Catalogue No. - GS-9036

This game is almost unknown outside of Japan, which is a shame really. Ninku is based on the anime of the same name as you've probably guessed by the cover design. The game is a one on one fighter with a difference. While the backgrounds are 3D the main characters are 2D animated and pretty well done too. At first I was expecting the 2D sprite based characters to sort of wobble about on the 3D background like most other games on this nature. Thankfully I was presently surprised. The backgrounds are pretty well done for most parts but the real beauty comes from the character sprites. Each character is so well animated that it looks like an older version of Guilty Gear. Of course, with Ninku being one of the earlier Saturn games there are a few graphical problems such as sprites becoming blocky as they get closer to the screen.  Also, how do you make a 2D sprite based character interact with a 3D world?  Not such an easy task back in 1996.  Thankfully Sega have sort of pulled this off.

As far as playability goes, Ninku is a bit of a hit and miss affair. Some characters are grate to use whist others are pretty lame. I quite like to use Touji because of his "Fart" moves. Makes me laugh every time. Mekira Taisa is also another nice character I found. There are a total of 8 characters to choose from and maybe a hidden one. I recommend Ninku to anyone after a fighter with a difference. The whole game is well presented and well worth picking up even if it's not the best fighter out there.