Now I'm not being nearly as harsh on N3 as some--it seems like a fun little game--but please don't compare the combat to Ninja Gaiden! Sure, there are combos--but what he's implying has some reason to it--this *IS* a button masher..you won't be very successful AT ALL (even through the first level on normal) in NG just mashing X.

And from what I hear the game doesn't exactly get much better..so why all the high praise from a rather short and untelling demo?

I played it some more. I looked at the combos thoroughly and figured out the whole orb collection thing and what I'm expected to do there.

I must say I think it's tons of fun. It's not terribly different from Dynasty Warriors and KUF, but the combo/orb system gives it a sense of direction and momentum, and the lack of cumbersome strategy elements give me a sense of not-bored. The sensation of hopping up in the air and tunneling myself into an ocean of enemies is felt in my knees right now, and it gives me an urge to go back and play it again. I've finished the demo three times now though, and despite my innermost hoping that the game will continue after "Mission Completed", alas - it never does.

To be truthful, after the first playthrough of the demo I even let the notion that I might not buy this into my head. I will though, I so will.

The voice acting is still terrible though, so give me the original voice track and I'm set.

Someone (Jin?) said that Mizu's games have traditionally been pretty basic, and that the real *meat* (if you can call it that) is in the visuals, the music and the design. He's right, I agree wholeheartedly. The level design in this demo is fairly shite, and it actually goes some way to prove that if you enjoy what's on offer here, I imagine the full game will boggle some mind-esque things in your noggin.

We haven't read every preview, impression, watched every video, demo, or sent messages to the devs on occassion . We played it for the first time...ever.