy candidly speaks his mind, because i'm really tired of all that bullshit PR mumbo jumbo. And BTW I agree with everything he said.


    Reason for editing: too much coffee.
    Edited by 3 at 07/08/07 @ 13:05

  • el_pollo_diablo #92 5 years ago

    Ninja Gaiden isn't the best action game ever.

    The best action game ever is Final Fight.